To Kill a Mockingbird By Harper Lee

Information on the Author Harper Lee was born in Monroeville, Alabama in 1926 She died February 19, 2016 TKAM is the only book she ever published It was published in 1960 during the Civil Rights Movement Her father was a lawyer Dill is based on her childhood friend Truman Capote, author of In Cold Blood

TKAM was made into major film starring Gregory Peck in 1961 Peck won an Oscar for his portrayal of Atticus Finch TKAM was banned by Virginia’s Hanover County School Board in 1966 because it deals with the subject of rape Lee defended her book as espousing a Christian ethic and an honorable code of conduct and questioned whether the School Board members were illiterate

The Characters Narrator: Scout Finch, daughter of a lawyer Jem: Scout’s older brother Atticus: Scout and Jem’s father Calpurnia: The Finch’s African American cook, who is also a mother-figure to the kids Boo Radley: A neighbor whom the children fear Dill Harris: Playmate of Jem and Scout who comes to Maycomb every summer

More Major Characters Miss Maudie: nice neighbor across the street Mrs. Dubose: mean neighbor down the street Tom Robinson: an African American man accused of raping a white woman Bob Ewell: drunken father of the alleged rape victim Mayella Ewell: accuses Tom Robinson of rape

The Setting Setting: Small town, Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930’s, during the Great Depression Social Setting: Racial and gender prejudice, caste system Historical background: – Jim Crow segregation laws: separate facilities for white and “colored” – Great Depression: Stock Market crash of 1929 put nearly 15 million people out of work – Herbert Hoover, president at the time of the crash and the first years of the Depression – Franklin D. Roosevelt, elected president during the worst part of the Depression

Themes Justice is not blind. Democracy does not apply to all people. It is wrong to prejudge or stereotype people. Growing up includes painful lessons. There are consequences to going against popular opinion. What does it mean to be a good parent? Superstitions stem from ignorance.

Scottsboro Trials Many parallels between the trial of Tom Robinson and one of the most notorious series of trials in the nation’s history On March 25, 1931, a freight train was stopped in Paint Rock, Alabama, and nine young African American men who had been riding were arrested Two white women – one underage – accused the men of raping them on the train

Within a month, the first man was found guilty and sentenced to death. Then there were a series of trials condemning the other men solely on the testimony of the older woman, a known prostitute, who was attempting to avoid prosecution under the Mann Act, prohibiting taking a minor across state lines for immoral purposes (prostitution) Although none of the accused were executed, a number remained on death row for many years The case was not settled until 1976

Parallels between Scottsboro & Tom Robinson Trials Both took place in 1930’s Both took place in Alabama Both began with a charge of rape made by a white woman Both the accusers were of poor white status Both had a judge or lawyer who went against public sentiment trying to protect the rights of the African American defendants Both juries ignore evidence Both had attitudes about Southern women and poor whites which complicated the trials

Book written during Civil Rights Era Alabama was very much in the news – the Montgomery bus boycott – Martin Luther King’s rise to leadership – Autherine Lucy’s attempt to enter the University of Alabama graduate school – Novel shot to the top of New York Times Best Seller List – made a remarkable impact on a divided nation

What was going on in the Civil Rights Movement that led up to the book’s publication 1954 – Brown vs. Board of Education – Supreme Court rules that racial segregation in public school is inherently unequal and, therefore, illegal 1955 – Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery city bus, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott Emmett Till, a young African American man, is murdered while visiting the South

1956 – Autherine Lucy receives a letter granting permission to enroll for classes at the University of Alabama 1956 – Home of Martin Luther King, Jr. is bombed 1956 – Warrants issued for arrest of 115 leaders of Montgomery Bus Boycott Supreme Court decides in favor of bus boycotters 1957 – Federal troops sent to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce court-ordered desegregation of schools

1960 – Publication of To Kill a Mockingbird in fall 1960 – Greensboro, North Carolina, attempt to integrate lunch counters is thwarted 1961 – Charlayne Hunter enters U. of Georgia through lines of jeering white protesters 1961 – Freedom Riders begin arriving in the deep South to test desegregation. Violence necessitates the deployment of federal troops – Violence erupts at U. of Mississippi over integration 1961 – To Kill a Mockingbird, the movie, is released and receives 5 Academy Awards