"This is not great literature, and I avoid teaching it at all costs. It's not even good reading. The characters are black and white two-dimensional cardboard cutouts. The rednecks are evil, the blacks are victims, and the self-righteous Atticus is too good to be true. There is nothing here to examine or explore. Critical thinking skills can be checked at the door. Moreover, if the lack of complexity and verisimilitude doesn't stick in your craw, then the insipid narration of the androgynous Scout will. This novel is popular due, in part, to the fact that the reader can feel morally superior to white trailer trash as he identifies with the demigod, Atticus. Shakespeare, the consummate craftsman of characterization, understood that even the evil (save Iago) have some redeeming qualities, and the good flaws. To Kill a Mockingbird is about as deep as a rain puddle."
A lovely book that should be read by young adults. I can't think of a better representation of idealistic youth that Jem Finch. The right shouldn't imitate the far left when it comes to fine, popular literature. I was scorned by the F. Scott Fitzgerald Society when I told them I had visited Monroeville to see where the book took place. Never rejoined that group because of their snobbishness.