Comments by "XSportSeeker" (@XSpImmaLion) on "The real reason To Kill A Mockingbird became so famous" video.

  1. Eh... perhaps Penguim books contributed to part of it's success, but the argument simply doesn't hold water by itself. There are some key factors in To Kill a Mocking Bird that several literary staples and cases of explosive success and endurance also usually have: A somewhat subversive style for the time. As in, uncommon type of literature that took some by surprise. Also subversive ideas. Exploration of taboo and controversial themes. Usually a fresh take on a theme. Portrait of a given era that people might not be quite familiar with - microcosm exploration. Closeness to the authors' own raw, potential scandalous stories, sometimes drawing controversies after publication, sometimes not so much. Simple writting, easy to follow, easy to understand. A somewhat realistic style, often coming with a bit of grittiness to it. Not following a mainstream or conventional structure - monomyth, clear moral lessons, etc. (optional) Realistic and raw coming of age story, reality crash, or a complete change of perspective and opinion. Critical reasoning put to test. The common people in extraordinary circunstances thing. All of those might be realized right after publication, up to years after the author has already died... matter of perception of the time it exploded in popularity. A whole bunch of literary classics follow some of these, when not all of these. Kerouac's On the Road, Sallinger's Catcher in the Rye, Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Palahniuk's Fight Club, Capote's In Cold Blood... to name a few. See that I'm not criticising the works for following a certain structure nor trying to diminish the works because they have common characteristics... rather, I love them all and think they deserve the success.
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