1. “To Kill a Mockingbird”
An Introduction to
“To Kill a Mockingbird”
By Harper Lee

2. Write three words that express what you are thinking as you view these pictures.

3. SETTING OF THE NOVEL Southern United States 1930’s Great Depression
Prejudice and legal segregation
Ignorance

4. Setting Maycomb, Alabama (fictional city) 1933-1935
Although slavery has long been abolished, the Southerners in Maycomb continue to believe in white supremacy.

5. Visual Time Line Open your notebook and draw a “timeline” from a vertical perspective.
Andrew Jackson ?
Civil War

6. The Author born in 1926 died 2016 Nelle Harper Lee
She is the youngest of four children of Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Finch Lee.
Harper Lee attended Huntingdon College , studied law at University of Alabama , and studied one year at Oxford University. In the 1950s she worked as a reservation clerk with Eastern Air Lines and BOAC in New York City.
In 1957 Miss Lee submitted the manuscript of her novel to the J. B. Lippincott Company. She was told that her novel consisted of a series of short stories strung together, and she was urged to re-write it. For the next two and a half years she re-worked the manuscript with the help of her editor, Tay Hohoff, and in 1960 To Kill a Mockingbird was published, her only published book.
born in 1926
died 2016

7. Author’s place of birth: Monroeville, Alabama --population 7,000
Monroeville Alabama, a city of about 7,000 people in Monroe County, which has about 24,000 people. Monroeville is in southwest Alabama, about halfway between Montgomery and Mobile.
She is the youngest of four children of Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Finch Lee. Harper Lee attended Huntingdon College , studied law at University of Alabama , and studied one year at Oxford University. In the 1950s she worked as a reservation clerk with Eastern Air Lines and BOAC in New York City.
In order to concentrate on writing Harper Lee gave up her position with the airline and moved into a cold-water apartment with makeshift furniture. Her father's sudden illness forced her to divide her time between New York and Monroeville, a practice she has continued.
In 1957 Miss Lee submitted the manuscript of her novel to the J. B. Lippincott Company. She was told that her novel consisted of a series of short stories strung together, and she was urged to re-write it. For the next two and a half years she re-worked the manuscript with the help of her editor, Tay Hohoff, and in 1960 To Kill a Mockingbird was published, her only published book.
Author’s place of birth: Monroeville, Alabama --population 7,000

8. Population of Cave Creek/Carefree
9,200

9. Crash of the Stock Market, 1929

10. 1930’s - Great Depression began when the stock market crashed in October, 1929
Businesses failed, factories closed
People were out of work
Even people with money suffered because nothing was being produced for sale.
Poor people lost their homes, were forced to “live off the land.”

11. Great Depression
Pictures of bread lines, like this one, are among the most enduring and poignant images of the Great Depression.
During the Great Depression, thousands of people relied on charitable organizations for meals and would line up for simple meals often of bread and soup.

12. What is a Depression ?
An economy with high unemployment, falling income, failing business, and declines in production and sales.
In other words…a “broken” economy that needs to be fixed!

13. The Current U.S. Economy
Americans have been living beyond their means, buying too often on credit
Foreign competition, a decrease in the production of goods, and corporate bailouts have led to economic problems in the U.S.
This led to high unemployment, rising prices, and inflation and the recession during the Bush administration in

14. But less than 85 years ago, events were much worse…

15. The Great Depression
An economic slump in North America, Europe, and other industrialized areas of the world began in 1929 and lasted until about 1939.

16. Causes for the Great Depression
False Prosperity in the 1920’s led to:
Risky Investments
Oct Stock Market Crash
Banking Crisis
- Most uninsured
- Money runs
Trade Collapse

17. Effects of the Depression on the Common Citizen
Unemployment
- At the height of the depression, 3 out of 10 Americans were jobless.
Poverty
- Millions homeless, hungry, penniless
Injustices committed by the powerful against the powerless
- Unfair pay, working conditions
- Increased racial tensions

18. The story is set in Maycomb, a fictional city in southern Alabama.
To Kill a Mockingbird takes place from 1933 to 1935, during the Great Depression.
The story’s setting, Maycomb County, is an isolated rural area, poor and undeveloped. It is slow to respond to change and progress.
Black people receive low wages as field workers and house servants. White farmers are more likely to own land, but their crops are often meager. Trade is slow and they are often poor.
The story is set in Maycomb, a fictional city in southern Alabama.

19. Trial of Walter Lett March, 1934
Accused of raping white woman
Has alibi for time of rape
Found guilty/sentenced to execution
Citizens of Monroe County object
Sentence changed to life imprisonment
Lett dies of TB in 1937

20. Semi-autobiographical details
Scout Finch/Harper Lee, author
Atticus Finch/A.C. Lee – Harper Lee’s attorney father
Maycomb/Monroeville
Tom Robinson trial/William Lett trial
Dill was childhood friend Truman Capote who became a famous writer.

21. World War II,

22. Brown vs. Board of Education 1954 Brown vs
Brown vs. Board of Education Brown vs. Board was about a 3rd grade black girl, named Linda Brown.  She lived in Topeka, Kansas.  She had to walk a mile to attend an all black school (through bad conditions) when there was a white school, only 7 blocks away.  Her father decided to solicit the help of the NAACP, and they took the case to court, which was fighting for Linda's right to attend the white school.  This was happening during the 1950's, when racial segregation was the norm.  In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of deeming desegregation unconstitutional.  The law did not end desegregation overall, as it still existed in restaurants and public facilities.  It also did not put a time-frame on when the schools had to combine the population, and in many states, it took a long time to end desegregation
Brown vs. Board was about a 3rd grade black girl, named Linda Brown.  She lived in Topeka, Kansas.  She had to walk a mile to attend an all black school (through bad conditions) when there was a white school, only 7 blocks away.  Her father decided to solicit the help of the NAACP, and they took the case to court, which was fighting for Linda's right to attend the white school.  This was happening during the 1950's, when racial segregation was the norm.  In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of deeming desegregation unconstitutional.  The law did not end desegregation overall, as it still existed in restaurants and public facilities.  It also did not put a time-frame on when the schools had to combine the population, and in many states, it took a long time to end desegregation.

23. Martin Luther King Jr.
Being arrested
Montgomery,Alabama 1959

24. To Kill A Mockingbird, published 1960

25. 1955
1960
Montgomery Bus Boycotts African-American woman Rosa Parks's arrest after her refusal to move to the back of a bus triggers a citywide boycott of the bus system.
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka II, Kansas (De-Segregation in Education) The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas II implements the anti-segregation provisions that had been mandated in Brown I, and orders that states comply with "all deliberate speed.“
The Civil Rights Act of 1960 (Pub.L. 86–449, 74 Stat. 89, enacted May 6, 1960) was a United States federal law that established federal inspection of local voter registration polls and introduced penalties for anyone who obstructed someone's attempt to register to vote.
1962
Bailey v. Patterson (De-Segregation in Transportation) The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bailey v. Patterson declares that segregation in transportation facilities is unconstitutional.
1963
Martin Luther King, Jr.: "I Have a Dream" Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers the historic "I Have a Dream" speech.
1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in a number of settings: voting, public accommodations, public facilities, public education, federally-assisted programs, and employment and establishes the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
1965
Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibits the denial or restriction of the right to vote, and forbids discriminatory voting practices nationwide.

26. Voting Rights Act Section 4 Struck Down By Supreme Court 2013
For example, mere hours after the high court ruling, Texas implemented a strict photo ID law, which had previously been rejected under Section 5. That summer, the North Carolina legislature passed a sweeping law that also instituted a stringent photo ID requirement, eliminated same-day registration, and cut back on early voting.
All of these laws respond to phantom complaints of voter fraud, and all disproportionately hurt the ability of minorities to vote. In October 2014, a federal judge found 600,000 registered Texas voters do not have acceptable ID. Testimony showed African-American and Hispanic registered voters are two to four times more likely than white registered voters to lack photo ID. In North Carolina, data showed African Americans used early voting and same-day registration at much higher rates than whites.
Overall, since the 2010 election, 21 states have imposed new voting restrictions. In 2016, 15 states will have more strict rules than they did in The storm of discriminatory changes forecast by Ginsburg has apparently come to pass.
Many of these measures have been aggressively challenged under the remaining sections of the Voting Rights Act. Two major cases are pending in Texas and North Carolina, where attorneys laid out strong evidence showing how these laws prevent citizens from voting, and disproportionately discriminate against blacks and Hispanics.

27. Racial prejudice was alive & well
Racial prejudice was alive & well. Although slavery had ended in 1864, old ideas were slow to change.

28. Racial separation (segregation)

29. Gender Bias (Prejudice)
Women were considered “weak”
Women were generally not educated for occupations outside the home
In wealthy families, women were expected to oversee the servants and entertain guests
Men not considered capable of nurturing children

30. “White trash” Poor, uneducated white people who lived on “relief “
lowest social class, even below the poor blacks
prejudiced against black people
felt the need to “put down” blacks in order to elevate themselves

32. Legal Issues of the 1930’s which impact the story
Women given the vote in 1920
Juries were MALE and WHITE
“Fair trial” did not include acceptance of a black man’s word against a white man’s

33. Race Gender Handicaps Rich/Poor Age Religion
Prejudice in the novel
Race
Gender
Handicaps
Rich/Poor
Age
Religion

34. Themes Racial Prejudice Social Snobbery Morality Tolerance Patience
Equality
The Need for Compassion
The Need for Conscience

35. Symbolism
The Mockingbird: Symbolizes Everything That is Good and Harmless in This World

36. Jean Louis 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.

37. Scout’s Character Traits
Tomboy
Impulsive
Emotional
Warm & Friendly
Sensitive
Adorable
Gains in Maturity throughout the Novel

38. 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.
His children call him “Atticus”
Honest
Typical southern gentleman
Brave, Courteous, Soft-spoken

39. 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

40. Calpurnia The Finch’s black housekeeper
Has watched the children since their mother’s death
Has been a positive influence on the children.

41. 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
Saves Jem and Scout from certain danger

42. 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
Will be falsely accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell

43. 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

44. Two Poor White Families: The Cunninghams The Ewells
Poor white family
Hard-working
Honest
Proud
Survive on very little
Always pay back their debts – even if it is with hickory nuts, turnips, or holly.
Poor white trash
Dirty
Lazy
Good-for-nothing
Never done a day’s work
Foul-mouthed
Dishonest
Immoral

45. The Black Community Simple Honest Clean Hard-working Oppressed
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

46. Language
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
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” for “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

47. Tone
Somber
Serious
Humorous (at times)

48. Characters
Atticus Finch - an attorney whose wife has died, leaving him to raise their two children:
-Jem – 10-year-old boy
-Scout – (Jean Louise), 6-year-old girl
Tom Robinson – a black man accused of raping white girl; he is defended at trial by Atticus

49. Point of View First person Story is told by Scout, a 6-year-old girl
Harper Lee is a woman; Scout represents the author as a little girl although the story is not strictly autobiographical

50. Reading the Novel Setting is all important –be aware of the
“where” and “when” as you begin
Point of View – the novel is shaped by the voice of a young girl who sees the story from a position of naïve acceptance
“Goodness vs. Ignorance (Evil)” is an important theme