Reviews tagging 'Classism'

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

38 reviews

sassmistress's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense

5.0

Wow. I really dropped the ball not reading this one until now. I'm sure it's much more impactful as a parent, though. Gripping, emotional ride from start to finish. Such perfect detail I had to keep reminding myself that it's a work of fiction. 

Favorite fictional father so far! Just wow. And the slow unfolding of events as understood by a child overhearing things and not fully grasping the implications of situations is just perfection. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Addiction, Chronic illness, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Classism, Domestic abuse, Rape, Violence, Racism, Physical abuse, and Police brutality

Moderate: Incest, Animal death, Sexism, Death of parent, Misogyny, Ableism, Confinement, Drug use, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Slavery, Stalking, and Terminal illness

Minor: Bullying, Infidelity, Suicide, and War

This book is for adults. It centers around a rape trial in which a black man is (falsely) accused of assaulting a white woman in a heavily segregated Alabama town.

It's deeply immersive, in a culture where racism is woven into the culture and impossible to avoid. The KKK and the "War Between the States" are part of recent cultural memory. Black defendants are always convicted no matter what. Lynching and mob violence are a very near threat.

Expectedly, the n-word abounds, among other racial slurs. Other language is not infrequent, including he**, g-d-, b****, wh*re, d**n, sl*t, etc. Lord's name in vain quite a few times.

Lots of death--not gory, but as close as it gets without actually witnessing it. Old age, and talk of the body being carried out of the home. Death penalty discussed often. A man dies:

the defendant, by 18ish bullet wounds, while trying to escape a prison camp.

Another man is killed while

trying to murder children, via stabbing by an unexpected rescuer. One child receives a horribly broken arm and is knocked out.

A rabid dog is shot.

Domestic violence:

the accusing white woman was actually beaten heavily by her father when he discovered she was making advances on the black man.

Morphine addiction is discussed and withdrawals are shown.

Both respectable and "unrespectable" poverty are shown.

Schoolyard bullying and fights, neighborhood verbal abuse and gossip about many culturally relevant "deficiencies" like unladylikeness, mental illness, intellectual disability, not being sufficiently racist, etc.

Lots of portrayals of Christianity. Some are good, including the nearest relationships to the MC, but many are not. A neighbor reports that a different sort of baptist told her she was going to hell, MC loses "confidence in pulpit gospel" when thinking on what a good person the neighbor is. "Foot-washers think women are a sin by definition. They take the Bible literally, you know." The ladies' missionary society talks about global cultures with pity and exaggeration, often conflating spiritual issues with cultural differences. A white employer tells her black housekeeper she's not being a good Christian when she is visibly affected by a serious injustice in the local community and nearly fired her for it. Etc, many more.

Other spiritual content: Kids spook each other with talk of spirits on dirt roads. "Dill was a villain's villain: he could get into any character part assigned him, and appear tall if height was part of the devilry required. "

Besides the rape trial and moderately explicit testimony, which includes brief mention of domestic SA, there's other, more minor sexual content. Incest in local families is mentioned very specifically a few times. There's a quick joke about infidelity. Kids lie and say they were playing strip poker, which gets them into trouble (less because they played with matches instead of cards). There's a "swift" kid kiss, and a boy climbs into bed with a girl he keeps promising to marry some day, but it's platonic.

"I'll tan you" and many other such comments, severe corporal punishment for children being an expected part of the culture. Kids laugh when the teacher gives "quick little pats" on the hand when they realize it was meant to be a "whipping".

gloria_zeee's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Read for school, now one of my favorite books

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence and Alcoholism

Minor: Classism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Animal death

joshmacaroni's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Racial slurs, Grief, Racism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Death, Violence, and Classism

sareidle's review against another edition

challenging tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs

Moderate: Sexual assault, Classism, Hate crime, Domestic abuse, and Rape

Minor: Death of parent

calicat42's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Rape, Gaslighting, Violence, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Racism, Sexism, Hate crime, and Murder

plsnotanotherdamselindistress's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

This book contains some heavy topics...and adresses them in a mostly good way.

It really took some time getting into the story as the first person narrator is not all knowing but the story gets told from the subjective perspective of a little girl.
But the choice of the narrator was also great because you do not just take on the opinion of the person that narrates the story and it realistically portrays how little children deal with such societal issues as in racism or sexism plus as this book covers years the development of Scout's character is really interesting.

I especially liked the variety of opinions and characters introduced as it represents society (then and now).
So even though this book was written years ago and about the early 2000s these themes are still current and thus the teachings are quite important and helpful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Murder, Physical abuse, and Classism

Minor: Police brutality, Addiction, Domestic abuse, and Bullying

martin27's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I fully understand why this book is considered to be so important. It’s incredible, with a lot of meaning and heart in every word. Some parts move so quickly that you can’t put it down, and some go slowly not because they’re boring but because it’s the kind of story you want to savor. I cannot recommend it enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Animal death, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexism

The novel has a fairly heavy premise: a black man on trial for the rape of a white woman in Alabama during the Jim Crow era. All trigger warnings that can think of are present, but I think that for the most part Harper Lee handles them very well.

ellen_suth's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

An all-time great, deserving of its status as a classic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs

Moderate: Death, Classism, Domestic abuse, and Rape

poubelleboi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

It's very well written, it gets you hooked and I think what makes it especially interesting is the point of view of a child who is growing up and learning about society and societal expectations.

My criticism is that it has a problem with white saviourism and I found it hard to believe that Atticus Finches existed back then.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Violence, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Death, Murder, Stalking, Classism, and Sexism

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Incest

frivilous's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Violence, Sexual assault, and Racism

Minor: Slavery, Classism, Murder, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Alcoholism, and Death