Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy… That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.

To Kill A Mockingbird –Author Born Life Harper Lee 1926 Grew up in Alabama Lived in New York for a Period of Time After success of To Kill a Mockingbird became somewhat of a recluse avoiding interviews and only writing sporadically

To Kill A Mockingbird –Response Critics Sales Mixed reviews upon release Enormous success with general population Has sold over 15 million copies One of the most popular stories read at the high school level

To Kill a Mockingbird –Movie Version –Other Awards Starred Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch Academy Award- winning film Won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961

To Kill a Mockingbird –Background Information Probably at least partly based on Lees own experiences growing up in Alabama During Lees youth she witnessed the famous Scottsboro Trial –In the trial black men were accused of raping 2 white women and were unfairly sentenced –The result of the Scottsboro trial is largely thought to be inspiration for Lees novel

Literary Focus –Published –Genre –Setting (PLACE) 1960 Social Protest; courtroom drama Maycomb, Alabama –Slow and old- fashioned; slightly backwards; still has very strong racist elements

Literary Focus –Setting (TIME) –Point of View Maycomb is struggling mightily through the Great Depression Scout Finchs 1 st Person Point of View –Told from the Point of View of Scout as an adult reflecting back on her childhood experiences and growth

Overview Scout Finch is the narrator of the story and opens the novel as an adult woman reflecting back on key events in her childhood. The novel covers a two-year period during Scouts youth and focuses on her maturation from an innocent child to someone who witnesses both the good and evil of mans nature She lives with her father, Atticus, a widowed lawyer, and her older brother, Jem

Overview –Part I: The Reclusive Boo Radley –Part II: The Trial of Tom Robinson The novel is divided into two primary sections: –Part I: The focus is on the Scout and Jems fascination with a reclusive neighbor named Boo Radley. –Scout, Jem and a close friend, Dill, develop a strange relationship with Boo over the course of the novel –Part II: The focus is on the trial of Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping a white woman. Scouts father, Atticus, defends Tom. The family must deal with the racial repercussions that follow.

Themes and ConflictsRacism Unfair Judgment Social Structures Sympathy and Understanding Moral Nature of Man Childhood Innocence Human Capacity for Goodness versus Human Capacity for Evil Moral Education versus Academic Education

Literary Focus –Symbols Mockingbirds Symbolize the innocence and kind nature of many individuals Mockingbirds dont do one thing but…sing their hearts out for us. Thats why its a sin to kill a mockingbird. A large majority of the novel focuses on the sin of injuring those individuals who who are innocent and mockingbirds. Some of these mockingbirds include both Boo Bradley and Tom Robinson

Characters –Scout Finch Narrator and protagonist Intelligent and tough; tomboy Loses some of her innocence throughout the novel and sees that all men are not necessarily good

Atticus FinchScout and Jems father Widowed Respected lawyer, who has a strong beliefs connect to morality and justice

Jem Finch Scouts brother 4 years older than Scout and grows away from her imaginative games as the novel progresses Guards Scout and is protective of her

Dill Harris Loosely based on the famous writer Truman Capote Summer friend to Jem and Scout Confident and imaginative

Boo Radley Reclusive neighbor of Jem and Scout Product of an abusive childhood and family Symbolically a mockingbirdan innocent torn down by the unkind acts of others

Tom Robinson A black man accused of raping a white woman Toms generous nature and responsibility stand in sharp contrast to the lies and irresponsibility of the people who have accused him of breaking the law