To Kill a Mockingbird Background Notes

Author – Harper Lee Born in 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama, a small city w/ a population of about 7,000 people (the fictional Maycomb, Alabama) Her own childhood reflects that of the character “Scout” Her father “Amasa” was a lawyer whom she deeply admired Her mother’s maiden name was “Finch” Character Dill is based off childhood friend Character Mrs. Dubose is based off mother’s mannerisms Went to law school Moved to New York and worked at an airline company to finance writing career In 1960 she published her only novel – “To Kill a Mockingbird” Since 1960, “To Kill a Mockingbird” has never been out of print At age 88, she is still alive and has moved back to her childhood town She rarely makes public appearances or gives interviews

Setting of TKAM Maycomb, Alabama (fictional city) Small Southern town Slow to change Summer of 1933- end of Halloween 1935 Great Depression Before WWII / when Hitler was elected to power Prejudice and legal segregation Although slavery was abolished in 1865, African Americans were still denied many rights Southerners in Maycomb continue to believe in white supremacy. Segregation exists in schools, public bathrooms, busses and many other public places

Point of View 1st person Told through the eyes of 6 year old girl What is important about a 1st person narrator? Sometimes the language of Scout will be that of her as a child; other times, she will be speaking in the voice of an adult Although the characters of the book harbor a lot of prejudice, Lee uses certain characters to express her point of view Atticus Mr. Raymond

Main Characters Scout (Jean Louise Finch) – 6 year old narrator of the story Jem (Jeremy Finch) – Scout’s older brother Atticus Finch – Jem and Scout’s father, a prominent and respected lawyer who defends a black man accused of raping a white woman Arthur Radley (Boo) – a 33 year old recluse who lives next door Charles Baker Harris (Dill) – Jem and Scout’s friend who comes to visit his aunt in Maycomb every summer Tom Robinson – a respectable black man accused of raping a white woman Calpurnia – the Finches’ cook

1930’s History – Great Depression Result of the stock market crashed in 1929 Crashed because people borrowed loans on margin to buy stock ON MARGIN =only need to invest 10% of loan Could borrow $10,000 if you had $1000 USING MONEY YOU DON’T HAVE! Investors speculated that stock prices would keep increasing but they didn’t MARGIN CALL– bank could call back full amount When stock values began dropping, investors panicked and started selling their stock to pay back their loan BANK RUN – everyone tried to get their money back at the same time At the same time, the average citizen was pulling their savings out in cash from banks Couldn’t pay back average citizen because they citizens’ savings to give out loans Banks collapse / Go out of business Ended in 1939 due to WWII

1930’s History – Great Depression

Prejudice in TKM Racial Prejudice Gender Roles Social Snobbery Ageism Handicaps Religion

Sexism / Gender Bias Women were considered weak. Women were not educated for occupations outside of the home Groomed to be wives and mothers Men not considered capable of nurturing children Women won the right to vote in 1920 Were still not allowed to serve on juries in legal cases

KKK After the Civil War, The Ku Klux Klan was formed as a secret society that promoted white supremacy using violence and terrorism against African Americans However, after the 1920s the KKK was no longer secretive about their work and public violence against Blacks, including lynching, became common occurrences.

Jim Crow Laws From the 1880s to the 1960s most states enforced segregation through the “Jim Crow” laws The idea was “separate but equal” laws requiring the separation of whites from “persons of color” in public transportation and schools Through these laws, legal punishments for having contact with members of another race.

Civil Rights Movement Civil Rights Movement – 1954 -1968 In 1954, after 2 years in court, the nation was shocked by a decision in Brown vs. Board of Education to grant Linda Brown, a Black fifth-grader, admission into a white elementary school in Topeka, Kansas. “separate but equal” idea struck down In the Fall of 1960, in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement, To Kill a Mockingbird was published.

Desegregation A national and international call for desegregation of the South rang out and Blacks and Whites all over the country started putting pressure on governments to amend the segregation laws. Those individuals, both Black and White, who fought for Civil Rights were under constant attack from White Supremacists who were unwilling to accept Black Americans as equals Many freedom-fighters died for their efforts

Language in TKM Atticus uses formal speech Calpurnia uses “white language” in the Finch house and switches to “black jargon” when amidst blacks The Ewells use foul words and obscenities Jem, Scout, and Dill will use slang words, typical of their age. Tom Robinson uses language typical of the southern black such as “suh” fr “sir” and “chillun” for “children” Various derogatory terms for blacks will be used such as “nigger,” “darky,” “Negroes,” and “colored folk” – Lee uses such language to keep her novel naturally in sync with common language of the times Connotation vs. denotation Although, it is shocking and offensive to us today, why is it important that these offensive words are used in the novel?