1. An Introduction to Harper Lee’s ___________________________

2. Harper Lee  Born on ____________in Monroeville, Alabama  Youngest of four children  1957 – submitted manuscript for her novel; was urged to rewrite it  Spent over ___________reworking it  1960 – To Kill a Mockingbird (her only novel) published  1966 - was one of two persons named by __________________to the National Council of Arts

3. SETTING Maycomb, ____________

4. Autobiographical Elements: Harper Lee vs Scout Finch Born in Monroeville, Alabama Born in Monroeville, Alabama Grew up in ________ Grew up in ________ Father was a lawyer Father was a lawyer Mother’s maiden name = __________ Mother’s maiden name = __________ Born in Maycomb, Alabama Born in Maycomb, Alabama Grew up in ________ Grew up in ________ Father (Atticus) is a lawyer Father (Atticus) is a lawyer Last name = _______ Last name = _______

5. Narrative Point of View: TKAM is told in the ________person, from the point of view of Scout Finch, a young girl. The story is not told by the younger Scout Finch. It is told by an older Scout,_____________________.

6. ____________________________  Scout (Jean Louise Finch) – eight-year-old narrator of story  Jem (Jeremy Finch) – her older brother  Atticus Finch – Jem and Scout’s father, a prominent lawyer who defends a black man accused of raping a white woman  Arthur (Boo) Radley – a thirty-three-year-old recluse who lives next door  Charles Baker (Dill) Harris – Jem and Scout’s friend who comes to visit his aunt in Maycomb each summer  Tom Robinson – a respectable black man accused of raping a white woman  Calpurnia – the Finches’ black cook

7. What do you know about the Great Depression? What do you wonder? When was it? How did it start? How did it affect people? In the next 2 minutes, jot down everything you remember, then be prepared to share in class.

8. Introduction to the Novel Background Information GREAT DEPRESSION A period of extreme drought, poverty and hardships during the 1930s. 25% of population had no job Even those with jobs were affected because nothing was being produced Average family income dropped to 50% by 1935 Hundreds of thousands lost homes, farms and possessions Stock Market Crash caused people to lose billions. Entire banks were wiped out and by 1933 over 60% of population was considered poor The novel takes place during the mid-1930s at a time when the government was attempting to stop the Great Depression. The President at the time, Franklin Roosevelt, famously said, “the only thing to fear is fear itself” as his government created programs to create jobs, house the homeless and feed the starving.

9. On this slide, write a reflection on how you feel upon seeing the picture displayed on the overhead. Consider how you would feel if you saw the public sign as a white person, and then as a black or minority person.

10. Introduction to the Novel Background Information Racism and Social Classes Although slavery was abolished in the 1890s racism and discrimination were alive and well during the time of the novel. The novel is based on many historical facts that help to drive the story, (and allow the readers to explore a sad time in American history) including: Jim Crow Laws (1890s – 1960s)Scottsboro Trials (1931)Social Inequality (Forever)

11. Introduction to the Novel Background Information Social Inequality __________________________ ____________________________ _______________________ ________________ Even the law was one-sided: Juries were always all-white and all- male. The word of a black man meant nothing against the word of a white man.

12. Setting and Theme Themes in the novel are based on the concept of racial prejudice which was so much a part of society at that time. Lee stresses the need for human understanding to __________ _____________________________ _____________________________.

13. "Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."