Context and Introduction To Kill A Mockingbird Context and Introduction

Author: Harper Lee Born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama 1957 – First submitted her novel for publication; was told to rewrite it Reworked the manuscript for over 2 years 1960 – To Kill a Mockingbird, her first and only novel (until recently!), was published

Book Setting Maycomb, Alabama 1930s Great Depression Prejudice (race, gender, handicaps, rich/poor, age, religion) Segregation (whites from blacks)

Book Narrator First Person Story is told by Scout, a 10-year-old girl Scout represents Harper Lee when she was little, but the book is “not exactly autobiographical”

Main Characters Scout (Jean Louise Finch) – Narrator Jem (Jeremy Finch) – Scout’s older brother Atticus Finch – Jem and Scout’s father, lawyer Boo (Arthur Radley) – Next door neighbor, 33 years old, never comes outside

Main Characters, cont’d Dill (Charles Baker Harris) – Jem and Scout’s friend from out of town; visits his aunt in Maycomb every summer Tom Robinson – Respectable black man, on trial for raping a white woman Calpurnia – The Finch family cook, black woman

1930s Alabama Social Classes

Social Classes, cont’d Although the wealthy were fewest in number, they were the most powerful Examples from the book: - Wealthy – Finches - Town Whites – Cunninghams - Poor Whites – Ewells - Black Community – Tom Robinson

Great Depression 1929 – October, stock market crashed 1930 – Great Depression begins Businesses failed, factories closed Nearly everyone was out of work Even the wealthy suffered because no products could be produced Many people became homeless, forced to “live off the land”

Racial & Legal Context Slavery ended in 1864 65 years later, old ideas were slow to change Racial prejudice was alive and well Segregation (Jim Crow Laws) Women were able to vote starting in 1920 Juries were only MEN and only WHITE “Fair trial” did not include accepting a black man’s word against a white man’s

Gender Context Women were considered to be weak Wealthy women oversaw servants and entertained guests Women not educated for jobs outside the home Men were not considered capable of nurturing children

Keep in Mind While Reading… Setting: When and where the story takes place. 1930s Alabama is different from 2014 Alaska. Context: People acted the way they did because of the world they lived in. Narrator: You are being told this story by a little girl who sees things as a little girl does.