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I could see your argument if Tolkien were writing about feminism. Tom Send a noteboard - 24/05/2011 02:15:42 PM
My complaint is not that all books should address all issues. My complaint is that if a book addresses an issue and makes it as central to the reading experience as Lee's book does, it should at least not be guilty of the same sins it accuses others of. While Lee's soft racism in the form of helpless, innocent, childlike blacks is a fairly benign form of racism, the point is that she still makes them an enigmatic "other" rather than show them as complex individuals who are no different from whites.

In legal parlance, Lee "opened the door" to this scrutiny by her choice of subject matter. If she had written about the South in such a way that the racism angle was completely tangential to her real story, then I wouldn't care if she engaged in this sort of idealization of the "other".
Political correctness is the pettiest form of casuistry.

ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius

Ummaka qinnassa nīk!

*MySmiley*
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To Kill a Mockingbird by Nelle Harper Lee - 22/05/2011 06:28:11 PM 8367 Views
I reviewed it last year - 22/05/2011 07:45:48 PM 2027 Views
Huh. I seem to have missed that. - 22/05/2011 11:17:11 PM 1924 Views
It's a beautiful, incredible book. - 22/05/2011 08:21:48 PM 1859 Views
Re: It's a beautiful, incredible book. - 22/05/2011 11:18:32 PM 1813 Views
Also - 22/05/2011 11:33:27 PM 1805 Views
Don't you think that, you know, too many people have read it already? - 23/05/2011 09:55:52 PM 1891 Views
Does that disqualify it? - 24/05/2011 01:49:54 PM 1831 Views
I don't know, if a lot of people want to have this book in a Book Club, I have no objections. - 24/05/2011 07:01:38 PM 1857 Views
Well, that's true. - 25/05/2011 01:20:54 PM 1948 Views
Loved that book. - 22/05/2011 09:07:16 PM 1834 Views
Re: Loved that book. - 22/05/2011 11:19:29 PM 1846 Views
A great book - 22/05/2011 09:13:12 PM 1887 Views
Re: A great book - 22/05/2011 11:20:02 PM 1845 Views
“Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father’s passin’.” *NM* - 23/05/2011 12:03:34 AM 968 Views
Indeed. *NM* - 23/05/2011 09:37:38 AM 958 Views
Bah. This seems like a lame book. It will never catch on. - 23/05/2011 01:31:10 AM 1959 Views
LOL *NM* - 23/05/2011 08:36:55 AM 953 Views
Hehehe. *NM* - 23/05/2011 09:38:03 AM 1002 Views
Um, there's already a rfilm version of this. - 23/05/2011 01:11:36 PM 1719 Views
Suspect he knows that. *NM* - 23/05/2011 01:15:46 PM 977 Views
I don't think I've ever met anyone who doesn't like this book. *NM* - 23/05/2011 09:37:52 AM 957 Views
So it survives being taught in school? - 23/05/2011 09:39:18 AM 1829 Views
Yup. *NM* - 23/05/2011 02:47:17 PM 969 Views
I've met some, but it was a casualty of middle school English. *NM* - 23/05/2011 07:40:27 PM 890 Views
Thanks for the review. - 23/05/2011 10:07:46 PM 2172 Views
Re: Thanks for the review. - 24/05/2011 12:14:08 AM 1926 Views
Let me ask the politically incorrect questions, since no one else has. - 24/05/2011 03:14:50 AM 2052 Views
Hmm - 24/05/2011 10:22:50 AM 1939 Views
I could see your argument if Tolkien were writing about feminism. - 24/05/2011 02:15:42 PM 1952 Views
I think that's a fair point. - 24/05/2011 07:00:04 PM 1950 Views
Calpurnia is a stereotype too. - 24/05/2011 11:54:26 PM 1867 Views
The difference, at least in my recollection, is that Calpurnia is well-educated. - 25/05/2011 08:09:58 PM 1818 Views
Re: The difference, at least in my recollection, is that Calpurnia is well-educated. - 25/05/2011 10:59:26 PM 1914 Views
Yes. This. *NM* - 26/05/2011 04:56:48 AM 884 Views
I think there was at least once incident showing a racist black person - 24/05/2011 07:33:09 PM 2106 Views
Almost a non-incident - 24/05/2011 08:51:59 PM 1729 Views
I think it was written to accomplish a goal and it did that very well - 25/05/2011 04:08:17 PM 1861 Views
Given your introductory portion - 11/06/2011 01:28:40 AM 1871 Views
It just occurred to me - 11/06/2011 01:30:05 AM 1829 Views
Re: It just occurred to me - 11/06/2011 11:36:21 AM 1916 Views
I have read both - 11/06/2011 11:35:11 AM 1701 Views
All of Twain's stuff is great - 13/06/2011 02:27:55 AM 1914 Views
Re: All of Twain's stuff is great - 13/06/2011 08:17:05 AM 1826 Views
And some poets - Tennyson and Yeats come to mind. *NM* - 13/06/2011 10:11:31 AM 868 Views
Keats? - 13/06/2011 10:14:58 AM 1923 Views
I have to say... - 13/06/2011 05:27:26 PM 1768 Views
Re: I have to say... - 13/06/2011 05:54:45 PM 1858 Views

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