To Kill a Mockingbird

1. To Kill a Mockingbird By Harper Lee

2. The Setting of the Novel • Southern United States • Maycomb, Alabama: Alabama is renown as a site of racial tension, historically. • 1930s - The Great Depression - Racial segregation

3. The 1930s – The Great Depression • 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.”

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

6. Sexism • Despite that women were declared “equal” and given the right to vote in the 1920s, women were still viewed as the “weaker sex.” • Women were generally not educated for occupations outside the home • In wealthy families, women were expected to oversee the servants and entertain guests • Men were not considered capable of nurturing children

7. Legal Issues of the 1930s & their impact on the novel’s setting • 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

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

9. Prejudice/Discrimination in To Kill a Mockingbird • Race • Gender • Handicaps • Rich/Poor • Age • Religion

10. To Kill a Mockingbird - Characters • Atticus Finch - an attorney whose wife has died, leaving him to raise their two children: • Jem– 10-year-old boy • Scout – (Jean Louise), 6-year-old girl • Tom Robinson – a black man accused of raping white girl; he is defended at trial by Atticus

11. To Kill a Mockingbird – Point of View • First person narration • The story is not told by the younger Scout Finch. It is told by an older Scout, looking back. However, the point of view is mostly a first-person limited one; that is, limited to the knowledge of the younger Scout. • In this way, the narration presents a sort of “doubled” perspective on the events.

12. Question: • Why would the author choose topresent a first-person limited pointof view, rather than an omniscientone? What advantage is there tousing the first-person limited?

13. To Kill a Mockingbird – Themes Review: Theme is the controlling idea, meaning, or message of a work of art. • 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 destroy theevils off racial prejudice..

14. Autobiographical Elements – Harper Lee vs. Scout Finch Scout Finch: • Born & raised in Alabama • Grew up in 1930s • Father was a lawyer • Last name is Finch Harper Lee: • Born & raised in Alabama • Grew up in 1930s • Father was a lawyer • Mother’s maiden name = Finch While the story is fictional, there are elements of it that are undeniably autobiographical.

15. Keep in mind while reading… • 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 who sees the story from a position of naïve acceptance • “Goodness vs. Ignorance (Evil)” is an important theme