1. To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee

2. How does culture affect values?
Guiding Question
How does culture affect values?

3. A Bit About the Author Harper Lee was born in Monroeville, Alabama
She grew up during the Great Depression
Much of the novel reflects Lee’s personal experiences growing up in Alabama
Lee’s own experiences with school had a significant influence on the novel

4. Setting of the Novel Time: the novel is set in the 1930s
Place/Location: fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama (based on Lee’s own hometown)
Environment: historical context of the novel is crucial to the setting

5. Historical Context Jim Crow laws The Great Depression of the 1930s
Stock Market crash of 1929 paralyzed the nation’s economy
In 1933 at the height of the depression, 13 million Americans were without jobs
The Great Depression

6. Community Dynamics of Maycomb
A town divided:
Racially
Socially
Economically
Religiously
Blacks, Working/Respected Poor, “White Trash”
Upper-Class Whites and Down-to-Earth townsfolk
Religiously all Baptist but separate churches
“footwashers”

7. Themes of the Novel Courage Isolation Tolerance Prejudice Justice
Character
Coming-of-Age
Perspective
Rites of Passage
Compassion
Loss of Innocence

8. Point-of-View Jean Louis Finch – “Scout”
Young girl
Mother passed away
Father is a lawyer
Brother Jem
Reliability of Scout as a Narrator
Scout tells the story from the perspective of adulthood, looking back on her childhood and reflecting upon the meaning and implications of the event that is described in the first page of the novel

9. Plot of the Novel
Action of the novel takes place over the course of three years and tells of the childhood adventures of Scout and her brother Jem
Two major plots in the novel
the mysterious Boo Radley
the trial of Tom Robinson

10. Significant Symbols
Pay attention to the following symbols in the novel – what might they represent?
the Mockingbird
title of the novel
the mad dog

11. The End