FALL -AOW #4 Good Scout
Read the article titled "Good Scout" and answer the following blog question by Friday, November 3 @8 am.
Remember, you have to answer the question yourself as well as respond to ONE other person in class.
1) Your post must include a solid response that includes a well-formed opinion that references the text and/or your own experiences.
2) Your "comment" to another student shouldn't repeat someone else's comment, but rather extend the thinking beyond what was already posted. Don't simply write, "I agree with so and so."
Question: Question – What benefits writers from using their own lives and experiences in their stories? Use an example from the article in which the author’s life connects back to the story.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, the author is able to use her experiences to make her story more relatable and lifelike. We are able to feel like we are really there because Harper Lee uses her own experiences to add more believable detail and you can really feel her emotion. In “Good Scout,” we are told that Harper had moved out to write against her parents will. This could influence the character Atticus and his “courteous detachment.” It could also influence the fact that they have no mother. Harper may have felt abandoned by her parents and she expressed that in her book. We are also told that she was a airline ticket clerk and she lived on her own in an apartment and typed her books at night. This could have influenced Maycomb county’s poverty. Harper was probably not rich on her own in an apartment.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Taylor because Lee uses her own experiences to relate to the readers and make them feel more involved in the story. Dill being very daring and smart may have related to her own life in some way and may even relate t many of her readers. Lee uses her own experiences to make the reader want to read more or better understand her story.
DeleteI agree wit you Taylor. It is important to have a good relationship with your family and when you don't there is sort of a wedge that is placed between you like Jem and Scout with there father.
DeleteI agree with you Taylor. All the things written in the article can symbolize things from the book. Also, if the author uses her life experiences to tell a story, it gives the story more emotional effect and it tells the actual story better.
DeleteIn the story To Kill a Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee uses some of the events that she has experienced in her own life to make the reader feel as though they are part of her life. Lee uses these events in her book for the reader to be able to relate to her life and feel more involved in the story. In the article "Good Scout", the author explains how Lee was her own person and how "she wrote against her parents' objections". This could relate to her book because Scout and Jem did not have a mother and did not have a very good relationship with their father. In the book Scout says that her relationship with her father was satisfactory and they call him by his first name instead of "Dad" or any other fatherly name. Harper Lee could have had the same relationship with her family and used that in her book to make the readers have a better understanding of the story or possibly even feel like they are there with her.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Madison because Lee is her own person and haves to build her life on her own in New York. She uses her problems with her parents and puts it into a classic.
DeleteI agree with you because Scout's parents aren't with them that much so Scout has to be very independent with her life and build it up herself, just like Harper Lee.
DeleteHarper Lee uses her experience in the story to connect to the novel and help bring true emotions to the story. The reader can relate to the story and feel involved with the novel and it can interest the reader more. In the beginning of “Good Scout”, the article quotes that, “She is on her own.” to describe that Harper Lee is having to fend for herself and build a career as a young girl in New York. His relates to Scout, because Scout is very independent and mature, and acts older than she really is at such a young age. This helps some readers relate to Scout and find a sense of connection.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Devyn, because Harper Lee left her parents because of their objections and she had to learn to become independent similar to how Scout is because Atticus isn’t always there for her.
DeleteI agree with you. When an author retells their own experiences, the reader is able to be enveloped by that words and the emotions. Just like how Lee was out of her own at such a young age, you are able to envision more of what is happening.
DeleteI agree with you because both Scout and Lee are similar people, and they both act in the same way. By Harper writing her own adventures and experiences she had in her life, it can help us connect with her and how life was like for her and Scout back in the 1930s.
DeleteI agree with you Devyn. Events that have occurred to Lee written in the article can be connected to things from the book. Also, if the author uses her life experiences to tell a story, it allows the reader to better relate with what the author is trying to portray.
DeleteI agree with this statement because both Lee and Scout are very similar because they both had to learn how to be independent and do things on their own because because they did not have that father figure or mother to help them out like others do.
DeleteHarper Lee uses her own life experiences to help create her novels more realistic to her audience. For example, in the article, “Good Scout”, Lee mentions she moved to the city because of, “her parents objections in 1949. She is on her own” (Keillor 3). This experience of Harper Lee is similar to her character Scout in “To Kill a Mockingbird” because Scouts father, Atticus, does not have a great relationship with his kids. He provides for them but he isn’t always here for them. Harper Lee relates to Scout with this because her parents weren’t true to her and didn’t believe in her like Scout and her father. Lee most likely made Scout and Atticus’s relationship like this because it was easy to write because she lived it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Hannah because she has a very detached relationship with her father and that makes it harder for her because she is now almost having to be alone or more independent.
DeleteIn To Kill a Mocking mockingbird Harper Lee uses herself to tell the story and to some extenet that adds emotion. Lee writes in a more mature content than she is at the time of the narrator which helps readers more understand the context. Readers are able to connect to the novel and relate to each character. When Lee writes about a time in her life she is able to connect to readers who feel the same and understand. "She had bright auburn hair, pink cheeks, and wore crimson fingernail polish," Scout is very observant and the detail she picks up on adds to each character and helps readers feel more apart of the story.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you because using your own experiences makes you use more detail and makes you really connect with the text and the reader. The details are very important because it makes the story more believable and realistic. The emotion is very important in a good book.
DeleteI agree with you Megan, because her observations are key details to the story and makes the readers feel like they are really in the book or setting. For example when Scout describes that Walter had a skinny jaw, and this immediately gives readers the inference that Walter is poor. The details the authors provide are very important to giving readers imagery and become more attached to the book
DeleteIn "To Kill a Mockingbird" the author uses her own life when she describes Scout in the small town of Maycomb. Harper Lee was, "a tomboy from Monroeville, Ala," (Keillor 1). The way she describes scout is kind of like her, Harper was as the article says a tomboy and so is Scout. They also both grew up in small towns. She also used some of the things that actually happened to her in her book. like when she went with her friend to write about the murder, my guess is that that's where she got the idea to crime in her book. Harper used a lot of her own life in To Kill a Mockingbird an by doing that she made it more enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Miranda because much like Scout, Harper was a definitely a Tom boy.
DeleteIn the story To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses her own life as a way to tell the story. This technique makes the writing better because it allows the reader to dive deeper into what really happened in a certain time period and how life was like. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee teaches people the history of the early 1930s in Alabama just by writing down some of her adventures. It provides the reader with a better learning experience. For example, the article “Good Scout” states that she had to run away from home to start her writing career. This might symbolize Atticus from the story because Atticus and Scout do not have a close father daughter relationship. The article also states how she worked as an airline ticket clerk, which might symbolize how poverty stricken Maycomb was in the book.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kailey because using this technique because it helps readers get more into the story. It also gives readers a better understanding of how life was liek during those times and how hard it may have been like for a lot of people due to the world around them.
DeleteLee was able to use her own personal experiences in order to make the novel more realistic. When she tells her own story, the detail is extremely vivid, which puts the reader is Scout's place. When she is talking about her own life, she is able to feel what she is doing more than if she was just making it up off the top of her head. In the article it talks about how she lived alone and was sort of fighting to support herself. This could symbolize how Scout may feel when her tells her that her and her father need to stop reading. Both are struggling in one way or another. When an author is telling their own story is also gives the piece a more realistic vibe. Since it really did happen, or she retells it how she wished that the story went, the readers can feel more of the author's pain. They can think more like how the author did, during the time of the story.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Madison because using her own experiences makes the novel more realistic. They detail helps readers connect with her and makes it easier to follow along. I also agree with how Madison said that Lee living alone symbolizes Scout and her father, it makes the story more realistic and emotional.
DeleteIn the story To Kill A Mockingbird, the author, Harper Lee, uses her own life in the book. It helps give the story more emotion and creates a personal connection between the reader and the book/author. When she may go through tough times in the story, it helps the readers connect with her whether they understand how she feels through personal experiences or they feel empathy towards her knowing what she went through. During the story when the narrator mentions times when Scout was curious about something that happened in town, a lot of us could relate because we all know that feeling of wanting learn more about something that may not even affect us. It helps us as readers connect with the characters. Overall this technique, writing a story the revolves/connects around your life,creates a more enjoyable story that will instantly capture readers, which is very beneficial to a writer.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kayla because when authors use their experiences it help create imagery for the reader.
DeleteIn the story "To Kill a Mockingbird", Harper Lee uses her own life experiences as a link in her novel to make the story more realistic and life like. Harper Lee has a detached relationship with her father, Amasa Coleman Lee, just like in the story. Scout is treated with, "courteous detachment"(Lee 6). Harper Lee uses her own life story in the book to express her relationship with her farther, in the the form as a two character in a book. Harper Lee gained a award winning novel and expressing herself from using her own experiences in her book.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement on how the experiences make the story more realistic and life like. Atticus is a distant parent that doesn't really have a personal relationship with his kids. Harper Lee did use her own experiences to show how her and her family were in real life.
DeleteWhen writers use an experience from their own life it benefits them in many ways. When you use your own experience you go into more detail and there is more passion put into that part of the book. Harper Lee uses this in her book To Kill a Mockingbird. In "Good Scout" it tells how she ran away from home even with, “her parents objections in 1949. She is on her own” (Keillor 3). You can relate To Kill a Mockingbird to this because it is showing how Atticus is a distant parent. He feeds and clothes them, but he isn't the most loving father. He does teach them valuable life lessons even though they don't even know it. Lee uses her own experiences in the book to give it more emotion and passion.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you because when an author uses their own events in a book, the words do seem more passionate which, in turn, makes the book more entertaining for the readers.
DeleteI agree with you because when authors use personal experiences from their life, it usually is more effective and touching. Emotions seem to rise and set in more.
DeleteIn To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses her own experiences to add emotion and for the reader to feel what they felt and did from a different perspective. In "Good Scout," Keillor says, "...the feisty, independent, fiercely loyal Scout, in whom Harper Lee put so much of herself." Lee describes herself through Scout; they are similar in their ways. She also says that she was a law school drop-out, which alludes to the book when Scout begged her father not to go to school anymore. She jots down her stories in a book that is now one of the most popular ever sold and taught.
ReplyDeleteIn the story "To Kill a Mockingbird", Harper Lee uses her own life experiences in the story. By using her own experiences, it is easier for the reader to connect to the book. In "Good Scout", Garrison Keillor writes about how Harper Lee went against her parents and went to New York. Going to New York is risky especially without your parent's consent, but it payed off, she wrote a book that won a Pulitzer. The reason she won was because people could connect to her experiences like her distant relationship with her father. She used her real emotions in the story, you can't find that in a fiction book.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Natalie! It is risky to leave your parents and go off on your own, but it was a good thing that she went! If she hadn't gone her life would have been completely different, and probably not for the better.
DeleteNot being able to find that sort of experience in a fiction book is a good point I agree.
DeleteIn the story, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee expresses her emotions and experiences throughout the book. Her personal experiences can cause readers to either reflect the event to their lives, or see it from her point of view. It not only gives imagery to readers but also feels like their is a personal connection between the author and the reader. In "Good Scout" the book describes, " ...she came to the city over her parents' objections in 1949. She is on her own" (Keillor 2). Many people who are off to college in a different state or just in a dorm can relate to being on their own and how it is a difficult task. Many kids nowadays have to go out on their own even without parents' approval, just to seek out their dreams. This is exactly what Harper Lee did, and readers can reflect to their own personal experience with her and reflect on their challenges and accomplishments. Without author's personal experiences, readers cannot have a connection with the author because theres nothing to relate too, making readers become less interested.
ReplyDeleteIn the story, To Kill a MockingBird, Lee shows that Scout doesn't feel like Atticus has time for her and is a satisfactory father. However, in reality, he does his best to teach her life lessons and always has her best interest in mind. In the article, Good Scout, the author tell the reader about Lee's parent's objections about her traveling to the city to pursue her writing career. When Lee was in that moment, she most likely did't understand that her parents did have her best interest in mind and were just watching out for her. When authors use their own experiences in literature, it allows the reader to connect with the author on an emotional level. It also makes the story more believable.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Joselyn because I also feel that scout doesn't feel that Atticus has time for her and that he is doing whats best for her but she just doesn't understand.
DeleteI agree with you Joselyn because Scout doesn't realize that Atticus has a full time job and can't spend much time with her but he just wants to make sure they are financially stable. All he wants to do is make sure her and her brother's future is ready and planned out for them without any troubles.
DeleteIn To Kill a Mocking Bird, the author relates her own experiences to events in the book, to make it more personal and more relatable to readers. As readers we can also see how Scout is much like her creator. Also we cans ee taht as the years went on we can see she became more alone like the Radleys. Atticus has the many qualities as the author of the biography. The author is distant and caring and works hard, much like Atticus. Lee has probably based Atticus off her experience with this man
ReplyDeleteI didn't pay much mind to it, but I do see why and like how you pointed that Harper could have related herself to the Radley's in her sense of 'separation' from the world to stay away from fame. I think we can all agree how the story is more personal and relatable to readers due to the relation of Lee's own experiences to events in the book, and the immediate ties of Scout's character to the author are very evident. I'm not too big on the relation of the biographical author to Atticus as the book was written half a century before the article was, but it is definitely a great comparison to make even after the fact.
DeleteConnecting their own lives and experiences to their writing can help authors in many ways. When authors take experiences from their own lives, it is much easier and they are more accurate when writing about them because the author has lived through the experiences themselves and have dealed with the situations and felt the emotions that come with the experiences. The story can then be more intriguing because it is so detailed, emotional, and real feeling. In "Good Scout", it states that Harper Lee was, " a lawyer's daughter" (Keillor, paragraph 6). This is an experience that she took from her own life and put into her writing. In "To Kill A Mockingbird", Scout's father is also a lawyer. Her experiences of being a lawyer's daughter most likely helped her greatly while writing her novel because she knew exactly what it was like to be that, so she could write detailed descriptions and explain that life style very accurately.
ReplyDeleteHarper Lee uses her own life and experiences in her story. This benefits the reader so that one can relate with the novel. In the beginning of the article when describing a young Harper Lee it states, “She is on her own” (Shields 2). Harper Lee is having to fend for herself and build a career as a young woman in a male dominated society in the 1950's. This relates to Scout because Scout is very independent and is mature for her age. Readers can connect because many see themselves as more mature then their peers so seeing Scouts behavior around children similar to her age is humorous.
ReplyDeleteWhen writers use their own personal experiences in their writing it benefits them because they can relate to the character in the story and make it more realistic. For instance Scout, in To Kill A Mockingbird, is the daughter of a lawyer and in the article it says " A lawyers daughter..."(Keillor 6). When Lee uses her personal experiences it make the character and the situations she faces more realistic to the reader and can actually believe the situation and picture it. This helps with the imagery.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with your statement. To also include, it doesn't just make the novel more realistic, bu ore motivating to read due to the actions being life-like.
DeleteI agree with your statement because using personal experiences can help paint the picture for readers, help them understand what life was like back then, or they can relate to the story and the author.
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ReplyDeleteConnecting to their own lives and experiences can help the author in many ways and can benefit the reader as well. Harper Lee connects to herself in many ways, like in chapter 2, " I was miserable without him..." when she was talking about when Dill left. When writing the book she could be thinking about her childhood and how someone that was her good friend left her. Readers can connect through this because they might have gone through something just like this. Its beneficial to the author because its bringing in new readers, and its beneficial to the readers because they are relating to the book and wanting to read more.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird", Harper Lee uses her own personal adventures as a way to motivate and tell the story. This writing technique has allowed readers to connect to their own experiences by comparing to actual life-like occurrences. Additionally, it improves teachings by expanding the concept to its full meaning, unlike some teachings where they regurgitate dull and tiresome information. For instance, the article "Good Scout" states how the biography is very ,"... feisty, independent, and fiercely loyal Scout, in whom Harper Lee put so much of herself" according to Garrison Keillor. Moreover, it also states the decision of leaving her parents due to their objections which may symbolize the loose connection between Scout and her father, Atticus. As one can see, writers can benefit from adding their own experiences to their novels since it allows the reader to understand the story more thoroughly and to expand one's knowledge on the writers concept.
ReplyDeleteIn To Kill a Mocking Bird, Lee shows that Scout doesn't feel like Atticus has time for her and is a satisfactory father. However, he does his best to teach her life lessons and always tries to make her future life better. The author tells the reader about Lee's parent's objections about her traveling to the city to pursue her writing career in the article, Good Scout. When Lee was in that moment, she most likely didn't understand that her parents were just trying to protect her. When authors use their own experiences in literature, it allows the reader to connect with the author on an emotional level. It also makes the story more believable.
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DeleteSaying that he is trying to teach her is something I agree with but I do not agree with saying he wants a better future for her. If he actually wanted to give them a good, plentiful future he would not have been just a "satisfactory" father he would have put even more into helping the kids in all of these situations.
Writers can benefit from using their own lives and experiences in their works in order to add depth and emotion to the stories they write. If we look at the case of Harper Lee, there are many things taken straight from her own life and put into her novel. The New York Times describes Lee as, "a tomboy from Monroeville, Ala., editor of her college humor magazine, The Rammer Jammer, and law school dropout" (Keillor 1). In "To Kill a Mockingbird", the main character, Scout, is a tomboy from a small country town in Alabama, very reminiscent of Lee herself. She also ties her small 'career' in law into the story as Scout's father, Atticus, is a lawyer for the town. I'm also sure that as we start to read more and get farther into the book, we'll see many similarities to events that unfolded in Lee's lifetime before and around when the book was actually published. The incorporation of realistic events and elements relating to the author add details to the story and allow it to be a much easier and more interesting read.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anthony because using their own experiences helps authors to add greater detail to the story. By tying in their own stories, writers create a story in which readers can better understand and relate to. Not only does this make a story more realistic, but it overall enhances it.
DeleteAuthors benefit from writing their own experiences in many ways, and there are millions of authors who do this including Harper Lee. Benefits include being able to specify each little detail to paint a picture of exactly what happen, helping the reader really feel as if they are actually there. Now if we looked at the book "To Kill a Mockingbird" Harper Lee takes her own personal events the occurred and infused in the this book. For example, "So far, things were utterly dull nobody had thundered, there were no arguments between opposing counsel, there was no drama; a grave disappointment to all present" (Lee 2). Which states that she remembers it to the point where there was not even a fight going on, just a regular day from many years ago. Because this physically happen and she can remember details down to the conversations at that time. Overall you can see one reason to do a book on real events helps you really gets the depth of a good book by describing it to the reader.
ReplyDeleteAuthors can be benefited by using their own life stories and experiences. Using their own story helps authors by allowing them to create a more realistic and understandable story line, in which both the reader and author can connect to. To illustrate, the article states,"A lawyer's daughter..."(Garrison). In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee depicts the main character, Scout as Atticus Finch's daughter, a lawyer in Maycomb. In this instance, Lee is able to get across her experience as being the daughter of a lawyer, through the eyes of Scout. By doing this, the details of the situation become more relatable, and the overall story is enhanced. In addition it is said in the article that, "'...feisty, independent, fiercely loyal Scout, in whom Harper Lee put so much of herself"'(Garrison). With Lee being able to portray herself as a character in the book, the reader gets a sense of knowing the author's personality traits, and makes the story more believable. In essence, as an author, using details from your own life can help augment a story.
ReplyDeleteI agree that adding personal traits enhances the story. This is true in many circumstances because it gives readers a better understanding that life isn’t always as it seems and people might actually have real problems that they have to deal with. By giving an example of some of her own problems, Lee is seen as a real person, as she wants, rather than just a famous figure in media.
DeleteHarper Lee uses events from her own life in the novel to be able to help readers imagine and understand what life was like in the 1930's. For example, Lee is the daughter of a lawyer. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the main character, Scout, is the "daughter of a lawyer." (Keillor 6) Also, just like Lee, Scout is tomboyish. When authors use descriptions and events in their stories based on their own lives, it allows for readers to relate to the story, and also understand the events that are occurring.
ReplyDeleteAuthors use their own lives in their stories to elevate their writing. By putting real life experiences into their stories, it becomes more relatable to readers and gives insight on the author’s life. In the article, the author tells of Lee’s passion for writing. He writes, “Pages if manuscript fluttering out of an apartment window and then a young woman, weeping, picking them up out of the snow... she works hard, takes 150 typewritten pages of careful notes...” (par. 2 & 6). These quotes represent the care that went into Lee’s writing which is similar to the love the Scout begins to acknowledge that she has for reading. Harper Lee writes of Scout’s passion for reading to show her own passion for writing in order to add personal experiences that she may have faced to make the story seem more real to readers.
ReplyDeleteAuthors use their own life stories and examples of things that happened to them to help the readers relate to the passage. By doing this the readers will be more involved and interested in the story. In "Good Scout" it tells us how she ran away from home even with, "her parents objections in 1949. She is on her own"(Garrison 3). This shows how Atticus is a distant parent. He feeds and provides what they need to live but he is very distant and isn't the most loving father. He does teach them valuable lessons even if his kids don't seem to think so. Authors use their own personal experience to enhance the writing.
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