Exam Revision
This presentation is not a final and definitive
set of notes. The following slides are merely
signposts to point you in the right direction
as you write your own set of study notes.
You will need to provide quotes and evidence
from the novel to illustrate all of the points
you make.
Harper Lee grew up in a small town in Alabama
called Monroeville, upon which she based
the fictional town of Maycomb. It is crucial
to understand her background as her
childhood experiences form the basis for
many of the fictional characters, settings and
events in To Kill a Mockingbird.
To Kill a Mockingbird was first published in 1960, when the
American Civil Rights movement was beginning to gain
momentum. Rosa Parks had ignited a political firestorm
when she defied unjust Jim Crow laws by refusing to give
up her seat at the front of a public bus to a white
passenger in 1955.
TKAM’s purpose is to educate contemporary American (and
international) readers about the destructive effects of
racism and segregation by dramatising it through an
accessible story about a young girl’s childhood in a small
Alabama town.
The message of TKAM is that segregation in the American
South is based on mindless, needless hatred, and that such
prejudices and hates inevitably lead to pointless suffering
and must be stopped.
The story is told in two parts, and each of these have vastly
different plots, but with the similar themes of prejudicial
hate and mistrust tying them together.
The first part of the novel lays the foundations for the more
dramatic second half and revolves around the seeming
innocence of children’s games. Lee introduces the main
characters and sets up the initial drama concerning the
mystery of Boo Radley. She also foreshadows the drama to
come regarding Tom Robinson’s case.
The second part is centred on Tom Robinson’s trial and its
aftermath.
In what ways is the drama of the second half helped by the
exposition (storytelling) of the first?

Growing Up / Coming of Age


Prejudice and Injustice


Shown by Jem and Scout’s developing maturity and
conscience as they gain awareness of the sometimescruel realities of the adult world.
Shown by the attitudes of the Maycomb townsfolk
toward people and groups they do not understand: Boo
Radley (and the mentally ill in general), Tom Robinson
(and African Americans in general), and Mrs Dubose.
Courage and Convictions

Most clearly shown through Atticus’ dedication to seeing
justice done despite the admonitions of the townsfolk,
especially Bob Ewell.
Why are the following characters crucial to TKAM’s narrative?
Why would the story simply not work without them?

Scout Finch

Atticus Finch

Tom Robinson

Jem Finch

Bob Ewell

Boo Radley
Maycomb itself is the archetypal (‘original’ or ‘symbolic’) Alabama small
town. The drama that unfolds there is a microcosm (small, focused
example that represents the wider world) for the civil strife that gripped
the American South in the 1950s and 60s.
In Particular:
 The Finch Home


The Radley House


Is a focal point for the children’s fears and prejudices in the first half of the
novel. Acts as a sort of ‘lair of the boogie man’.
The Courthouse


Many of the ‘learning about life’ conversations between Scout and Atticus take
place here.
Where justice (and injustice) are done. Serves as a sort of symboliic arena where
right (personified by Atticus) and wrong (personified by Bob Ewell) do battle.
Old Sarum

The poverty-stricken area on the outskirts of town where the outcasts of society
(The Ewell’s and the Negros) live. Symbolises mainstream society’s desire to
ignore its less pleasant aspects.
The Mockingbird
The titular (‘of the title’) motif in the novel. The
mockingbird is a symbol of goodness, purity and
innocence. ‘It is a sin to kill a mockingbird’ because to do
so would be to destroy something blameless, defenceless
and innocent.
Characters such as Tom Robinson and Arthur Radley are
‘mockingbirds’ in that they suffer as a result of the people
of Maycomb’s prejudice. They are innocent men who are
treated with cruelty by a community that has no desire to
get to know them.
Tom Robinson in particular is tragically killed as a result of
Maycomb’s prejudice. He is a christ-like figure in that the
‘sins’ of Maycomb (prejudice, cruelty, lack of empathy) are
made plain through his ostracism, suffering and death.

To Kill a Mockingbird is considered a classic because
it was one of the first books in the English language
to reflect on the racial prejudices that had for so
long been an integral and unspoken part of Western
society. It formed a key part of the literature and art
of the American Civil Rights movement.

TKAM, and stories like it, played a key role in the
‘denormalisation’ of racism. It made racism ‘not ok’.
The book challenged readers (in particular, Europeans
in the Western world) to think about the racial
prejudices they held and the tragic consequences
that racist views can have, both on individuals, and
on the ‘soul’ of a society as a whole.