To Kill a Mockingbird Notes By Harper Lee

Harper Lee Born in 1926 in the small town of Monroeville, Alabama Father: Lawyer Mother: Maiden name ‘Finch’ Based ‘Scout’ on herself Published one novel: TKAM in 1960 Received Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1961 Since 1960, “To Kill a Mockingbird” has never been out of print At age 86, she is alive and resides in New York She rarely makes public appearances or gives interviews

Setting Maycomb, Alabama (fictional) Although slavery has long been abolished, the Southerners in Maycomb continue to believe in white supremacy. Gothic mood (motif): o Boo Radley house o Mad dog o Fire that destroys Miss Maudie’s house o Unnatural snow fall o Halloween night

Themes: Racial Prejudice Social hierarchy: white mid. class, white poor, white trash, blacks o Segregation: Neighbourhoods, hospitals and churches, division within buildings (court house) Lee uses children’s confusion of segregation and hostility to criticize human prejudices o Scout doesn’t understand why she can’t play with the Cunningham boy o Scout needs Atticus to explain what a ‘nigger lover’ means

Themes: Moral Education Education of the children: o Small town mentality stifles anything that isn’t the norm: 'Your father does not know how to teach. You can have a seat now.‘ – Teacher o Atticus’s own teachings (read ahead, only ignorant people use the ‘n’ word, be the bigger man and walk away, the respect for the Cunninghams, don’t make fun of Boo, etc.) Loss of innocence; Coming of age: o Being subjected to bullying and torments about Atticus’s trial forces the children to make their own decisions (building empathy) o "Naw, Jem, I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks.“ – Scout begins to realize that adults aren’t always right o Scout teaches Uncle Jack how to handle children fairly.

Themes: Empathy Scout is prejudice against Boo Radley o Atticus explains that you never know a person until you “climb inside his skin and walk around in it” o Boo reveals himself to be misunderstood and ends up saving the children in the end Symbol: Mockingbird o Never kill a mockingbird because they don’t hurt anyone; they just sing to us o Boo Radley: helps children but is widly feared. o Tom Robinson: helped Mayella out of kindness and was persecuted by townsfolk o Prejudiced people lack empathy

Themes: Courage Atticus and the trial o "This case, Tom Robinson's case, is something that goes to the essence of a man's conscience-Scout, I couldn't go to church and worship God if I didn't try to help that man.“ -- Atticus o Despite the social consequences (name called, Ewell spits in face), Atticus takes the case seriously and does all he can for Tom. Mrs. Dubose o "I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.“ – Atticus o Mrs. Dubose had the courage to withstand the intense pain of being off morphine, so she could die sober

Jean Louise Finch – “Scout” Narrator, 1 st person As an adult, Scout looks back at her childhood Scout is six when the story begins. She is naturally curious about life.

Scout’s Character Traits Tomboy Impulsive Emotional Warm & Friendly Sensitive Inquisitive Gains in maturity throughout the Novel

Atticus Finch Father of Scout and Jem A widower An attorney by profession Highly respected Good citizen Instills good values and morals in his children. His children call him “Atticus” Honest Typical southern gentleman Brave Courteous Soft-spoken

Jem Finch Scout’s older brother Looks up to his father Atticus Usually looks out for Scout Typical older brother at times Smart Compassionate Matures as the story progresses

Calpurnia The Finch’s black housekeeper Has watched the children since their mother’s death Has been a positive influence on the children. Has a child and lives in the black neighborhood. Educated; but uses black neighbourhood dialect when home.

Arthur “Boo” Radley 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

Tom Robinson A young, harmless, innocent, hardworking black man Has a crippled left hand Married with three children. Works on a farm belonging to Mr. Link Deas, a white man Will be falsely accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell

Dill A close friend of Jem and Scout Usually lives in Maycomb only during the summer (stays with a relative) Tells “big stories” Has been deprived of love and affection

Two Poor White Families: The Ewells The Cunninghams 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. Poor white trash Dirty Lazy Good-for-nothing Never done a day’s work Foul-mouthed Dishonest Immoral

The Black Community 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

Language Sometimes the language of Scout will be that of her as a child; other times, she will be speaking in the voice of an adult Atticus uses formal speech Calpurnia uses “white language” in the Finch house and switches to “black jargon” when amidst blacks The Ewells 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 such as “nigger,” “darky,” “Negroes,” and “colored folk” – Lee uses such language to keep her novel naturally in sync with common language of the times