1. Introduction and Novel Guide
To Kill a Mockingbird
Introduction and Novel Guide

2. Summary
Sparknotes (-4:50)
Scout, a young girl, narrates the story which takes place in 1930’s in the south.
A black man, Tom, is accused of raping a white woman.
Scout’s father, Mr. Finch, is the best lawyer in town.

3. Summary
Sparknotes (-4:50)
Mr. Finch told to defend Tom even though most people think he is guilty just because he is black.
Scout and her brother face a lot of trouble from people in the town who are mad at her father.
The trials finishes and everyone has to live with the results.

4. Atticus Finch Protagonist 50 years old Lawyer Quiet, smart, dignified
Father to Scout and Jem
Widowed
Expert marksman

5. Scout (Jean Louise Finch)
Protagonist
Narrator (looking back as an adult)
Tomboy
Younger sister of Jem; daughter to Atticus
6 years old
Wild

6. Jem (Jeremy Finch) 10 years old Older brother to Scout, son to Atticus
Smart, brave, strong
Best friend to Dill

7. Cal (Calpurnia) Black housekeeper, cook, and nanny to Finch family
Like a mother to Scout and Jem

8. Dill (Charles Baker Harris)
10 years old
Friend to Jem and Scout
Comes in the summers

9. Arthur “Boo” Radley Got into trouble as a teen
Outcast from the town – subject of gossip
Kept in his house by his parents
Quiet, secretive
Kind, generous, brave

10. Miss Maudie Atkinson 40-ish Unmarried Kind neighbor to Finch family
Not prejudiced (unusual at the time)

11. Tom Robinson 25 years old Black man, worker
Accused of raping Mayella (innocent)
Married to Helen, three kids
Very kind
Right handed (important in trial)

12. Bob Ewell Antagonist Mayella’s father (has 7 other kids)
Very poor; a drunk; lazy;
inappropriate with his daughter; violent
Accuses Tom

13. Mayella Violet Ewell 20-ish daughter of Bob Ewell
Cares for her 7 brothers/sisters
Tries to seduce Tom but father finds out;
accuses Tom of rape
Poor; weak; liar

14. Aunt Alexandra Hancock
Sister to Atticus
Doesn’t like that Calpurnia has so much
to do with raising the kids (doesn’t agree with her)
Doesn’t like that Scout is a tomboy

15. Uncle Jack (John) Finch
Younger brother to Atticus
Loves Scout and Jem very much

16. Judge John Taylor Tells Atticus he must defend Tom
Knows that this is a hopeless case
because of how racist the town is

17. The Cunninghams VERY poor family in town
Walter (the father) wants to lynch Tom – changes thanks to Scout
Walter Jr. (the son) is a classmate of Scout; can’t afford to eat lunch; Scout is kind to him

18. Setting Maycomb, Alabama (fictional) 1930s
Racial divide between whites and blacks

27. The Great Depression Stock Market crashed in 1929
Most people lost everything
Huge job losses
1933: million Americans unemployed
Bread lines, soup kitchens, homeless people
Farmers couldn’t afford to harvest so crops spoiled
Banks closed, more money lost

28. The Great Depression, cont.
Things started to improve because of President Roosevelt’s policies
2nd big problem in 1937
Began improving again
1939: WW1 starts
1941: US in WW1

34. The book 1961: Pulitzer Prize 88 weeks on bestseller list
Sold over 30 million copies

35. Harper Lee Born 1926 in Alabama
Father was an attorney (defended 2 black men on murder charges – convicted and hanged)
Only book (until Go Set a Watchman in 2015)
Very private about her life
Liked the film a lot and became close friends with Gregory Peck
2007: Harper Lee was awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom

36. Before reading…
Shmoop (-3:10)

37.
Greatest-Novel-Of-All-Time.html