Mrs. S. Smith
Examining the Popularity and Impact of To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird was published fifty years ago and is widely considered to be one of the most important novels of all time. As Rick Bragg states in “The Book That Changed My Life,” “It has sold an estimated 40 million copies, is a staple of school curricula, and has been translated into some 40 languages. It also made a glorious transition to screen in 1962 in the Academy Award-winning adaptation written by the great Horton Foote and starring Gregory Peck” (155).
Step One: Read “The Book that Changed My Life” by Rick Bragg (published in Reader’s Digest in
May 2010) and “Monroeville’s Mockingbird” by Mike Wilson (published in Southern Living in July
2010).
Step Two: Write two well-developed paragraphs. The first paragraph should examine why this book has been so enormously popular and meaningful to readers. Why does this story have such wide appeal?
Why do the characters resonate with readers? How and why are the themes in the novel still relevant today? Also, why do you think Harper Lee never published another book? The second paragraph should include your opinion of the book. Did you like or dislike the book? What did you think of the characters? Plot? Point-of-view? Lee’s writing style? Do you think the book deserves the awards and accolades it has received? Why or why not?
Extra Credit: Make a works cited page in MLA format for these two magazine articles. Go to the Web
Links section of the class webpage for websites that will help you with MLA format.
Mrs. S. Smith
Examining the Popularity and Impact of To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird was published fifty years ago and is widely considered to be one of the most important novels of all time. As Rick Bragg states in “The Book That Changed My Life,” “It has sold an estimated 40 million copies, is a staple of school curricula, and has been translated into some 40 languages. It also made a glorious transition to screen in 1962 in the Academy Award-winning adaptation written by the great Horton Foote and starring Gregory Peck” (155).
Step One: Read “The Book that Changed My Life” by Rick Bragg (published in Reader’s Digest in
May 2010) and “Monroeville’s Mockingbird” by Mike Wilson (published in Southern Living in July
2010).
Step Two: Write two well-developed paragraphs. The first paragraph should examine why this book has been so enormously popular and meaningful to readers. Why does this story have such wide appeal?
Why do the characters resonate with readers? How and why are the themes in the novel still relevant today? Also, why do you think Harper Lee never published another book? The second paragraph should include your opinion of the book. Did you like or dislike the book? What did you think of the characters? Plot? Point-of-view? Lee’s writing style? Do you think the book deserves the awards and accolades it has received? Why or why not?
Extra Credit: Make a works cited page in MLA format for these two magazine articles. Go to the Web
Links section of the class webpage for websites that will help you with MLA format.