Based on the cover, what do think
this book is about?
Define the following terms:
•
•
•
•
•
Scary Neighbor:
Coming of Age:
Prejudice:
Social Class:
Ignorance:
Actual Definitions:
• Prejudice: An opinion or judgment made
beforehand without knowledge or facts
• Ignorance: Lacking education or knowledge
SETTING OF THE NOVEL
• Southern United States - Alabama
• 1930’s
• Society was characterized by:
–
–
–
–
Great Depression
Prejudice
legal segregation
Ignorance
1930’s - Great Depression began
when the stock market crashed in
October, 1929
• 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.”
Racial prejudice was alive &
well. Although slavery had
ended in 1863, old ideas were
slow to change.
Racial separation (segregation)
Gender Bias
(Prejudice)
• Women were considered “weak”
• Women were generally not educated for
occupations outside the home
• In wealthy families, women were expected
to oversee the servants and entertain guests
• Men not considered capable of nurturing
children
Legal Issues of the 1930’s which
impact the story
• 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
Prejudice in the novel
Race
Gender
Handicaps
Rich/Poor
Age
Religion
Meet the Author: Harper Lee
• Born 1926 in
Monroeville. Alabama
• TKAM published in
1960 at the heart of
the civil rights
movement
• Novel is loosely based
on her childhood
– Atticus Finch based on
her own father
• Town of
Maycomb is
based on
where she
grew up
• Novel was also
inspired by her
education in law
To Kill a Mockingbird
• Novel – a long prose fiction which represents humans in
significant action in their world
• Historical Fiction – fictional story based on true historical
setting and sometimes actual people
• 3 Major Themes: Growing Up (‘coming of age’),
Prejudice (class, racial, sexual), Courage (physical, moral)
• Narrator uses flashback to tell her story
• Told from the point of view of a young girl – allows her
views to come across as innocent and objective
Important Characters:
• Scout (Jean Louise Finch): Young girl who narrates the
novel (child of Atticus)
• Jem(Jeremy Atticus Finch): Scout’s older brother (older
child of Atticus)
• Atticus Finch - an attorney whose wife has died, leaving
him to raise their two children
• Boo Radley: mysterious neighbor to the Finches
• Dill (Charles Baker Harris): summer friend of the Finch
children
• Tom Robinson: Black man wrongfully accused of a crime
More Important Characters
• Calpurnia: black housekeeper to the Finches –
mother figure towards Jem and Scout
• Mayella Ewell: white girl who accuses Tom
Robinson of a crime
• Bob Ewell: Father of Mayella; family is
considered ‘white trash’
• Mr. Nathan Radley: Comes to live in the
mysterious Radley household when the father
passes away – just as much of a recluse as his
father
Point of View
• First person
– Story is told by Scout, a 6-year-old girl at the
story’s start
– Harper Lee is actually a woman; Scout
represents the author as a little girl although the
story is not strictly autobiographical
Themes
• Education is not limited to the classroom,
but is an important part of everyday life.
– Do you believe this statement is true? In what
ways? What can everyday life teach that
schooling cannot? Can you think of any
important lessons you have learned by
observing people and events around you?
Themes
• Prejudice is responsible for much social
injustice.
– How would you define prejudice? What is the
effect of prejudice on those to whom it is
directed? What is the effect of prejudice on
those who exercise it?
Themes
• People often fear what they do not
understand.
– Have you ever been afraid of something you do
not understand? Why do you think this is so?
How can fearing the unknown limit your
perception and enjoyment of the world around
you?
Themes
• Courage is doing what you think is right
when the odds of succeeding are against
you.
– Do you agree with this statement? Explain.
How would you define courage? Have you ever
done something that required courage? How
did that act fit this definition?