Miss Allford's Class

I am currently re-reading To Kill a Mockingbird. I don't always have time to read what I have assigned my students to read. After all, I've already read all the novels that I'm teaching this year. I do think it's good to re-read a novel you're teaching, though, if time allows.

I am a little more than 2/3 of the way finished with Mockingbird, and Tom Robinson has just been found guilty. I'm trying to remember how I felt when I first read this book in high school in Mrs. Allford's English III class. Did I really expect Tom to be found innocent? I'm a pretty optimistic guy--I get that from my dad, but I'm pretty sure I realized that Tom was going to be found guilty, despite all the evidence. I think at this point in the novel during my first read-through, I was wondering what could happen next. It seemed that the major plot was over with.

A side note: I still remember Mrs. Allford telling us that Tim Johnson, the crazy, rabid dog in the novel was a symbol of Maycomb's racial tension. I don't know why that has stuck with me, but it has. It makes me wonder what my students will remember about me. How I act, or what I say. Mrs. Allford had a favorite saying, which was, "Fake it 'til you make it." Ha. I can't say that's the best advice I've ever heard, but I sure liked it when I heard. Maybe I should develop some catchy phrases for my students.

Anywho, I really like how the Boo Radley and Tom Robinson plot lines come together at the end of the novel, just like a good Seinfeld episode. Ha!