To Kill A Mockingbird a novel by Harper Lee Melissa Buell’s Student Sample
Our Objectives We read To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. We will try to relate the key topics of the novel to current issues. We will explore an issue from the novel that is still an issue today and work as a group to find a solution. We created this PowerPoint presentation about our problem and solution and are sharing it with the class.
Key Topics in To Kill A Mockingbird ~Racism and Prejudice~ Definitions Racism is hatred or intolerance of another race or other races. (dictionary.com) Prejudice is unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, esp. of a hostile nature, regarding a racial, religious, or national group. (dictionary.com) Connection to the novel Scout states, “I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks.” Chapter 23
Important Characters in the Book Atticus Finch- Lawyer in Maycomb. Father to Jem and Scout. Jem Finch – Ten year old son of Atticus. Loves football and is deeply interested in the trial of Tom Robinson. Scout Finch – Six year daughter of Atticus. A tomboy who is very intelligent. Calpurnia - The Finches’ black cook. She cares about the children very much. Dill Harris - A new neighbor who plays with Jem and Scout. He becomes obsessed with Boo Radley, the Finches’ creepy neighbor. Miss Maudie – A family friend who is a good influence on Scout.
More characters Tom Robinson – A black man who is accused of attempting to rape a white woman. Atticus is Tom’s lawyer when the case goes to trial. Tom is innocent but is convicted because he is black. Mayella Ewell – The woman who accused Tom Robinson of raping her. Bob Ewell – Mayella’s father. Arthur “Boo” Radley – The Finches’ reclusive neighbor. There is much speculation about Boo and the children are fascinated with him.
This book talks about racism and prejudice. The novel was written in 1960 based on events that happened in the 1930s. Our group can still see the same things happened in the present and in our community, country, and world. We decided this was a relevant topic to discuss for our presentation.
Mrs. Buell gave us the Curriculm Framing Questions to think about while reading this novel, and we decided to use them in our presentation! Essential Questions How do human beings influence each other? We influence each other with our attitudes, especially when our attitudes are loving and accepting or hateful. We interact with a wide variety of people on a daily basis. We need to treat everyone kindly and respectfully. “Treat one another as you want to be treated.” Is hate unavoidable in the world? Unfortunately, no. People will always hate someone that is different than they are. But, we can try to live in a manner that shows love and influence others to put away their hate.
More Questions… Unit Questions How can justice be tainted? As seen in Mockingbird, justice is tainted when Tom Robinson does not get a fair trial. The jury voted against him and he ended up dying in an attempted prison break. If we open the newspaper, we can see instances of tainted justice in our country and around the globe. If the people sitting on the jury are filled with hate and prejudice, the outcome will not be pure and good. How does racism affect one's life? Racism affects Jem’s life in Mockingbird very strongly. He becomes depressed following Tom Robinson’s trial and conviction. He had a hard time dealing with the prejudice that surrounded him in Maycomb. Our group thought about this question for a long time. We all must be careful with our words and actions so as not to hurt other people.
And more questions! Content Questions What is prejudice? Racism is hatred or intolerance of another race or other races. (dictionary.com) What is racism? Prejudice is unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, esp. of a hostile nature, regarding a racial, religious, or national group. (dictionary.com)
In case you were wondering… Why is it bad to kill a mockingbird? Atticus tells Jem and Scout that killing a mockingbird is bad. Miss Maudie tells the kids, “Your father's right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy... but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.” Atticus is trying to tell them about Boo Radley and he wants the kids to leave Boo alone.
What happens to Tom Robinson? Tom Robinson had to go to prison although the jury knew he was innocent. A black man in the south in America in the 1930s couldn’t win in a court case against a white woman. We know this isn’t a fair thing, but people were very racist in the South at that time and this was a common practice. Tom Robinson dies while trying to escape from prison.
Character Focus ~Atticus Finch~ Jem and Scout learn from their dad Atticus about life and racism and how to be good people. He teaches them to look past the surface to get to what is really important. That’s why Scout can understand Boo Radley at the end of the book. Scout says, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” Scout is ashamed of her father at first for being so much older than her schoolmates fathers. But when Atticus shoots the rabid dog with just one shot, Scout and Jem are both extremely proud of their dad. Atticus takes on a case that he knew he couldn’t win, but he did it because it was the right thing to do.
How does this affect us? After reading this novel, our group talked about how we can fight against racism and prejudice. We can not use hurtful words but it needs to start before that. We need to make sure we are using the correct thinking. People are people. A person’s ethnicity, skin color, age, class, or religion should not make us treat him with hatred because he is different. Many wars are fought over this very thing. If we can help in our own small way, we may affect the community. We hope this will start a ripple effect that will continue to grow across the whole world!
Works Cited Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. HarperCollins: 1960 (Perennial Classics edition: 2002). Dictionary.com for definitions.