The Junior Circuit

As the calender races to November 3rd, I feel confident in my first marking period at high school. I find all my classes enthralling and interesting, but none are more so than 10th period Language Arts with Mr. Steven Mogg.

In this junior Language Arts class, we began our adventure into the world of grammar, literature, and vocabulary by reading Yann Martel's The Life of Pi. Within that novel we learned about survival and religious values, and came up with our own mantras. We set our goals and aspirations for the upcoming year.

While reading Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, we learned about many different concepts. We learned how rumors and gossips are detrimental to many people, and cause nothing but bad things. Also, we delved into the days of 1930's Alabama, and discovered the racism and inequality that ravaged the whole southern United States.

As for how we went about learning, we utilized 21st century technology. Every Tuesday and Friday we worked on these very blogs, uploading posts discussing underlying themes and illusions to To Kill a Mockingbird. I found this very helpful and thought it helped us make better connections to the novel. I think that other classes should utilize technology like we have in this class, as it makes projects easier and more enjoyable to work on.

All in all, I have found my junior year exciting and interesting, and am doing very well grade-wise. I enjoy all of the curriculum we are learning, and hope that the following quarters will be as enjoyable as this one.

May(er)comb, Alabama: TKAM Musical Connection

One of the main themes of To Kill a Mockingbird is the fact that society has issues that must change. Jem and Scout are immensely disappointed with the town of Maycomb and their underlying racist values, as shown by the anger and confusion felt by the two children after Tom Robinson is unjustly convicted of rape just because he was African-American. A song that connects to this theme is Waiting on the World to Change by John Mayer. One lyric of the song states:

"now we see everything that's going wrong
with the world and those who lead it
we just feel like we don't have the means
to rise above and beat it "

These words greatly exemplify the feelings of the two Finch children, as they realize everything that is wrong, but as children cannot do anything to stop it. They don't have "the means" (the influence) to beat "it" (racism). However, even though this realization is grim, like this song, they maintain an upbeat and optimistic attitude towards the end, thinking that the world will change.

The Greatest Social Injustice in the World

In America, we consider our country "the Land of the Free". We pride ourselves in our freedom of self expression, and our set of morals and ethics. We open our arms to men and women, blacks and whites, Asians and Europeans, mentally or physically disabled. It is utterly frowned upon to make fun of these groups. However, one group in our country, and the whole world in general, has been mocked, shunned, and persecuted since the beginning of humanity. These people make up 10% of the world's population, but most of them are forced to hide their identity in fear of being resented. These people, homosexuals, are the most tortured group in the whole world, and nothing has been done to prevent this.

If you walk across a hall at Wissahickon High School, you are likely to hear the word "gay" used in a derogatory fashion. This adjective has gained such a negative connotation that anyone who actually fits the description is now looked down upon. It is used as an insult on television, in movies, in writing, and music. Homosexuals have done nothing to elicit this negativity, and yet new phrases are penned every day, creating more ways to destroy a person's self-esteem.

Think about the right of marriage. Drug dealers, murderers, and racists all are able to tie the knot. The menaces of American society have this right, yet hardly anywhere are perfectly innocent lovers who happen to share the same gender are not permitted to wed. When people say that it isn't natural for people of the same sex to be in love and wed, that is not so. Their identity as a homosexual is in fact a natural occurrence, something that these people are born with and have no control over. Their chemicals in their body cause them to feel affection for the same sex, so in what way is this not a natural occurrence?

From the Stonewall Riots to Harvey Milk, gay pride has attempted to fight for its existence. More and more homosexuals are feeling more comfortable to come out. Icons such as Ellen DeGeneres, Ricky Martin, and Neil Patrick Harris have all come out recently, realizing that their stature may help the process of gays embracing their personality.

There is still a long way to go. Gay teens every week are committing suicides fueled by self-loathing and regret. Hopefully, one day, homosexuals will be accepted and embraced in American society.

Brown vs. Board of Education

The year is 1954. Amidst all the civil rights issues regarding the treatment of African Americans, one little girl in Kansas and her family altered the fabric of American society forever. This little girl, an African-American third grader named Linda Brown, was forced each schoolday to walk one mile along a railroad to reach her segregated school for African Americans, even though the white school was seven miles away. However, this was not the main issue. The problem was that the African-American schools were totally inferior to the schools that the white children attended. When Linda Brown tried to enroll in the white school, she was refused. Oliver Brown, Linda's father, helped begin an injunction ran by the NAACP. When Brown brought this case to the District Court of Kansas, there was much indecision on what to rule. When the District Court ruled in favor of segregation, Brown decided to take this matter further. He appealed their decision to the Supreme Court, and this case was combined with others from South Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware. The Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren, deliberated extensively (they first heard the case in 1952 but did not reach a decision until 1954). Finally, on May 17, 1954, Warren announced their decision: "We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.". With this ruling, the long history of inequality of African-Americans, from slavery to Plessy vs. Ferguson, seemed to be nearing a possible end.

http://brownvboard.org/summary/

http://www.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/early-civilrights/brown.html

Gossip in TKAM

There are many different instances in which gossip plays a role in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird. Two main examples are the stories about Boo Radley and the rumors of Atticus being an African-American lover.

From the very beginning of To Kill a Mockingbird, the reader is told many different stories about the infamous “Boo Radley”. The rumors surrounding him range from Boo eating cats for dinner to him being chained to his bed. Scout discovers later from Miss Maudie’s account that these rumors are not true. She tells him that Boo (or Arthur, as Miss Maudie prefers him to be called) had a troubled childhood, mainly due to his father’s status as a “foot-washing Baptist”. This may have been the reason that Boo stabbed his father with scissors in the leg, although that fact is only known from the words of Miss Jennie Crawford. This array of rumors surrounding the mysterious figure of Arthur “Boo” Radley is a perfect example of how gossip and rumors will only make things less clear, as conflicting stories will be told.

Another example of gossip in To Kill a Mockingbird is Atticus Finch’s status as a lover of black people. Simply due to the fact that Atticus, a lawyer, has taken a case to defend African-American Tom Robinson, whispers around the town have slandered Atticus, and he lost the favor of many racists in Maycomb, Alabama. This causes even children at Scout’s school to hate the Finches, and turns Scout’s life into a living hell. She nearly gets into a fight at school, but restrains herself after her father tells her not to listen to the gossip and teasing. However, these rumors infiltrate the Finch family, as Scout’s cousin Francis pesters Scout so much about her father being a “Negro-Lover” that Scout snaps and hits Francis. This shows that rumors and lies can spread so widely that they can even get into the minds of relatives, people that love you and are supposed to support you. This is an example that confirms the sermon made by the priest in Doubt. Rumors really do start as one solid thing, but when one part escapes, a million more explode into the open.

Rumors have affected the story because it has created a conflict that must be addressed by the protagonist. Other information will most certainly present itself concerning Boo Radley, but Atticus’ social status will most likely be addressed in one way or another. These rumors have created an exciting rising action, and will make the climax of To Kill a Mockingbird that much more important.

Rumors, like stated in Doubt, are uncontrollable and infinitely spread. This has been shown in To Kill a Mockingbird, particularly in the cases of the mystery surrounding Boo Radley and the impending hatred of Atticus Finch. These rumors make readers strive to find out the truth. That was most likely Harper Lee’s intention, and with that she has succeeded in gaining the readers interest and drawing them into the story,

Harper Lee

Author Harper Lee was born April 28th, 1926 in Monroeville, a small town in Alabama of which she based the setting of her novel To Kill a Mockingbird on. As a child, she was a tom-boy, and was good friends with controversial writer Truman Capote. She later attended the all-female Huntingdon College, where she was struggled to fit in with the fashion obsessed girls. She transferred to University of Alabama, and became the editor of their humor magazine, Rammer Jammer. After pursuing a law degree, she realized that writing was her passion. She then transferred to Oxford in England. In 1960, Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird became an instant hit, and won a Pulitzer Prize. The movie adaptation received 8 Academy Award nominations, although it was not very enjoyed by Lee herself. Lee is still alive, and has not written another book.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2010-07-08-mockingbird08_CV_N.htm

http://www.biography.com/articles/Harper-Lee-9377021

http://www.teenreads.com/authors/au-lee-harper.asp