To Kill a Mockingbird English II – Mr. Rogers

To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in The plot and characters are loosely based on the author's observations of her family and neighbors, as well as on an event that occurred near her hometown in 1936, when she was 10 years old. Lee has said that To Kill a Mockingbird is not an autobiography, but rather an example of how an author "should write about what he knows and write truthfully" Harper Lee, 1960

Harper Lee Born in 1926, Harper Lee grew up in the Southern town of Monroeville, Alabama, where she became close friends with soon-to-be famous writer Truman Capote. She attended Huntingdon College in Montgomery (1944–45), and then studied law at the University of Alabama (1945–49). Capote and Lee

Harper Lee While attending college, she wrote for campus literary magazines: Huntress at Huntingdon and the humor magazine Rammer Jammer at the University of Alabama. At both colleges, she wrote short stories and other works about racial injustice, a rarely mentioned topic on such campuses at the time. Hoping to be published, Lee presented her writing in 1957 to a literary agent recommended by Capote. Donations from friends allowed her to write uninterrupted for a year.

Setting The story takes place during three years (1933–35) of the Great Depression in the fictional "tired old town" of Maycomb, Alabama, the seat of Maycomb County.

Characters: Scout Finch Jean Louise "Scout" Finch is the narrator and protagonist of To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel is written from the point of view of an adult Scout describing how she viewed the events of the novel as a child, and she often comments about how she didn't understand something at the time, but now, having grown up, she does.

Characters: Scout Finch Scout is considered smart for her age and loves to read. She matures from age 6 to age 8 as the novel progresses but remains naive and idealistic, despite an increased understanding of human nature and racism in her town.

Characters: Jem Finch Jeremy "Jem" Finch is Atticus' son and Scout's older brother by four years. Jem matures greatly through the course of the novel, and is much more affected by the events than his sister is, due to having a greater understanding of them.

Characters: Atticus Finch Atticus Finch is a well-known Maycomb attorney as well as the father of the book's protagonist, Scout, and her brother Jem. He is a wise and caring father. Atticus is nearly fifty. Atticus demonstrates great character throughout the book and strives to set a good example for his children, teaching Jem and Scout to treat everyone equally.

Characters: Dill Harris Charles Baker "Dill" Harris is Jem and Scout's best friend who visits Maycomb every summer from Meridian, Mississippi, and stays with his aunt Rachel. Unlike Scout and Jem, Dill lacks the security of family love. He is unwanted and unloved by his mother and stepfather: "They do get on a lot better without me, I cannot help them any."

Characters: Dill Harris Lee modeled the character of Dill on her childhood friend, Truman Capote, known then as Truman Persons. Like Dill, Capote had an impressive imagination and a gift for fascinating stories. Both Lee and Capote were atypical children: both loved to read. Dill and Truman Capote

Characters: Dill Harris They became good friends when both felt alienated from their peers; Capote called the two of them "apart people". In 1960, Capote and Lee traveled to Kansas together to investigate the multiple murders that were the basis for Capote's nonfiction novel In Cold Blood.

Characters: Boo Radley Arthur "Boo" Radley is a mysterious character in To Kill a Mockingbird who slowly reveals himself throughout the novel. Maycomb children believe he is a horrible person, due to the rumors spread about him and a trial he underwent as a teenager.

Characters: Miss Maudie Atkinson Miss Maude "Maudie" Atkinson lives across the street from the Finch family. Miss Maudie befriends Scout and Jem and tells them stories about Atticus as a boy. Sheis one of the few adults that Jem and Scout hold in high regard and respect. She does not act condescendingly towards them, even though they are young children.

Characters: Bob Ewell Robert E. Lee "Bob" Ewell is the main antagonist of To Kill a Mockingbird. He has a daughter named Mayella, and a younger son named Burris, as well as six other unnamed children. He is an alcoholic, poaching game to feed his family because he spends whatever money they legally gain via government "relief checks" on alcohol.

Themes A Bildungsroman Racial injustice The destruction of innocence. Class, courage, compassion Gender roles