To Kill a Mockingbird An introduction

Nell Harper lee Born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama Died on February 19th, 2016 http://www.famousauthors.org/harper-lee

Biography Her parents names were Amasa and Francis Finch Lee Her father was a lawyer She was a tom boy and stood up for herself and others (including her best friend, Truman)

Biography Studied at Huntington College in Montgomery For one year, she studied at Oxford University as a Fullbright Scholar (an American scholarship program for international exchanges) Studied law at the University of Alabama from 1945-1949, but withdrew from the program, never completing her law degree Moved to New York City in 1950 and worked as an airline clerk until she quit to pursue writing as a career

TKAM TKAM was written in 1959, but was first published in 1960 Originally intended to be a series of short stories, but she rewrote the story into a novel Not just a coming-of-age story (a story that focuses on the development of the protagonist from youth to adulthood), but a story with the purpose of gaining justice and equality for African Americans Lee won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 for her first novel Voted best novel of the century in 1999 http://www.biography.com/people/harper-lee-9377021#synopsis

Controversy In 2015, Lee’s novel Go Set a Watchman was published The manuscript for this novel was found years after it was written, and it is unclear if Lee wanted to publish the novel Some concern that family members made the decision for her

The declaration of independence Equality? The declaration of independence

The declaration of independence march 4th, 1776 “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Retrieved from: http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=40, 13 May 2015.

Slavery and its origins http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/slavery

Social and racial inequality the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 freed slaves and the 13th Amendment to the American constitution in 1865 formally abolished (put an end to) slavery but, it wasn’t until 1868 and a subsequent amendment to the constitution (14th) that all people born in the US were granted citizenship

Abolition of slavery: Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 Jan. 31, 1865: 13th Amendment to the US Constitution: Abolition of Slavery Excerpt: Initially, the Civil War between North and South was fought by the North to prevent the secession [withdrawal from the union] of the Southern states and preserve the Union. Even though sectional conflicts over slavery had been a major cause of the war, ending slavery was not a goal of the war. That changed on September 22, 1862, when President Lincoln issued his Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which stated that slaves in those states or parts of states still in rebellion as of January 1, 1863, would be declared free. One hundred days later, with the rebellion unabated, President issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious areas “are, and henceforward shall be free.” Retrieved from: http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=40, 13 May 2015.

Separate, but equal 1896: Ferguson Supreme Court decision would give African Americans equal rights, but they would be kept separate from white Americans, such as schools being either black schools or white schools 1954: Supreme Court banned “separate, but equal” approach to public education However, people continued to have racist beliefs and act in a discriminatory way against African Americans

Civil rights movements 1955: Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white woman Many protests and the Civil Rights movement followed (1954-1968) The March on Washington Civil Rights Protest took place on August 28th, 1963 and included Martin Luther King, Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech

Martin luther king jr. “I Have a Dream” ..\..\..\..\Videos\Martin Luther King - I Have a Dream on August 28, 1963 [Sous-titres & Subtitles] [FULL SPEECH].mp4

See Scottsboro case… To be continued…

Epigraph A quote that precedes a book, chapter, or a poem The purpose is to suggest something about the theme or atmosphere “Lawyers, I suppose, were children once.” ~ Charles Lamb

Epigraph’s meaning? What do you think the epigraph means? Discuss in your groups. Choose a presenter to share the results of your discussion.

In medias res TKAM starts “in medias res” or in the middle of things The story begins with Scout speaking as an adult, introducing the story Scout’s perspective as a child narrates the events that lead up to her older brother, Jem, breaking his arm The story is told using present tense which creates