American Literature
Understanding Harper Lee
 Born 1926 in Monroeville,
Alabama.
 Mother was a homemaker
and father was a lawyer.
 Early in his career, her
father defended two black
men, a father and son,
accused of murdering a
white store keeper—both
men were hanged.
Early Life
 As a child, Harper Lee
was an unruly tomboy.
 She fought on the
playground. She talked
back to teachers.
 She was bored with
school and resisted any
sort of conformity.
An Ambitious Writer
 Despite her father's hopes
that she would become a
local attorney like her
sister, Lee went to New
York to pursue her
writing.
 To Kill a Mockingbird was
published in 1960 to amazing
reviews and quickly climbed
the bestseller lists, where it
remained for eighty-eight
weeks.
 In 1961, the novel won the
Pulitzer Prize.
FAME
 In the meantime, To Kill
a Mockingbird has sold
more than thirty million
copies in eighteen
languages.
 Lee continued to lead a
quiet and guardedly
private life.
 According to a
biographer, Lee was
unprepared for the
amount of personal
attention associated with
writing a bestseller.
 She never finished
another book but helped
her close friend and
famous author, Truman
Capote research his
novel, In Cold Blood.
To Kill a Mockingbird
 The novel is a
Bildungsroman: a coming
of age novel
 It is also a Southern
Gothic novel: deals with
crumbling traditions of the
south, erasure of aristocracy,
poverty, and problems
present at this time in
American South.
 It is the most widely read book
about race in America.
 The story is told through the eyes
of Scout, an unreliable narrator
who is 6 at the beginning of the
novel and 10 when it is over.
Inspiration
 Lee’s hometown,
Monroeville, embodies
the small town southern
atmosphere found in
TKAM.
 Her father’s failed case
and the Scottsboro Trial
also inspired Lee to
explore interracial drama
and injustice.
 What do you know
about the American
South Pre-Civil Rights?
 The setting of TKAM is
a small town in
Alabama during the
1930’s.
 Jim Crow laws—still
present in Alabama
until 1968.
HW: TUESDAY, Oct. 30
 READ Chaps 1 - 3
 DO questions and vocabulary for CH. 1 - 3
 Use this website or the one on the handout:
 Vocabulary 1-10 http://www.vocabulary.com/lists/24110#view=notes
 Be ready to discuss and do the chapter questions in
class tomorrow.
 I PLAN TO COLLECT THE STARRED
QUESTIONS!! READ THE INSTRUCTIONS 
SIGNAL Phrases for Quoting
 Lee writes,
 Scout wonders,
 Jem exclaims,
 The author suggests,
 Lee explores,
 Scout said,
 Jem asked,
 During the second summer with Dill, Scout thinks,
“Dill was becoming something of a trial anyway,
following Jem about” (41). She means that…
WEDNESDAY, October 31th
 HW Review Ch. 1-3
 Who is Calpurnia? What does she mean when
she says “anybody sets foot in this house’s yo’
comp’ny”?
 What important lesson does Atticus share
with Scout? How could this lesson apply to
her interactions with both Walter and Miss
Caroline?
 HW:
THURSDAY, NOV. 1
 Discuss: Chapter Two contains irony, caused by the
misplaced good intentions of the characters. Explain how
Scout and Miss Caroline’s good intentions both have the
opposite result from what each intends.
 Watch You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgC09oMIwLc&feature=related
Journal: In groups, discuss how the people of Maycomb view
the Radleys as being different. How is this a form of
discrimination? Come up with at least THREE ways in which
they are discriminated against and the ways in which people (the
children especially) justify their discriminatory choices.
 Describe the people of Maycomb and how they see themselves,
according to Scout.
HW: Read Chapters 4-5
Friday 11/2 HW
 Read Chapters 6, 7, 8
 Do the questions and the vocab for Chapter 6.
 Be ready to discuss answers in class on Monday.
 I WILL COLLECT STARRED QUESTIONS
Journal: TKAM
 Describe your town or school What are the people
that live there like? Is there diversity in culture,
socioeconomic status, housing, etc.? What are the
attitudes like in your town or school?
 Is your town or school BIG? Small?
Monday, Nov. 5: HW
Read Chapters 9 and 10.
• Choose either Scout,
Jem, Atticus, or Dill for
your character chart
• Fill out the chart and be
ready to work on your
character sketch in class on
Tuesday