1. To Kill a Mockingbird By Harper Lee

3. Wrote To Kill a Mockingbird in 1960 Based the story on her life growing up in Monroeville, Alabama TKAM was the only novel she ever wrote

4. SETTING OF THE NOVEL Southern United States Maycomb, Alabama (fictional name) 1930’s Great Depression Dust bowl Prejudice and legal segregation Ignorance

5. Major Historical Happenings... Recovering from the Great Depression Poor South Jim Crow Laws Racial Injustice Scottsboro Trials

6. 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.”

7. 1929-1939 Farmers were already feeling the effects –Prices of crops went down –Many farms foreclosed People could not afford luxuries –Factories shut down –Businesses went out Banks could not pay out money People could not pay their taxes –Schools shut down due to lack of funds Many families became homeless and had to live in shanties Many found being broke humiliating.

8. “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

10. A drought in the South lead to dust storms that destroyed crops. “The Dust Bowl”

11. The South Was Buried Crops turned to dust=No food to be sent out Homes buried Fields blown away South in state of emergency Dust Bowl the #1 weather crisis of the 20th century

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

13. Jim Crow Laws After the American Civil War most states in the South passed anti-African American legislation. These became known as Jim Crow laws.American Civil War These laws included segregation in… –Schools-- Hospitals –Theaters-- Water fountains –Restaurants –Hotels –Public transportation –Some states forbid inter-racial marriages

14. These laws were instituted in 1896 and were not abolished till the late 1950’s (even then still not completely).

15. Racial separation (segregation)

16. 9 young African- American men (13- 20) accused of raping 2 white girls in 1931 Immediately sentenced to death Trials went on for nearly 15 years before all the men were dismissed

17. Started on a train bound for Memphis Several white men boarded and picked a fight with the black men Whites were forced off train by the 12 black men. The white men reported the the black men had raped two white girls on the train to authorities They were immediately arrested and tried in front of an all-white jury.

18. The trials caused a huge uproar amongst the black community.

19. 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, Scout, who sees the story from a position of naïve acceptance “Goodness vs. Evil (Ignorance)” is an important theme

20. Point of View First Person Narrator –Story is told by Scout –Told as a woman looking back to when she was young school girl. –Scout represents the author, Harper Lee, as a little girl. However, the story is not strictly autobiographical.

21. Characters Scout: young girl age 6 – 10 through the novel. Tomboy, little sister, innocent, naive Jem: 10 - 14 year olf boy, Scout’s older brother, respectful, protective, leader Dill: neighbor boy, curious, 7 – 11 years old

22. The character of “Dill,” Scout and Jem’s playmate in the novel was based upon Lee’s actual neighbor, Truman Capote Capote is famous for amongst other things, In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

23. Characters Atticus Finch - an attorney whose wife has died, leaving him to raise their two children. He is fair and just and does not subscribe to the ways of the “old South.” Tom Robinson – a black man accused of raping white girl; he is defended at trial by Atticus

24. Prejudice in the novel Race Gender Social Status Age Religion

25. 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

26. 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