Putting A Human Face To Tragic History In The Diary Of Anne Frank And To Kill A Mockingbird By: Paul Thomson | - Perspective is everything. Oftentimes, it makes the book what it is. Consider The Diary of Anne Frank. The Diary of Anne Frank is often considered a literary exemplar that stands for the atrocities during the Holocaust. It is taught in high school classes and served up as examples on CAHSEE, alongside history lessons of World War II, Hitler and Nazis, serving as a primary source or historical document to study and understand the lives of Jewish people in war-torn Europe. Yet, the deeper power of ... Tags:Of Mice and Men, Lord of the Flies
Gender-bending In Twelfth Night And To Kill A Mockingbird By: Paul Thomson | - Much stress there is a difference between gender and sex. And there certainly is. Sex is essentially biology, the male and female manifestations or to put it more plainly, the physical parts that come with being male or female. Gender, on the other hand, are the social norms, roles and ideals tied to ones identity, usually ascribed on which of those physical parts you own. Its a social construct, something that is not founded in the actual physical make-up.
Depictions Of Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird And The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer And The Social Psycho By: Paul Thomson | - Right around the age of 10, there is a marked shift in a child's perspective. The world is no longer simply a wonderland of curiosities, but a popularity contest. Girls begin to wear makeup and form cliques, and boys become showmen, proving themselves with their fists. Think of Mean Girls or The Outsiders. In Lacan's terms, once we identify ourselves as "other" in the mirror stage, the beasts of jealousy and self-consciousness arise. This is a time in psychological terms in which children, g ... Tags:The Outsiders, Huckleberry Finn
Considering Honesty In Literature In Diary Of Anne Frank (written During World War Ii) And To Kill A By: Paul Thomson | - Writers like to talk about honesty and truth. They aim to tell an honest tale, reveal honesty in characters, or get the truth of a story on the page. What does it mean? In a fictional novel, the truth authors seek is a sincere understanding of the world and the characters they have created. A truth that is so sincere that they, along with their readers, feel as though the story could have actually happened, the characters and the world that the story is set in could ... Tags:World War II, To Kill a Mockingbird
Two Jewels In Southern Oregon By: Anthony Connor | - The Oregon ability to embrace both nature and cultural experiences makes for quite a picturesque ambience indeed.The lush green forests, serene lakes like the Crater Lake, Mt Hoods majestic beauty and the mystique of the Oregon Caves provides a great scope for fun things to do in this state.
Being in sync with nature through activities like river rafting down rapids, whale watching at Depoe Bay or simply climbing the sand dunes on the Oregon Coast, enhances the fun of being in a na ... Tags:Oregon Shakespeare Festival, City Of Ashland, Oregon Caves, Wizard Island
To Kill A Mockingbird: The Effect Of Racist Influences On The Young By: Paul Thomson | - America has a long history of racism. Unless youve spent your entire life with your head under a watermelon, you should be well aware of the negative stereotypes that African Americans have long had to endure, and the discrimination with which they continue to be faced. Believe it or not, there once was a time when they werent even allowed to take the SAT!
Losing Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird And Reflections From Catcher In The Rye By: Paul Thomson | - Why do we love stories about pure, hopeful characters getting stripped of their innocence? One neednt take an "AP Psychology" course to know. The loss of innocence is a relatable theme. Who hasnt had their equilibrium memorably thrown off balance through a rude awakening to some terrible truth? It is part of growing up or coming of age. Perhaps the most painful aspect of this experience is the fact that there is no going back. Once innocence is gone, its gone for good.
A Nation's Loss Of Innocence As Depicted In The Catcher In The Rye And To Kill A Mockingbird By: Paul Thomson | - Sometimes we look back to childhood with nostalgic longing. We relish in simple times when life consisted of ice cream and swing sets. Often our grandparents will say the same about the "good old times" before high taxes, texting, and terrorism. But as much as we may mourn our loss of innocence, both as an individual and as a nation, and fear for that of our prodigy, growing up involves positive change that outweighs death and taxes. The loss of innocence of two American classic adolescent p ... Tags:The Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, AP US History
Endurance As A Virtue In The Scarlett Letter, Antigone And To Kill A Mockingbird Quotes By: Paul Thomson | - Endurance is a virtue that we, as a Westernized society, place a great deal of worth in. To withstand intense pain, strife or just plain unpleasantnessor even muster up the strength to resist an endlessly tempting pint of Ben & Jerrys Chubby Hubbyis to be respected, appreciated and at times, worshipped. History is littered with examples of those elevated super-humans who demonstrated the capacity to grin and bear it while turning the other cheek. Think Jesus, Mohammad, Buddha or even th ... Tags:antigone, to kill a mockingbird quotes, scarlet letter, lite
What Your Favorite American Author Says About You By: Paul Thomson | - In his best-selling novel High Fidelity, Nick Hornby asserts that what a person likes (books, movies, music, etc.) is more important that what a person is like. No need to get to know someone well, observe her in a variety of situations and truly judge her character; no, all anyone needs to do is find out which actors, authors, musicians and other artists a person likes to truly understand her character and determine if she could be a potential match for friendship or romance.
The calm of my Cambridge, Massachusetts neighborhood
was punctuated the other day by student protestors outside
Harvard University's Science Center. There 1960's wannabees
chanted "Harvard, Harvard, shame on you, honoring a
racist fool."
The cause of this mayhem was Professor Martin Peretz
and his latest blog post on his The New Republic website:
Justice Not Served: The Failings Of Judgment And Trial In Of Mice And Men And To Kill A Mockingbird By: Paul Thomson | - The American idea of justice sometimes operates under a layer of mythology. Our "innocent until proven guilty" principle predicates itself on the idea that those accused of a crime will have a fair trial and would be justly judged by their peers. No puritanical Scarlet Letter rashness here anymore. Instead, it is an elaborate system established to thwart prejudice and to prevent the public jumping to conclusions, to protect the innocent and to punish the guilty.
The French And Indian War Was Fought In The 1750s And Other "useless" Facts By: Paul Thomson | - "When are we ever going to use this in our real lives?" is a question many students are known to ask their teachers when trying to memorize a certain fact or understand a particular concept. While its true that many students will not use the Pythagorean theorem in their careers, and while its unlikely that they are frequently going to be asked to recite the preamble to the Constitution in their adult lives, there are underlying skills and concepts involved in mastering these skills that wi ... Tags:Great Depression, Crucible, French and Indian War
Ap Calculus All Year Long: A Look At Year-round School By: Paul Thomson | - There's a long-standing joke that the three best reasons to be a teachers are June, July and August, meaning the three (or so) months of the year that most teachers don't work (thought it should be mentioned that many teachers teach summer school, attend continuing education classes, or hold a second job during the summer months). However, with the rise year-round schools, this joke may not be so prevalent in a few decades. Plenty of arguments have been in favor of and against year-round school ... Tags:AP Calculus, To Kill a Mockingbird, AP Exams, Test Prep
Girl Power: Sourcing The Feminine Strength In To Kill A Mockingbird Quotes And Antigone By: Paul Thomson | - When it comes to being a girl, To Kill a Mockingbirds Scout is more spice than sugar. In fact, she is particularly sugar-free. No frilly pink dresses, pretty baby dolls, or sweet make-believe tea parties for her. She is more likely to punch you in the face than smile sweetly at you, especially if youre being a Grade-A jerk. And that is why most readers love her: shes a spunky, rambunctious tomboy with a good heartjust dont call her a girl. To Scout, being a girl is a lot in life s ... Tags:To kill a mockingbird quotes, antigone, scarlett letter,
Catcher In The Rye, The Crucible, And To Kill A Mockingbird: Books Required In High School By: Paul Thomson | - Its hard to decide exactly which books one can reasonably expect a high school graduate to have read. Some may argue that the major works of Shakespeare are an indispensable part of any students education, while others counter that only very advanced fifteen-year-olds can be expected to appreciate the nuance of the Bards language. Some curricula focuses only on works written over a century ago, but is it not valuable to have students read works written in the last century? In the last t ... Tags:To Kill a Mockingbird, The Crucible, Catcher in the Rye, Har
To Kill A Mockingbird: A Novel And History Lesson In One By: Paul Thomson | - When studying American history, theres no way to avoid the subject of slavery. It was a key facet of the American economy in the 16th and 17th centuries, and a major contributing factor to the Civil War. It is, no doubt, a most shameful aspect of American history, and one many would like to gloss over, but its crucial to painting a warts and all portrait of America.
Song Of The South, Song Of Scotland: To Kill A Mockingbird And Macbeth By: Paul Thomson | - Certain authors or works of literature can become so associated with a particular geographical region that they almost seem to represent them. John Steinbeck, author of boos like Cannery Row and The Grapes of Wrath, is a hero of Salinas, California (theres even a John Steinbeck museum in that town). The French town is Toulouse could not be prouder of Victor Hugo, and his quintessential French novels, The Hunchbank of Notre Dame and Les Miserables. And while most people have never heard of Pri ... Tags:To Kill a Mockingbird, To Kill a Mockingbird quotes, Macbeth
Macbeth, Ap Calculus And Soccer: The Stressful Life Of A High School Senior By: Paul Thomson | - Theres been a lot of research conducted lately about the amount of stress that high school seniors are enduring. Apparently its skyrocketed recently, and researchers and social scientists are trying to figure out why this is and what can be done.
This is pretty shocking, considering that students of this age have a never-before-achieved level of freedom and independence, but generally still dont have a ton of responsibility. Sure, theres the high schooler whos working to he ... Tags:Macbeth summary, To kill a mockingbird quotes, AP Calculas,
Should You Read To Kill A Mockingbird For Ap Us History By: Paul Thomson | - One of the greatest things about reading literature is the fact that it allows the reader to learn about so many other subjects. Novels, poems, and short stories often contain information about the historical, political, sociological and scientific events that were important and influential at the time the works were written.
For example, Arthur Miller's play The Crucible was written in response to the Blacklist. The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was targeting writers, mu ... Tags:AP US History, To Kill a Mockingbird characters
Minor Characters, Major Impact: A Look At The Minor Characters In Hamlet, Macbeth And To Kill A Mo By: Paul Thomson | - Minor characters serve an important role in literature. Frequently, its the minor characters in novels that the reader will connect with and especially enjoy, even more than the protagonist. Mansfield Parks deliciously manipulative Mary Crawford is infinitely more intriguing than the painfully good Fanny Price. J.K. Rowling has created a small army of wonderful minor characters in the Harry Potter books, from the inspiring Sirius Black to the downright infuriating Dolores Umbridge.
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice was originally supposed to be titled First Impressions. Would her most well-known novel be as beloved so many years later if she had stuck with her original inclination? The genius of Pride and Pr ... Tags:To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the rye, great gatsby, literature, education
Sure, You Love To Kill A Mockingbird Quotes And Characters, But Will Your Sixth Grader? By: Paul Thomson | - The age that a person is first exposed to a particular work of literature can greatly affect how she relates to it. Giving someone a book to read before she is ready for it can prevent her from ever wanting to give it a chance again. She can decide that's weird or too confusing, and even though she loves to read, and even if this book is considered an indispensible part of the literary canon, she will never try to read it after that first initial failure.
Seeing Through Others" Eyes By: Paolo Tiberi | - If you just learn a single trick, Scout, youll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it, Atticus Finch, a fictional character from Harper Lees Pulitzer Prize winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird.
The easy definition of empathy is the ability to see through someone elses eyes. Some children are born more empathetic than oth ... Tags:Chronicles of King Argoz, legendsofaltai, teaches kids respect
Huck Finn, Great Expectations Or To Kill A Mockingbird: What A Person's Favorite Book Says By: Paul Thomson | - Not everyone has a favorite book. It's certainly not a requirement. But with all the novels that have been written through the centuries, it's pretty shocking to meet someone who can't think of just one book that they've read that they like the most. It's worrisome, to be honest. Of course, not everyone's a reader and that's fine. There's lots of ways to engage with the world, to get information, and to learn. Some people prefer art, others music. Since the introduction of the Internet, there ar ... Tags:to kill a mockingbird, harper lee, huckleberry finn
Great American Novel Contenders: To Kill A Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, And The Scarlet Letter By: Paul Thomson | - Amongst many clichs in the world of literature is the concept of the Great American Novel. Some argue that it is still waiting to be written, and some argue that it was written long ago and no piece of fiction that follows will ever touch it. This article aims to examine some of the novels that are generally considered top contenders for the title of Great American Novel.
Summary Of Characters And Conflicting Points Of View In To Kill A Mockingbird By: Paul Thomson | - Harper Lees classic American novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, asks the reader to look at the same event from different perspectives more than once. During Tom Robinsons rape trial, we hear both Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewells versions of their encounter; Mayella insists that Tom raped her, while Tom maintains that nothing inappropriate happened between them at all. The jury is asked to decide which of the two accounts is accurate, but the reader knows that the actual truth is irrelevant; t ... Tags:to kill a mockingbird, summary, quotes, harper lee
Racism Among Characters In To Kill A Mockingbird By: Paul Thomson | - Despite its long standing as one of the greatest American novels, To Kill a Mockingbird is often criticized for its two-dimensional portrayal of African Americans. Critics point out that the novels black characters are passive, eager-to-please, and ever grateful for the intervention of whites on their behalf, sitting on the sidelines of the story until forced unwittingly into the main plot.
Women And The Law In The Crucible, The Scarlet Letter, And To Kill A Mockingbird By: Paul Thomson | - Elena Kagans recent confirmation to the US Supreme Court is a powerful reminder of just how far women have come in the American legal system; from being disenfranchised until 1920 to being unable to serve as jurors nationwide until 1975, women have a long history of being either unfairly sentenced or largely ignored by the law.
In an interesting twist, however, underprivileged women have managed to manipulate the legal system throughout history to their own, often desperate ends. Here ... Tags:To Kill a Mockingbird, The Scarlet Letter, The Crucible
America As Seen Through The Eyes Of To Kill A Mockingbird And The Crucible By: Paul Thomson | - To Kill a Mockingbird and The Crucible are two classic American works that, though set centuries apart, have a remarkable amount in common: both use children as a means of exploring the social mechanisms behind wrongful persecution in small-town America. Admittedly, there are significant cultural differences between the two stories (the whole racism-vs.-witchcraft thing jumps to mind), but what really stands out is how different the take-home message of each story is. Lets take a look.< ... Tags:To Kill a Mockingbird, The Crucible, Colonial New England, l
Female Stereotypes In Great Gatsby, Macbeth, And To Kill A Mockingbird By: Paul Thomson | -
Jane Austens Persuasion contains a famous debate over whether men or women are more constant in love. On behalf of his sex, Captain Harville argues that all histories are against [women]all stories, prose and verse, to which Anne replies, Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story. Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the pen has been in their hands.
Huckleberry Finn As A Model For To Kill A Mockingbird By: Paul Thomson | - Ernest Hemingway famously wrote that Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the best book we've had. All American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since. We object to that last part, but its undeniable that Hucks influence has carried over into countless later works.
Take, for example, Harper Lees 1960 masterpiece To Kill a Mockingbird. Although the storys setting is a few states and about a century off, the novel can be seen ... Tags:To Kill a Mockingbird, Hamlet, Shakespeare, Literature, Languages
The Individuality Of Protagonists In Lee"s To Kill A Mockingbird And Shakespeare"s Hamlet By: Paul Thomson | - For Western literature, the concept of individuality is a remarkably recent innovation. It goes without saying that the classics feature a lot of remarkable individual characters, but they are only remarkable in their ability to meet and exceed the highest expectations of their roles in society. (Just think Beowulf playing the ultimate male part as the warrior, provider, and peace-keeper.) This is why so many old stories end in weddings, which are basically an initiation rite for turning individ ... Tags:To Kill a Mockingbird, Hamlet, Shakespeare
An Ap English Literature Refresher: Gender In To Kill A Mockingbird And The Catcher In They Rye By: Paul Thomson | - One of the biggest problems with the books we read in high school is that most of them aren't contemporary - in the chronological sense of the word. We then assume that they aren't relevance in a thematic sense, which takes most of the fun and practically all of the creativity out of how we approach them. With the AP English Literature exam less than a month away, it's high time to start rethinking the old stand-bys. Let's take a look at how Harper Lee and JD Salinger toy with gender identity in ... Tags:AP English literature, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Catcher in
Hamlet, The Catcher In The Rye, And The Age-old Story Of Teen Angst By: Paul Thomson | - Despite what marketers would have you believe, angst is not just a gelled, chiseled, perfectly unkempt product of the Twilight phenomenon. Holden Caulfield is king of twentieth-century angst, and he was kicking around with a buzz cut back in the 1950s. Sren Kierkegaard set the philosophical bar for angst in the nineteenth century and managed to do so while wearing a top hat. And who can forget Prince Hamlet, the skull-carrying, pantaloon-wearing original angst-er of the European canon? < ... Tags:The Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, J.D Salinger,
Lessons About Race And Gender From The Characters In To Kill A Mockingbird By: Paul Thomson | - Part of what makes Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird such an important American classic is that it deals unflinchingly with the theme of social convention which packs an extra punch as seen through the eyes of an unconventional young girl. One of Scouts major epiphanies is discovering that her housekeeper, Calpurnia, not only has a life beyond simply raising Scout and her brother, but also switches into the African-American lingo of her peers whenever shes in their company. This str ... Tags:to kill a mockingbird, to kill a mockingbird characters,
To Kill A Mockingbird - A Short Review Of The American Literary Classic By: Vanessa Thompson | - Most of students in the United States at some time or another will be asked to read and comprehend the literary classic "To Kill A Mockingbird." Whether they understand it or like it is another story! I personally read the book and saw the movie when I was in the eighth grade, and I recently saw the movie for the second time as an adult so I thought I'd give a quick review.
Much to my surprise, I understood the movie just about the same as I had when I had first seen it.
To Kill A Mockingbird"s Atticus Finch: Not Just Wise, But Complicated, Too By: Paul Thomson | - Hes a model attorney, an excellent father, and (at least as played by Gregory Peck in the 1962 movie version) dashingly handsome is there anything Atticus Finch of To Kill a Mockingbird cant do? If he were around today, hed probably have solved global warming by now. Okay, maybe thats going too far
The fact is, Atticus Finch has become a bit larger than life. He seems to topple the toughest problems with a tap of his pinky finger. Lets take a look at some of his ... Tags:to kill a mockingbird, to kill a mockingbird themes, analysis
Mob Vs. Man In Huckleberry Finn And To Kill A Mockingbird By: Paul Thomson | - Huck Finn and Scout Finch are two of American literatures most memorable and endearing narrators. One of the reasons they offer such fresh perspectives on the world is that theyre still at the age where wiping your hands on the tablecloth is a pardonable offense. In other words, their being only partly sivilized not only gives them an outsiders perspective on the community, adulthood, and social convention, but also allows them to critique their findings with a certain level of im ... Tags:Huckleberry Finn, to kill a mockingbird, scout finch, litera
Crazy And Inspiring Quotes From Hamlet And To Kill A Mockingbird By: Paul Thomson | - "The Tragedy of Hamlet" is one of those plays that hovers around a thousand on the quotability meter. "To be, or not to be" and the ensuing inner debate on suicide is one of the earliest and most important moments of existentialism in Western literature. Hamlet's soliloquy is so good, in fact, that sometimes one forgets how brilliant the rest of the play is.
In fact, Prince Hamlet is arguably at his best when he's in the room with other people. Never has the description "crazy smart" been ... Tags:Hamlet, to kill a mockingbird quotes, hamlet quotes
Watching Characters Grow Up: The Catcher In The Rye And To Kill A Mockingbird By: Paul Thomson | - For most of us, reading "The Catcher in the Rye" and "To Kill a Mockingbird" sticks out as a highlight of the high school lit experience. This ain't no Charles Dickens; both stories are narrated by young protagonists in everyday speak and are chock full of youthful insights - namely, that adulthood sucks. Holden Caulfield and Scout Finch are two kids looking down the road connecting childhood and adulthood, only from opposite ends of the trip. Both are full of contradictions, both defy the gende ... Tags:characters, to kill a mockingbird, catcher in the rye
Boo! A Halloween Summary Of To Kill A Mockingbird By: Paul Thomson | - For many, Halloween is the time to brave the consumer crowds, dress up like our favorite villains and superheroes, and invest in a dental plan. For those of us who are too old (or too sober) to put on a Halloween costume, however, this is the perfect time to curl up by the radiator and indulge in a scary story.
Harper Lee's American classic To Kill a Mockingbird may not be the first thing that springs to mind, but if you strip the story of its youthfully innocent narration and happy summe ... Tags:To Kill a Mockingbird, Arthur Radley (Boo), Atticus Finch,
Zeugma -rhetorical Device Used By Master Writers By: marciano guerrero | - What is a Zeugma?
Zeugma is a rhetorical device where a single word is made to refer to two or more words in a sentence, often playing on the words' literal and metaphorical meanings.
Smiling with a crooked smile that did little to hide his crooked intentions and crooked teeth, he said "Trust me."
Hollywood Magic: Lawyers In Film An Inspiration To Many By: Daniel Beasley | - The allure of the silver screen calls loudest to the masses, while quietly whispering to those drawn to other vocations. Doctor, lawyer, astronaut, firemanthese are all very admirable professions as are the thousands of others not listed here, and yet the role of the movie star provides an avenue for entertainment as well as long time prestigious positions.
Answer: the hero of Harper Lee's immortal novel To Kill a Mockingbird: Atticus Finch.
Forget about Captain Ahab, Rambo, Rocky, Mike Hammer, Rooster Cogburn...or if you are a political junkie: George Washington and Abe Lincoln. Pound for pound Americans prefer Atticus over anybody who can be somebody.
For The Girls: Performing Gender In To Kill A Mockingbird And Twelfth Night By: Paul Thomson | - For most of us, the long, lazy days of summer conjure up memories of fortbuilding, skinned knees, sleepovers, and an influx of summer bugs befitting a biblical plague. For girls in particular, though, the summers of childhood were a time of liberation from the dresses and demureness that were unduly expected of them in the classroom. Sugar and spice my ass; childhood is about ROMPING.
Southern Gothic Writing In A Rose For Emily"' And To Kill A Mockingbird By: Paul Thomson | - Southern Gothic is an American subgenre of the Gothic style, which is probably most familiar to you from the Bront sisters of Victorian England. (No, were not talking Hot Topic here.) Like its European progenitor, the Southern Gothic style relies heavily on the supernatural only with less O, Heathcliffe! and more Oh no, racism! (Unlike Gothic novels, Southern Gothic novels are more interested in uncovering social crimes and injustices than being gloomy for gloomy ... Tags:William Faulkner, A Rose for Emily, To Kill a Mockingbird
April In The South By: Nate Gillespie | - April is an important month in American history. The Civil War both began and ended in April; between the April of Fort Sumter and the April of Appomattox Court House, more than half a million Americans died on battlefields stretching from Pennsylvania to Arizona.
Youtube Becomes A Shrine To The Past By: globalbpo1 | - In a sad turn of events this past weekend, the fire that engulfed the Universal studios theme park in Hollywood burned down a number of famous attractions. Among the wreckage were the Hill Valley Courthouse, as well as the New York Street Area, which were used in movies such as Back to the Future, To Kill a Mockingbird, War of the Worlds, and Bye Bye Birdie, and Spider Man 2, Transformers, Ghost Whisperer, and Crossing Jordan. The iconic King Kong segment of the studio ride/tour was ... Tags:Newhotstuff, hollywood, newsbeet
