Monday, March 5, 2012

Kill All the BLUE JAYS You Want

This is my first post in the #springtrainingblogchallenge. Thanks to my amazing spouse, Pronto, for posing this inspiring challenge.

Today, I'm writing about the novel I'm reading with the eighth graders. It's Harper Lee's classic, To Kill a Mockingbird. There's a famous line in that book that fits perfectly with our baseball-themed challenge. It's this: "Kill all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

The symbol of the mockingbird is pretty heavy-handed in the book, and that's what makes it great for the 14 year-olds. It screams, "SYMBOL!" and we can all discuss it openly without any argument about whether Lee did that on purpose.

That said, I don't personally want to kill any blue jays. I especially don't want to kill any Toronto Blue Jays. In fact, I personally wish that particular baseball team a great season. Go get 'em, guys! I wish you well!

7 comments:

Indiana Rock on a California Roll said...

Why don't the Blue Jays play baseball in Canada? The whole team is like a SYMBOL of the way crossing over America's northern border is a whole different political animal than crossing over the southern border.

Great 1st post of the challenge- this is gonna be the best #springtrainingblogchallenge the world has ever seen!

mm said...

I do love To Kill a Mockingbird... awesome post!

Jim said...

I'm just hoping the Blue Jays kill the Yankees and Red Sox in the AL East this year. I guess I'm opposite of TKAM. Tell Pronto Pup he should have included me in this challenge. I'm going to try to catch up now and do it anyway.

dw said...

That's the spirit! Go Blue Jays!

Goodwoman said...

I love that book. Maybe I will take it on the plane to Spain and reread it.

LH said...

I wonder what it would feel like to teach this classic novel. Sometimes I wish I had the license to teach the older crowd.

StreibProjects said...

Love that book! My Cubbies hardly ever play the Blue Jays.