To Kill A Mockingbird An introduction to the novel by Harper Lee
It’s May 31, 1931 in a small town in Alabama. A fight breaks out between a group of whites and blacks, who are each riding on a freight train as hobos.
The train is stopped by an angry mob at the next town, and all nine black boys are arrested for assault.
Two women who were also on the train, falsely accuse the black passengers of rape.
All 9 boys, ages 13-21, were quickly sentenced to death by all-white juries, despite clear evidence of their innocence.
Harper Lee, the author of To Kill A Mockingbird, was six- years-old when the trial of the “Scottsboro boys” was in the news. Even at a young age, she was deeply troubled by the way prejudices could fuel injustice. She would continue to see such occurrences in her home state of Alabama.
Harper Lee was 28 years-old when Rosa Parks was jailed for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama.
She was 29 years-old when Autherine Lucy Foster enrolled as the first African-American student at a university in Alabama. Three days later, an angry mob chased Autherine from the school, and a month later she was expelled.
Harper Lee was 33 years-old when a Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama is bombed, killing four black girls.
Certainly, the events Harper Lee witnessed from her experience as a resident in small-town Monroeville, Alabama, along with her admiration of her lawyer father, helped shape the story that would become one of the most well-known novels. At the age of 34 To Kill a Mockingbird was published.
To Kill A Mockingbird Winner of the Pulitzer Prize! Translated into more than 40 languages! Sold more than 30 million copies worldwide! Made into an Academy Award- winning movie!
MAIN CHARACTERS: Scout Finch: 6 years-old and the narrator of the story. She’s a tomboy and believes that people are basically good. (Her real name is Jean Louise.) Jem Finch: is four years older than Scout. He Scout’s best playmate, even though he’s often irritated by her. (His real name is Jeremy Atticus Finch.)
MAIN CHARACTERS: Atticus Finch: is the father of Scout and Jem. Atticus raises his children alone, since his wife died. He is a well- respected lawyer, until he agrees to defend a black man who is accused of rape. Atticus has a strong sense of morality and justice, and Scout looks up to him because of this.
OTHER CHARACTERS: Calpurnia: is the maid at the Finch residence. She is stern, but clearly loves Scout and Jem. She is the bridge to the world of black people, for the Finch children.
OTHER CHARACTERS: Dill: becomes a friend to Jem and Scout. He’s got a great imagination and is one of the symbols of childhood innocence throughout the novel. (His real name is Charles Baker Harris.)
OTHER CHARACTERS: Boo Radley: Boo Radley lives next-door to Scout and Jem. he never comes out of his house, and at first, we don’t even know what he looks like. Neighborhood legend has it that Boo Radley is a crazy man who kills children. Scout, Jem and Dill become very intrigued by Boo.
Prejudice The word prejudice refers to prejudgment: making a decision before becoming aware of the relevant facts of a case or event. -Wikipedia
Prejudices in the novel Race Gender Handicaps Rich/Poor Age Religion
Get ready to travel to a small town in Alabama in the 1930s…
a town that is about to be tested by a horrible crime…
…and a town whose residents will be divided by their own personal beliefs about justice.
References: Information on the “Scottsboro boys”: Images: