To Kill a Mockingbird Context and Introduction

What do you think??1. All men are created equal. 2. Girls should act like girls. 3. It's okay to be different. 4. Nobody is all bad or all good. 5. Some words are so offensive that they should never be

stated or written. 6. Under our justice system, all citizens are treated fairly in

our courts of law. 7. The old adage, "Sticks and stones may break your bones,

but words will never hurt you," is true. 8. Speaking standard grammar proves that a person is

smart. 9. A hero is born, not made. 10. No one is above the law. 11. Education is the great equalizer. 12. When the law does not succeed in punishing criminals,

citizens should do so.

Nelle Harper Lee

• Born April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama.

• Her first and only novel To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960.

• In 1960 she won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

• Lee continued to receive awards after the book’s publication.

• In November of 2007 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the nation’s highest civilian award) for her contribution to American literature.

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Historical Significance

• Maycomb, AL bears a striking resemblance to Monroeville, AL.

• Lee was six years old at the start of the Scottsboro trial and Scout is six years old at the beginning of the Robinson trial.

• Similarities exist between the Robinson trial in the text and the Scottsboro trial of the 1930’s.

• Both trials involve black men wrongfully charged with raping white women.

• In both trials all white juries ignored evidence that would have exonerated the defendants.

Setting: Depression-eraMaycomb, Alabama

• 1930’s – allusion to FDR in 1932:• “[Maycomb County] had recently been told it had

nothing to fear but fear itself” (6).

Introduction to the NovelExploring Symbols

SYMBOL:A word or object that represents another word or object

…Be on the lookout for:

Small-Town Life

“Boo” Radley

Mockingbirds / Birds

What do these symbols represent!?

Background Information

GREATDEPRESSION

A period of extreme drought, poverty and hardships during the

1930s.

25% of population had no job

Even those with jobs were affected because nothing was being produced

Average family income dropped to 50% by 1935

Hundreds of thousands lost homes, farms and possessions

Stock Market Crash caused people to lose billions. Entire banks were wiped out and by 1933 over 60% of population was considered poor

The novel takes place during the mid-1930s at a time when the government was attempting to stop the Great Depression. The President at the time, Franklin Roosevelt, famously said, “the only thing to fear is fear itself” as his government created programs to create jobs, house the homeless and feed the starving.

Background Information

Racism and Social Classes

Although slavery was abolished in the 1890s racism and discrimination were alive and well during the time of the novel. The novel is based on many historical facts that help to drive the story, (and allow the readers to explore a sad time in American history) including:

Jim Crow Laws (1890s – 1960s)

Scottsboro Trials (1931)

Social Inequality (Forever)

Social Status

Social Inequality The Finches

White folks of Maycomb &Maycomb County

The Ewell Family

Tom Robinson

Even the law was one-sided: Juries were always all-white and all-male. The word of a black man meant nothing against the word of a white man.

Introduction to the NovelAbout the AuthorAbout the Author

To Kill A Mockingbird is semi-autobiographical for a number of reasons:

Lee grew up in AlabamaFather was prominent lawyerExperienced Great Depression, Scottsboro Trials“Scout” based on her life; “Dill” based on life of childhood friend Truman Capote

Reading Questions

• Explain each literary term using details given in the first chapter of To Kill a Mockingbird as evidence:

• ex: setting- where and when a story takes place. Maycomb, AL in the 1930’s.

– characterization

– tone

– protagonist

– allusion

– metaphor and simile

– imagery