An introduction
English 10 B
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Full Name: Nelle Harper Lee
Birth date: April 28, 1926
Parents: Amasa Coleman Lee & Francis Finch Lee
Hometown: Monroeville, Alabama
 In southwest Alabama between Montgomery and
Mobile
 Population of about 7,000
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Youngest of 4 children
Monroeville is located:
162 miles from Birmingham
86 miles from Pensacola
231 miles from New Orleans
261 miles from Atlanta
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1944-45: Attended Huntingdon College
1945-49: Studied law at the University of
Alabama
Studied at Oxford University for one year
In the 1950s she worked as a reservation clerk
with Eastern Air Lines and BOAC in New York
City.
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In 1957, she submitted a manuscript to the J. B. Lippincott
Company.
 She was told that her novel consisted of a series of short stories
strung together, and she was urged to re-write it.
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Over the next two years she reworked the manuscript with
her editor.
To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960.
She won the Pulitzer Prize in literature in 1960.
She published several essays in the early 1960s but, lived
as a recluse, publishing nothing until 2015.
Go Set a Watchman was advertised as a sequel to To Kill a
Mockingbird
 More likely a first draft of To Kill a Mockingbird
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Translated into 40 languages
30 million copies in print
Inspired the box office smash To Kill a
Mockingbird in 1962
 Starring Gregory Peck, who won the Best Actor
Oscar for his role
 It was also nominated for best picture
The Old
Courthouse of
Monroeville,
Alabama used in
the film.
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Setting: Maycomb, Alabama during the great depression
Point-of-View: First-Person
 The story is narrated by a little girl named Scout Finch
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Main Characters
 Scout Finch
 Atticus Finch, her father
 Jem Finch, her brother
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There are essentially two stories within this novel
 Boo Radley
 Tom Robinson
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Scout, Jem, and their friend Dill Harris
become intrigued by the local rumors
surrounding a neighbor, Arthur “Boo” Radley.
 The children have never seen Boo Radley
 He is made out to be a type of monster
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Atticus takes on the case involving a Black
man named Tom Robinson.
 He is accused of raping a poor White woman,
Mayella Ewell
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The family faces harsh criticism in racist
Maycomb because of Atticus’ decision.
 Atticus insists on going on with the case because
his conscience could not let him do otherwise.
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Atticus knows Tom has almost no chance
because an all White jury will never believe
Tom’s story.
 Atticus wants to revel the truth of what really
happened.
 He also wants to expose the bigotry in the town.
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As we read the novel, look for any
connections between these two men.
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Atticus Finch
Jeremy Atticus “Jem” Finch
Jean Louise “Scout” Finch
Charles Barker “Dill” Harris
Calpurnia
Arthur “Boo” Radley
Miss Maudie Atkinson
Thomas “Tom” Robinson
Mayella Violet Ewell
Robert E. Lee “Bob” Ewell
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In his forties
The book’s most upright character
 Represents the moral ideal of both lawyer and
human being
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Brutally honest, highly moral, and a timeless
crusader for good causes
 Even hopeless causes
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Full Name: Jean Louise Finch
Scout is almost 6 at the beginning of the
novel and 9 at the end of the novel
Narrator
She is a tomboy
 Commonly harassed by many of the adult female
figures, especially Aunt Alexandra, because of this
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She is smart for her age
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Full name: Jeremey Atticus Finch
Jem is nearly 10 at the beginning of the novel
and nearly 13 by the end
Represents the idea of bravery
He also changes through the course of the
novel
 His changes are very important to note
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Full Name: Charles Baker Harris
One year older than Scout
From Meridian, Mississippi
Lives next door to Jem and Scout in the
summer with his Aunt Rachel
He is Scout’s “boyfriend” and they plan to get
married when they grow up
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Calpurnia is the cook for the family
 The children love her and Atticus respects her
 Like a member of the family
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She can be described as a strict mother figure
Lives in Maycomb’s Black and White
communities
 Has 2 different perspectives on life
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Full Name: Arthur Radley
Is a recluse
 He doesn’t come out of his house at all
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There is a legend that surrounds him
Scout, Jem, and Dill are obsessed with
making him come out of his house
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Lives across the street from the Finch family
About 50 years old
Enjoys baking
She is not prejudiced like many of her
neighbors in Maycomb
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A 25-year-old Black man
He is accused of raping and assulting Mayella
Ewell
He is defended by Atticus Finch in his trial
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She is 19-years-old
Accuses Tom Robinson of rape
Oldest daughter of Bob Ewell and must take
care of her siblings
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Mayella’s father
Known alcoholic
Extremely racist man
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Person vs. Society
 The conflict of person vs. society is basically one that deals
with the prejudices, and values that the society holds. The
individual that poses a different view than the society, is
discriminated against, for not "flowing with the norm.”
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Person vs. Person
 The conflict of person vs. person is a vengeful one. The
conflict is usually present due to a feud, disagreement with
principles or an actual physical confrontation. It is
expressed and enacted in various ways. This type of conflict
is expressed in certain situations in this novel.
Themes are the fundamental and often universal
ideas explored in a literary work
 Themes in To Kill a Mockingbird
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 The Coexistence of Good and Evil
 The Importance of Moral Education – Rite of Passage
 The Existence of Social Inequality
 Courage
 Innocence
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The mockingbird symbolizes innocence and purity.
 The symbolism of the mockingbird is important because it
helps create parallels and connections to almost all the
characters.
 Without this theme, To Kill a Mockingbird would lose its
title and one of the important ideas.
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As we read, keep this in the back of your mind:
 Who symbolizes the mockingbird in the novel?