1. Historical Background for To Kill a Mockingbird By Harper Lee

2. “ I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Dr. Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King Jr's I have a Dream Speech
(2:17mins):

3. “Jim Crow” Laws
From the 1880s to the 1960s most states enforced segregation through the “Jim Crow” laws named after a black-faced character in minstrel shows.
Through these laws legal punishments could be imposed on people for having contact with members of another race.

4. Jim Crow Guide
A Black male could not offer his hand (to shake hands) with a White male because it implied being socially equal. Obviously, a Black male could not offer his hand or any other part of his body to a White woman, because he risked being accused of rape.
Blacks and Whites were not supposed to eat together. If they did eat together, Whites were to be served first, and some sort of partition was to be placed between them.
Under no circumstance was a Black male to offer to light the cigarette of a White female -- that gesture implied intimacy.
Blacks were not allowed to show public affection toward one another in public, especially kissing, because it offended Whites.
Blacks were introduced to Whites, never Whites to Blacks.
Whites did not use courtesy titles of respect when referring to Blacks, for example, Mr., Mrs., Miss., Sir, or Ma'am. Instead, Blacks were called by their first names or by “boy” or “girl” (regardless of age). Blacks had to use courtesy titles when referring to Whites, and were not allowed to call them by their first names.
If a Black person rode in a car driven by a White person, the Black person sat in the back seat, or the back of a truck.
White motorists had the right-of-way at all intersections.

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

8. After WW1
Even though Blacks had fought bravely for the US in WW1, they returned home from Europe to find the same, if not worse, discrimination and segregation.
The economic struggles of the 1930s seemed only to worsen the situation.

9. Langston Hughes (1902-1967) “Will V-Day Be Me-Day Too?”
…I am a Negro American
Out to defend my land…
I’ve seen my buddy lying
Where he fell.
I’ve watched him dying
I promised him that I would try
To make our land a land
Where his son could be a man –
And there’d be no Jim Crow birds
Left in our sky…
So this is what I want to know:
When we see Victory’s glow,
Will you still let old Jim Crow
hold me back?
…will Dixie Lynch me still
When I return?…

10. The Great Depression (1930s)
The Depression hit the South especially hard
Everyone, seemed to be living in poverty
Americans turned away from the rest of the world and away from each other
During these years of turmoil, discontent started to grow in the minds of Whites and Blacks alike.

11. To kill a Mockingbird
It is in this setting that the novel To Kill a Mockingbird takes place.
In a small town, in the deep South, in the early 1930s

12. Harper Lee (1926-)
To add to the complexity of the story, Harper Lee wrote it during this time of even greater social turbulence in the United States.
In the 1950s the winds of change began to blow and Black Americans were no longer willing to be treated as lesser human beings.

13. Brown vs. Board of Education
In 1954, after 2 years in court, the nation was shocked by a landmark decision to grant Linda Brown, a Black fifth-grader, admission into a white elementary school in Topeka, Kansas.
The decision engendered feelings of triumph and outrage across a country that had lived under the weight of racial segregation and discrimination for over 100 years.

14. The Winds of Change
Soon, average Black citizens across the country began speaking out against oppression and demanding equal rights.
This was the beginning of America’s Civil Rights Movement.

15. Rosa Parks ( )
In 1955, after a long day of work, 42-year-old Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery County bus
This set off peaceful and violent protests throughout the South.

16. Television Changes Everything
By this time, many families had televisions and as images of Southern race riots and violent protests reached into American homes the magnitude of Southern racism began to sink into the American consciousness.
Moreover, the rest of the world began to frown upon America’s treatment of Blacks, and segregation, like slavery, became a national embarrassment for a country who had fought in two world wars as great liberators of the down-trodden masses.

18. Dr. Martin Luther King (1929-1968)
Black Hero-Leaders began to rally together Black Americans in order to fight oppression and for a country where all men were truly treated as equals.
MLK's "I Have a Dream" by Shmoop (3:30mins):

19. 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

20. To Kill a Mockingbird
In the Fall of 1960, in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement, To Kill a Mockingbird was published.
It shot to the top of the New York Times best seller list.
A country was finally ready to listen to the story of segregation and open their minds to the possibility of an America where Whites and Blacks could live together as equals.

21. TKAM - Historical Background
The setting
Maycomb, Georgia
Great Depression
Hitler in power in Germany
to kill a mockingbird by harper lee

22. (The five main settings follow.)
Physical Setting
The physical setting includes:
The region
The climate
The buildings
The size of the location.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, the general physical setting is the South: a small southern Alabama town.
(The five main settings follow.)

23. Five main physical settings…
In and around the Finch house
In and around the Radley house
School grounds
Downtown and around the courthouse and jail
The Robinson house.
These settings relate to themes about
family, superstition and fear, education, justice, and prejudice.

24. Social Setting
The social setting is closely related to, and perhaps a product of, the physical setting.
The social setting is not stated explicitly, but is developed through the novel.
The chief element of the social setting are the:
racial prejudice
the role of women
caste system of Maycomb
*It is important to note occasions when members of different castes meet.
Social setting is tied to themes of:
racial prejudice
boundaries
injustice

25. Historical Background - Race
Slavery was abolished in 1864, but Southerners still believe in white supremacy.
Segregation exists.
Blacks may not sit in the same sections as whites.
They have separate facilities as well.
to kill a mockingbird by harper lee

26. Historical Background - Gender
Gender Bias
Women were the weaker sex.
Education not important for women.
Wealthy women were expected to supervise staff
Men were not seen as nurturing
to kill a mockingbird by harper lee

27. Historical Background Caste System (Poor White Families)
Hard-working
Honest
Proud
Survive on very little
Always pay back their debts – even if it is with hickory nuts, turnips, or holly.
The Cunninghams fit this category
to kill a mockingbird by harper lee

28. Historical Background Caste System (Poor White Trash)
Dirty
Lazy
Good-for-nothing
Never done a day’s work
Foul-mouthed
Dishonest
Immoral
The Ewells fit this category
to kill a mockingbird by harper lee

29. Historical Background The Caste System (Poor Black Families)
The Black Community
Simple
Honest
Clean
Hard-working
God fearing
Proud
Would never take anything with paying it back
Respectful
Had stronger character than most of the whites
Oppressed
Uneducated
Discriminated against
Talked about badly
Deserve better than what is dished out to them by society
to kill a mockingbird by harper lee

30. TKAM - Characters Jean Louise Finch “Scout”
The story’s narrator
Although now an adult, Scout looks back at her childhood and tells of the momentous events and influential people of those years.
Scout is six when the story begins.
She is naturally curious about life.
to kill a mockingbird by harper lee

31. TKAM - Characters Atticus Finch
Father of Scout and Jem
A widower
An attorney by profession
Highly respected
Good citizen
Instills good values and morals in his children.
to kill a mockingbird by harper lee

32. TKAM - Characters Jem Finch
Scout’s older brother
Looks up to his father Atticus
Usually looks out for Scout
Typical older brother at times
Smart
Compassionate
Matures as the story progresses
to kill a mockingbird by harper lee

33. TKAM - Characters Calpurnia
The Finch’s black housekeeper
Has watched the children since their mother’s death
Has been a positive influence on the children.
to kill a mockingbird by harper lee

34. TKAM - Characters Dill A close friend of Jem and Scout
Usually lives in Maycomb only during the summer (stays with a relative)
Tells “big stories”
Has been deprived of love and affection
to kill a mockingbird by harper lee

35. TKAM - Characters Tom Robinson
A young, harmless, innocent, hardworking black man
Has a crippled left hand
Married with three children. Works on a farm belonging to Mr. Link Deas, a white man
to kill a mockingbird by harper lee

36. TKAM - Characters Arthur “Boo” Radley
An enigma
An adult man, whose father has “sentenced” him to a lifetime confinement to their house because of some mischief he got into when he was a teenager.
Has a reputation of being a lunatic
Basically a harmless, well-meaning person
Sometimes childlike in behavior
Starving for love and affection
to kill a mockingbird by harper lee

37. TKAM - Characters Mayella Ewell
The oldest child of Bob Ewell
Shy
Lonely
to kill a mockingbird by harper lee

38. TKAM - Characters Miss Maudie Atkinson
Scout’s Neighbor
Loves gardens and bakes the best cake in Maycomb
Knows how to treat children like adults
to kill a mockingbird by harper lee

39. TKAM - Characters Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose
A mean old woman in the Finch neighborhood
Teaches the children a lesson in bravery
to kill a mockingbird by harper lee

40. TKAM - Characters Aunt Alexandra
Atticus’s sister
Wants Scout to be a lady
Wants Jem to be a gentleman
to kill a mockingbird by harper lee

41. TKAM - Characters Bob Ewell
Mayella’s poor white trash father
The town parasite who lives off the town’s bounty
to kill a mockingbird by harper lee

42. TKAM - Characters Heck Tate
The town sheriff
to kill a mockingbird by harper lee

43. What to Look For in Chapters 1-5
Scout
Jem
Dill
Atticus
Calpurnia
Boo Radley
Walter Cunningham
Rachel
Caroline Fisher
Burris Ewell
Gum
Hot Steam
Molasses
Cootie
Read

44. Videos
Introduction:
Recap:
To Kill A Mockingbird – Setting (1:55mins):
To Kill a Mockingbird Historical Context (14:06mins):

45. The End