The Proposed Classic 1
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960)
Themes:
- Southern life and racial injustice
- Class
- Courage and Compassion
- Gender Roles
- Laws: written and unwritten
The Proposed Alternative 1
The Help by KathrynStockett (2009)
Theme Connector
To Kill a Mockingbird, the ground breaking novel by Harper Lee, portrays the life of the quiet town of Maycomb and the hostility, racial prejudices, and friendlessness that the citizens display. The novel revolves around a trial in which Atticus, a white single-father of two children, defends Tom Robinson, a black man, who has been accused of molesting a white girl woman. The case is inevitably lost solely because a black man cannot win in a courtroom over a white man in the South. This adequately displays the deeply ingrained racial prejudices among the white society, which deny equal status to African-Americans.
Similarly, in Kathryn Stocket’s 2009 novel The Help, highlights the typical 1960’shouseholds of Jackson, Mississippi, where racism is also prevalent. The novel focuses on the lives of African-American maids working in white homes and how they are treated. Skeeter, the main character and recent college graduate, breaks the mold of the traditional 1960’s woman and disturbs gender roles, similar to the way Scout and Atticus both reject their gender roles in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Other Similar Books:
1. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (2002)
2. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (2010)
To Kill a Mockingbird, the ground breaking novel by Harper Lee, portrays the life of the quiet town of Maycomb and the hostility, racial prejudices, and friendlessness that the citizens display. The novel revolves around a trial in which Atticus, a white single-father of two children, defends Tom Robinson, a black man, who has been accused of molesting a white girl woman. The case is inevitably lost solely because a black man cannot win in a courtroom over a white man in the South. This adequately displays the deeply ingrained racial prejudices among the white society, which deny equal status to African-Americans.
Similarly, in Kathryn Stocket’s 2009 novel The Help, highlights the typical 1960’shouseholds of Jackson, Mississippi, where racism is also prevalent. The novel focuses on the lives of African-American maids working in white homes and how they are treated. Skeeter, the main character and recent college graduate, breaks the mold of the traditional 1960’s woman and disturbs gender roles, similar to the way Scout and Atticus both reject their gender roles in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Other Similar Books:
1. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (2002)
2. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (2010)
The Proposed Classic 2
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (1562)
Themes:
- Power of Love
- Self vs. Society
- Morality and Immorality
- Fate and Free Will
The Proposed Alternative 2
Forbidden by Tabatha Suzuma (2011)
Theme Connector:
Romeo and Juliet, a tale of two teenagers that fall in love against all odds, set the stage for every romance novel that would follow it. Romeo and Juliet, the children of two rival bloodlines, meet at a ball at the Capulet mansion and fall in love. However, because of the hatred between their parents, they are forbidden to see each other. Romeo is accused of the murder of Tybalt and banished from the kingdom, leaving his lover to suffer from his absence. The play ends with literature’s most infamous display of love’s power over rationality.
Likewise, Tabatha Suzuma’s Forbidden tells the tale of the most crossed star-crossed lovers: a brother and a sister. After their mother’s drug overdose, Lochan and Maya are left to deal with their three younger siblings. After playing the role of mother and father for so long, they begin to fall in love. The novel showcases the societal backlash they receive for their extremely taboo and unheard of relationship, and it addresses the issue of morality. Both texts question whether or not it is society’s role to tell us who we can and cannot love. Love is the driving force behind both stories and fate also plays a role in both premises.
Other similar books:
1. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer (2005)
2. Starcrossed by Jessica Angelini (2011)
3. My Name is Memory by Ann Brasheres (2010)
Romeo and Juliet, a tale of two teenagers that fall in love against all odds, set the stage for every romance novel that would follow it. Romeo and Juliet, the children of two rival bloodlines, meet at a ball at the Capulet mansion and fall in love. However, because of the hatred between their parents, they are forbidden to see each other. Romeo is accused of the murder of Tybalt and banished from the kingdom, leaving his lover to suffer from his absence. The play ends with literature’s most infamous display of love’s power over rationality.
Likewise, Tabatha Suzuma’s Forbidden tells the tale of the most crossed star-crossed lovers: a brother and a sister. After their mother’s drug overdose, Lochan and Maya are left to deal with their three younger siblings. After playing the role of mother and father for so long, they begin to fall in love. The novel showcases the societal backlash they receive for their extremely taboo and unheard of relationship, and it addresses the issue of morality. Both texts question whether or not it is society’s role to tell us who we can and cannot love. Love is the driving force behind both stories and fate also plays a role in both premises.
Other similar books:
1. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer (2005)
2. Starcrossed by Jessica Angelini (2011)
3. My Name is Memory by Ann Brasheres (2010)
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