1. To Kill a Mockingbird
Background info

2. Author Written by Nelle Harper Lee (Harper Lee) was her 1st novel
only wrote 2 magazine articles in the 60s after that
has lived away from the eyes of the world ever since

3. Author Won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961
The description of Scout's neighborhood matches closely the neighborhood of the Lee family.

4. Parallels between Harper Lee and Scout Finch
Harper Lee's Childhood
Grew up in 1930s - rural southern Alabama town
Father - Amasa Lee - attorney who served in state legislature in Alabama
Older brother and young neighbor (Truman Capote) are playmates
Harper Lee - an avid reader
Six years old when Scottsboro trials were meticulously covered in state and local newspapers
Scout Finch's Childhood
Father - Atticus Finch - attorney who served in state legislature in Alabama
Older brother and young neighbor (Dill) are playmates
Scout reads before she enters school; reads Mobile Register newspaper in first grade
Six years old when the trial of Tom Robinson takes place

5. more parallells Harper’s mother was named Frances Cunningham Finch
The Finch family is the focus of the story
Cunninghams are also in the story

6. more parallells
Dill
Famous American writer Truman Capote was the basis for Dill. Capote was author of two stories you might recognize: "Miriam" and "Christmas Memory." Capote spent time living with his aunts in Monroeville.

7. more parallels Boo Radley
There was also in Monroeville a much-feared young recluse who was likely the basis for the fictional Boo Radley.

8. Courthouse
Monroeville County Courthouse even used in the movie

9. Courthouse

10. Time period
Scout says that "Maycomb County had recently been told that it had nothing to fear, but fear itself." That locks the time period of the beginning of the action of the story Scout is 6 when Dill arrives and Jem is nearly 10. Therefore, the climax of the book occurs in 1936.
During the Great Depression

11. Trial An infamous trial of the period was the Scottboro trial.
In 1931, 9 young African males are stopped on a freight train in Alabama
arrested tried and convicted of the rape of 2 white women
the men were pardoned in 1976

12. Trial parallels The Scottsboro Trials Took place in the 1930s
Took place in northern Alabama
Began with a charge of rape made by white women against African American men
The poor white status of the accusers was a critical issue.
A central figure was a heroic judge, a member of the Alabama Bar who overturned a guilty jury verdict against African American men.
Tom Robinson's Trial
Occurs in the 1930s
Takes place in southern Alabama
Begins with a charge of rape made by a white woman against an African American man
The poor white status of Mayella is a critical issue.
A central figure is Atticus, lawyer, legislator and member of the Alabama Bar, who defends an African American man.

13. More Trial Parallels The Scottsboro Trials
This judge went against public sentiment in trying to protect the rights of the African American defendants.
The first juries failed to include any African Americans, a situation which causeed the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the guilty verdict.
The jury ignored evidence, for example, that the women suffered no injuries.
Attitudes about Southern women and poor whites complicated the trial.
Tom Robinson's Trial
 Atticus arouses anger in the communtiy in trying to defend Tom Robinson.
The verdict is rendered by a jury of poor white residents of Old Sarum.   
The jury ignores evidence, for example, that Tom has a useless left arm.
Attitudes about Southern women and poor whites complicate the trial of Tom Robinson.

14. Justice A great deal of discrimination existed in the justice system
African Americans were not allowed on juries
African Americans were often arrested, tried, and convicted with little cause

15. The South
Nearly half of all blacks in the south did not receive an education past the 5th grade
Racist groups like the Ku Klux Clan and the Black Shirts terrorized blacks
lynching was still a common practice

16. Literary Devices Point of View
One of the most distinctive characteristics of the novel
The story is told from the perspective of a child who is approx 6 years old when the story begins

17. Literary Devices Symbolism
The mockingbird is a symbol of innocence in the novel
Miss Maudie tells the children “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” because they never do harm

18. Literary Devices Motifs ex: small town life
recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that help develop the themes
ex: small town life
old fashioned values
gothic details

19. Literary Devices Allusions Idioms
references to various places, people, things, historical events, or other works of literature
Idioms
expressions or phrases that have meanings different than a literal interpretation would suggest

20. Themes Prejudice and Tolerance Guilt and Innocence Justice
Knowledge and Ignorance
Courage and Cowardice