1. Hard-Won Liberty: NOVEL
Introductory Notes
Intro Scene:

2. 2015 -- Go Set a Watchman (1st draft of TKAM)

3. To Kill a Mockingbird - Movie 1962

4. Notes: Contents Historical Background
CASTE-SYSTEMS (aka people who lived during that time)
Setting
Characters
Controversy/Banning

5. Historical Background
SETTING
Maycomb, Alabama;
Great Depression
Time of Economic Struggle for many Americans
Many families forced to rely on men to become migrant workers to provide for family
Hitler in power in Germany
VIDEO:
TIMELINE:

6. Maycomb, Alabama
Fictitious town based on real town of Montgomery, Alabama
Welcome to small town Alabama, circa 1930s. It's a friendly town, with lots of old ladies baking cakes and small-town sheriffs saying folksy things.
Oh, and it also has morphine-addicted old ladies; abusive families living by the dump; and a pretty nasty racial divide.
To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the fictional small Southern town of Maycomb in the 1930s (Tom's trial takes place in 1935). Slavery and the Civil War of the 1860s still loom large in the rearview mirror, but the civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s is just a wee little speck on the horizon. And Maycomb is going nowhere fast:
“A day was twenty-four hours long but seemed longer. There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb County.” (1.10)
Lots in its own little world, Maycomb doesn't know what's happening elsewhere and doesn't care. Few people move there (not much reason to) and few people leave (why bother?).
Source:

7. Historical Background
African-Americans
The Great Depression of the 1930s worsened the already bleak economic situation of African Americans.
They were the first to be laid off from their jobs, and they suffered from an unemployment rate two to three times that of whites.
In early public assistance programs African Americans often received substantially less aid than whites, and some charitable organizations even excluded blacks from their soup kitchens.
Slavery was abolished in 1864, but Southerners still believed in white supremacy.
Segregation existed. African-Americans may not sit in the same sections as whites. They had separate facilities as well.
Source:

9. Historical Background
Other Minorities –
included Mexican Americans, American Indians, and Asian Americans
Unemployment rate of 50% (compare to 25%)
first to lose jobs at a business or on a farm
often denied employment in public works programs supposedly available to all needy citizens
sometimes threatened at relief centers when applying for work or assistance
Some charities refused to provide food to needy minorities, particularly to blacks in the South.
Violence against minorities increased during the Depression, as whites competed for jobs traditionally held by minorities.
Minorities were also excluded from union membership
Source:

11. Historical Background
Gender Bias
Women considered “the weaker sex”
Education not important for women
Wealthy women were expected to supervise staff
In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, 26 states had laws prohibiting the employment of married women. The sentiment behind the laws was that a married woman – who presumably had a husband to take care of her – should not "steal" a job from a man.
It was acceptable for single women to find jobs, but usually these were lower-paying jobs that were typically considered "women’s work" – thus white women worked as.
Working-class white women would hold jobs such as salesgirls, beauticians, schoolteachers, secretaries, and nurses
The job market for African American women was even more restricted, with most black women who worked serving as maids, cooks, laundresses, boarding house and lodging house keeping and hairdressing and beauty culture.
A good deal of women were wives and mothers while men provided for their families – or, at least, attempted to do so.
Source:

12. Working Women 1930s protesting

14. Historical Background
Poor White Families
Hard-working
Honest
Proud
Men worked at various jobs in factories, farms, roadwork,
Survived on very little
Paid with “entailments” = Always paid back their debts – even if it is with hickory nuts, turnips, or holly.
The Cunninghams fit this category
Source:

15. Historical Background
“Poor white trash”
Dirty
Lazy
Good-for-nothing
Never done a day’s work
Foul-mouthed
Dishonest
Immoral
The Ewells fit this category

17. Historical Background
The Black Community
Simple & Honest
Hard-working
God fearing
Proud
Would never take anything without 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
Some examples from the book include Calpurnia and Tom Robinson
Video:

19. CONTROVERSY/BANNING LINKS

20. TOP 5 MAIN REASONS
BLATANT & OVERT RACISM PORTRAYED
USE OF DEROGATORY LANGUAGE – “N” word
MATURE TOPICS – RAPE, ALCOHOLISM, CHILD ABUSE
CHARACTER STEREOTYPES – gender, race, creed
TRUTHFULNESS

21. Characters

22. 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 yrs old when the story begins.
She is naturally curious about life
Tomboy who pals around with older brother and their summertime neighbor “Dill”
Mother passed away when she was 2 years old

23. 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
“Moral Compass” in the novel

24. Jeremy Atticus Finch – “Jem”
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

25. Calpurnia – “Cal” The Finch’s black housekeeper/maid/nanny
Has her own home/family
Has watched the children since their mother’s death
Has been a positive influence on the children
Can be a hard disciplinarian but loves the children as her own

26. Charles Baker Harris – “Dill”
A close friend of Jem and Scout’s
Usually lives in Maycomb only during the summer (stays with a relative)
Tells “big stories”
Has been deprived of love and affection
Has single mom; later gets step-father

27. Tom Robinson A young, harmless, innocent, hardworking black man
Accused of raping a white woman – facing trial
Has a disabled left hand
Married with three children.
Worked on a farm belonging to Mr. Link Deas, a white man

28. Arthur Radley - “Boo” 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

29. Mayella Ewell At 19, the oldest of the Ewell family (8 kids total)
Shy & lonely
Mother passed away
a mother figure to her many siblings
Lives near town dump in filth with; very poor

30. Bob Ewell Mayella’s poor “white trash” father
The town parasite who lives off the town’s bounty
Uses welfare checks for alcohol; rumored to physically abuse his children
Uncivilized man who has a negative reputation

31. Heck Tate The town sheriff Friends with Atticus
Present at the crime scene
Scene – key witness in trial
[Also important later during a related yet separate incident]

32. Aunt Alexandra Atticus’s sister
Racist & disapproves of what her brother is doing
Wants Scout to be a lady
Wants Jem to be a gentleman
Stays with family during trial to provide some “discipline”

33. Other Characters to Know
Judge Taylor
The judge for the Robinson criminal trial
Mr. Gilmer
The prosecutor who defends Mayella Ewell
Dolphus Raymond
A white man married to a black woman w/ mulatto children
Reverend Sykes
Minister of the black church that both Calpurnia and Tom Robinson attend
Link Deas
Neighbor & Friend to many;
Stands up for Tom in court

34. Miss Maudie Atkinson Scout’s Neighbor
Loves gardens and bakes the best cake in Maycomb
Knows how to treat children like adults

35. Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose
A mean old woman in the Finch neighborhood
Teaches the children a lesson in bravery

36. Add more as we go…