To Kill a Mockingbird Introductory Notes

Harper Lee, Author Born April 28, 1926 Only wrote one novel

Similarities to Scout Father was a lawyer Same age as Scout Product of “The Old South” Descendant of General Lee

Point of View 1st person A grown Scout narrates events from three years of her childhood ( )

Setting Maycomb, Alabama (fictional) Lee based Maycomb upon her hometown, Monroeville, Alabama

Major Themes 1. Need for compassion for those who are different. 2. Need for a human dignity/conscience

Secondary Themes 1. Need for tolerance - necessary in development of conscience and compassion 2. Rite of passage - Scout’s (and Jem’s) maturation

Secondary Themes 3. True courage 4. Prejudice 5. Discrimination

Characters Scout - protagonist; narrator; Atticus’s daughter Jem - Scout’s brother; protagonist Dill - contrasting character to Scout and Jem, he points out things to Scout and Jem which they had “never” before seen.

Characters Atticus - example of goodness of mankind - ideally what man should be Calpurnia - “mother,” teacher, guide

Characters Miss Maudie - characterizes others in conversations with Scout. Also, Scout learns valuable lessons about life through Miss Maudie’s example and conversations with her.

Characters Boo Radley - town recluse;victim Miss Stephanie - local gossip Aunt Alexandra - contrast to Atticus Tom Robinson - black man on trial; victim

Characters Cunningham’s - poor, white, ignorance, pride Ewell - poor white “trash” - thriving element of Southern population

Characters Mr. Dolphus Raymond - victim? Mrs. Dubose - “rite of passage” for Jem - example of theme of “true courage”

SETTING OF THE NOVEL Southern United States 1930s Great Depression Prejudice and legal segregation Ignorance

1930s - Great Depression began when the stock market crashed in October, 1929 Businesses failed, factories closed People were out of work Even people with money suffered because nothing was being produced for sale. Poor people lost their homes, were forced to “live off the land.”

Racial prejudice was alive & well. Although slavery had ended in 1864, old ideas were slow to change.

Photos of Segregation

“ White trash ” Poor, uneducated white people who lived on “relief “ lowest social class, even below the poor blacks prejudiced against black people felt the need to “put down” blacks in order to elevate themselves

Legal Issues of the 1930s which impact the story Women given the vote in 1920 Juries were MALE and WHITE “Fair trial” did not include acceptance of a black man’s word against a white man’s

Prejudice in the novel Race Gender Handicaps Rich/Poor Age Religion

“Harper Lee’s masterpiece, my favorite novel of all time, traces one lawyer’s effort to defend a wrongly accused black man without sacrificing the innocence of his children. “ - Oprah Winfrey