Take out a scrap sheet of paper Before We Start Historical Background Quiz Answer the following question on your scrap sheet of paper This will be worth 5 points What is the difference between ID: 716937
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Slide1
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper LeeSlide2
Take out a scrap sheet of paper!
Before We Start…Slide3
Historical Background Quiz
Answer the following question on your scrap sheet of paper. This will be worth 5 points.
What is the difference between
de facto segregation
and
de jure segregation
? Who or what instituted
de jure segregation
?Slide4
Harper LeeSlide5
Author Biography
Nellie Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, AL.
She was the youngest of four children.
She attended Huntingdon College, and then earned a degree in law from the University of Alabama in 1949.Slide6
Author Biography
Harper Lee also spent a year studying at Oxford University in England.
She worked as a clerk with an airline company in New York City, but later quit to focus her efforts on writing.
She first submitted a manuscript of
To Kill a Mockingbird
in 1957, but was asked to rewrite the story – it was too incoherent.Slide7
Author Biography
In 1960,
To Kill a Mockingbird
was published.
It is Lee’s only published novel, though it has won much critical acclaim.
Lee was named by President Johnson to the National Council of Arts in 1966, and also received many honorary doctoral degrees from various universities.
Lee also won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961.Slide8
Author Biography
In 1999,
To Kill a Mockingbird
was voted “Best Novel of the Century” by a poll in the publication
Library Journal
.
Lee rarely grants interviews, and has only written a few short essays that have been published since
To Kill a Mockingbird
.Slide9
A Banned Book
To Kill a Mockingbird
has been challenged in many school systems and banned in some.
In 1977, the novel was banned from some schools due to the words “damn” and “whore lady” being used.
In 1980, New York schools banned the novel due to it being a “filthy, trashy novel.”Slide10
Some Interesting Facts
Harper Lee is a descendent of the famous Confederate war general Robert E. Lee.
She was also good friends with fellow author Truman Capote, who wrote
In Cold Blood
with the assistance of Lee. He actually dedicated the novel to her as well as his friend Jack
Dunphy
.
Lee based the character “Dill” on Truman.Slide11
About the Novel
To Kill a Mockingbird
is set in the fictional city of Macomb, Alabama in the 1930s, when segregation and discrimination were at a peak.
Atticus Finch, an attorney, and his two children, Jean “Scout” (his daughter) and Jeremy “Jem” (his son) are the primary characters of the novel.Slide12
About the Novel
Atticus is dedicated to defending people, no matter what color their skin is.
He has been called upon to defend a black man who has been accused of raping a white woman.
Atticus is sure he will lose, but still dedicates himself to defending Tom Robinson (the man accused of rape).Slide13
Bildungsroman
To Kill a Mockingbird
is a bildungsroman.
A
bildungsroman
is a “coming-of-age” novel, where we see characters developing and coming to grips with reality.
It is also a social novel.Slide14
Setting
To Kill a Mockingbird
is told from the perspective of “Scout,” daughter of Atticus Finch. It is in first-person and is reflective.
The story is set in the fictional city of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression.
There are undertones of racism and prejudice throughout the story, as the Civil Rights Movement is being initiated throughout the States.Slide15
To Kill a Mockingbird
CharactersSlide16
Jean “Scout” Finch
Jean Louise “Scout” Finch is the daughter of attorney Atticus Finch.
She is Jem’s sister, the niece of Alexandra and Jack, and best friends with Dill.
Scout is the narrator of the story.
She is six years old at the beginning of the story.
She is very intelligent and loves reading, but she is also headstrong, outspoken, and a bit of a tomboy.Slide17
Jeremy “Jem” Finch
Jeremy Atticus “Jem” Finch is Scout’s older brother and son of Atticus Finch.
Jem is four years older than his sister Scout, and therefore has a different perspective on the events of Maycomb in comparison to her.
Jem is intelligent and adventurous, and like his father, stands for justice and morality.Slide18
Atticus Finch
Atticus Finch is Scout and Jem’s father, and brother to Alexandra and Jack.
He is a distinguished lawyer in Maycomb who believes in moral integrity and stands up against the inherent racism of the city.
He is asked to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who has been accused of raping the daughter of Bob
Ewell
.
Atticus tries to teach his children that all people have a right to human dignity and respect.Slide19
Arthur “Boo” Radley
Arthur “Boo”
Radley
is a man who never sets foot from his house.
Because of this, he becomes a person of fascination and terror many Maycomb residents.
Rumors are spread about Boo, saying that he stabbed his father, eats cats, and haunts the neighborhood at night.
In reality, he is much different from the rumors.Slide20
Calpurnia
Calpurnia is the black cook that works for the Finches.
She helped to raise Scout and Jem, and is respected as a member of the Finch family.
She is strict but loving, and because of this, Scout often resents her many rules and restrictions.
She is kind, intelligent, and strong.Slide21
Charles “Dill” Harris
Charles Baker “Dill” Harris is Jem and Scout’s friend who visits Maycomb each summer from his home in Meridian, Alabama.
Dill is very imaginative and sensitive, skill which he often uses to hide his loneliness and pain.
Dill is obsessed with Boo
Radley
.Slide22
Other Characters
Miss
Maudie
Atkinson
is a widowed neighbor of the Finches and a childhood friend of Atticus, Alexandra, and Jack.
Aunt Alexandra
is Atticus and Jack’s sister and Scout and Jem’s aunt. She believes that social class and gender roles are important.
Tom Robinson
is a black man accused of raping the daughter of Bob
Ewell
. He is a family man, father, and churchgoer.Slide23
Other Characters
Bob
Ewell
is
Mayella’s
father and the patriarch of the
Ewell
family who live in an old cabin near the town dump. He is an awful man who spends his money on alcohol while his children go hungry.
Mayella
Ewell
is Bob
Ewell’s
daughter and oldest child. She is lonely and has no friends, and is the only woman in her family. She accuses Tom Robinson of raping her.Slide24
Other Characters
Uncle Jack
is Atticus and Alexandra’s younger brother and Scout and Jem’s uncle.
Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose
is an old woman and neighbor of the Finches. She is an old, bitter, racist woman, but not without a good side.
Nathan
Radley
is Boo
Radley’s
older brother. He runs the
Radley
household and is very religious.Slide25
Other Characters
Heck Tate
is the sheriff of Maycomb.
Link
Deas
is the employer of Tom Robinson.
Mr. Underwood
is the writer, editor, and publisher of
Maycomb’s
newspaper.
Mr.
Dolphus
Raymond
is a wealthy white man who lives outside town with a black mistress and interracial children.
Mr. Cunningham
is one of the poor Cunningham farmers and father of Walter.Slide26
Other Characters
Walter Cunningham
is Scout’s classmate and son of Mr. Cunningham.
Miss Rachel Haverford
is Dill’s aunt and one of the Finches’ neighbors.
Mrs. Grace
Merriweather
is a member of Aunt Alexandra’s social circle in Maycomb.
Miss Stephanie Crawford
is a neighbor of the Finches and a big gossip.
Mr. Avery
is another of the Finches’ neighbors.Slide27
Other Characters
Cecil Jacobs
is one of Scout’s classmates.
Judge Taylor
is the judge during Tom Robinson’s trial.
Mr. Gilmer
is the prosecutor during Tom Robinson’s trial.
Miss Caroline
is Scout’s first grade teacher.
Miss Gates
is Scout’s third grade teacher.
Reverend Sykes
is the reverend at Calpurnia’s church.Slide28
Other Characters
Lula
is a member of the congregation at Calpurnia’s church.
Burris
Ewell
is one of Bob
Ewell’s
sons.
Simon Finch
is the first member of the Finch family to come to America.Slide29
Themes
The following are themes that we will discuss throughout the reading of
To Kill a Mockingbird
:
Social Justice and Human Dignity
Prejudice and Racism
Growing Up and the Coming of Age (Bildungsroman)
Courage in the Face of Adversity
Life in the South (Pre-Civil Rights Movement)Slide30
So what does a mockingbird have to do with this story?
Symbols