• 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
that won a Pulitzer
prize in 1961.
• In 1962 the novel
was turned into a
film starring
Gregory Peck.
• It received a
humanitarian
award and several
Academy Award
nominations
• Focuses on the people, attitudes, and
laws of the South during this time
period.
• The plot of TKAM reflected Lee’s
own childhood in Alabama and was
greatly influenced by the training
she received in law school
• Told in flashback
• 2 story lines – each with its
own climax
• First-person point of view
• Bildungsroman
• Covers approx. 3 years
Maycomb,
ALABAMA
•Jean Louise Finch
(Scout)
•Narrator switches
perspectives from a
six year-old girl to
one with the wisdom
of an adult looking
back.
This is probably similar
to how class structure
existed during the
1930’s in the South.
The wealthy, although
fewest in number, were
most powerful. The
blacks, although great in
number, were lowest on
the class ladder, and
thus, had the least
privileges.
Wealthy
Country Folk
"White Trash"
Black
Community
Examples of each social class:
Wealthy - Finches
Country Folk - Cunninghams
“White Trash” – Ewells
Black Community – Tom
Robinson
Prejudice in Maycomb County,
Alabama, 1930’s
“Now gentlemen, in this
country our courts are the
great levelers, and in our
courts all men are created
equal. I'm no idealist to
believe firmly in the
integrity of our courts and
of our jury system. That's
no ideal to me. That is a
living, working reality.”
-Atticus to the jury
• No white female nurses in
hospitals that treat black
men
• Separate passenger cars for
whites and blacks
• Separate waiting rooms for
whites and blacks
• Separation of white and
black convicts
• Separate schools
• No interracial marriages
• Segregated water fountains
• Segregated theatres
Legal Segregation
in Alabama, 19231940
• Language of Scout switches from childhood to
adulthood
• Atticus always uses formal speech
• Calpurnia uses “white language” in the Finch
house and switches to “black jargon” when
amidst blacks
• The Ewell’s use foul words and obscenities
• Jem, Scout, and Dill will use slang words,
typical of their age
• Tom Robinson uses language typical of the
southern black such as “suh” for “sir” and
“chillun” for “children”
• Various derogatory terms for blacks will be
used – Lee uses such language to keep her
novel naturally in sync with common
language of the times
• Somber
• Serious
• Humorous (at times)
Gothic Details
Depictions of a small-town life
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•
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•
•
Tomboy
Impulsive
Emotional
Warm & Friendly
Sensitive
Adorable
Gains in Maturity throughout the Novel
•
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•
Widower/Father of Scout & Jem
An attorney by profession
Highly respected
Good citizen
Instills good values and morals in
his children.
His children call him “Atticus”
Honest, Brave & Courteous
Typical southern gentleman
Soft-spoken
“You never really know a
man until you crawl into
his skin and walk around
for awhile.”
Atticus Finch
o Scout’s older brother
o Looks up to Atticus
o Usually looks out for Scout
o Typical older brother at times
o Smart & Compassionate
o Matures as the story
progresses
• Finch’s
Housekeeper
• Has watched the
children since their
mother’s death
• Has been a positive
influence on the
children.
• An enigma
• An adult man, whose father has “sentenced” him
to a lifetime confinement to their house because of
some mischief he got into when he was a teenager.
• Has a reputation of being a lunatic
• Basically a harmless, well-meaning person
• Sometimes childlike in behavior
• Starving for love and affection
• Saves Jem and Scout from certain danger
• Young, harmless,
innocent, hardworking
• Has a crippled left
hand
• Married with three
children. Works on a
farm belonging to Mr.
Link Deas
• Accused of raping a
white girl, Mayella
Ewell
• A close friend of Jem
and Scout
• Usually lives in
Maycomb only
during the summer
• Tells “big stories”
• Has been deprived of
love and affection
• 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.
• It has been said that he
gave Lee Mockingbird
as a gift.
1930s Typical Morphine
Addict:
– White female
– Middle-aged or older
– Widowed
– Homebound
– Lives in the south
– Property owner
– Began using morphine
for medical reasons
(pain relief)
In “To Kill a
Mockingbird,” the Finch
children will become
acquainted with a
morphine addict.
Although only a fictitious
character, she personifies
the American morphine
addict of the late
nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries.
The Cunningham’s
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Poor white family
Hard-working
Honest & Proud
Survive on very little
Always pay back their
debts – even if it is
with hickory nuts,
turnips, or holly.
Ewell’s
•
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Poor white trash
Dirty & Lazy
Never done a day’s work
Foul-mouthed
Dishonest
Immoral
•
•
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Simple
Honest
Clean
Hard-working
God-fearing
Proud
Would never take
anything with paying
it back
• Respectful
• Had stronger character
than most of the whites
• Oppressed
• Uneducated
• Discriminated against
• Talked about badly
• Deserve better than
what is dished out to
them by society
• Education is not limited to the
classroom; it’s an important part of
everyday life- Importance of education.
• Prejudice is responsible for much social
injustice.
• Oppression
• People often fear what they do not
understand- IGNORANCE!
• Courage is doing what you think is
right when the odds of succeeding are
against you (Importance of moralityright vs. wrong )
• Individual growth/maturing in a
society
• Isolation from society
• Equality vs. inequality (social)