1. To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee

2. OVERVIEW OF THE NOVEL AUTHOR: Harper Lee PUBLICATION DATE: 1960
SETTING: Maycomb, Alabama
POINT OF VIEW: First person narrative
THEMES: Lack of and need for human compassion Need for individual conscience

3. HARPER LEE (Nellie) Harper Lee BORN: April 28, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH: Monroe, Alabama
PARENTS: Amasa C. and Frances (Finch) Lee
Related to Robert E. Lee

4. AWARDS
1960 Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Fiction by an American author
National Conference of Christian and Jews Brotherhood Award
Paperback of the Year Award
Book-of-the-Month Club

5. EDUCATION Monroe, Alabama Public School
Huntington College in Montgomery, Alabama (1944)
Attended Oxford College one year as a Fullbright scholar

6. AUTHOR’S LINKS TO THE NOVEL’S PLOT AND CHARACTERS
Harper Lee’s father was a Southern lawyer. He served as the prototype for Atticus Finch.
Harper Lee’s age (6 to 8) correlates with Scout’s age during , the time period of the book.
The courtroom in Maycomb is patterned after the one in Monroeville where Harper Lee observed her father in courtroom proceedings.
Tom Robinson’s trial appears to be a composite of many trials in the South, specifically the Scottsboro trials.
Some of the novel’s characters are composites of people Harper Lee knew personally; for example, the author Truman Capote as Dill.

7. CHARACTERS ATTICUS FINCH – lawyer, father of Scout and Jem; widower
JEAN LOUISE “SCOUT” FINCH – adult narrator as story begins; narrates story in retrospect; relates events that begin when she is 6 years old.
JEM FINCH – Scout’s brother, who is 4 years older than she.
CHARLES BAKER “DILL” HARRIS – 7-year-old visitor to Maycomb; acts as a catalyst

8. MORE CHARACTERS ARTHUR “BOO” RADLEY – neighborhood recluse
CALPURNIA – the black housekeeper for the Finch family
AUNT ALEXANDRA – Scout & Jem’s aunt
MAUDE ATKINSON – friend of Finch family

9. MORE CHARACTERS
TOM ROBINSON – black man accused of raping a white girl
MAYELLA EWELL – the girl who accuses Tom of rape
BOB EWELL – Mayella’s father
HECK TATE – Sheriff of Maycomb

10. Reading the Novel
Setting is all important –Be aware of the where and when as you begin
Point of View – The novel is shaped by the voice of a young girl who sees the story from a position of naïve acceptance
Goodness vs. Ignorance (Evil) is an important theme

11. QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
What was America like during the time of this book?
What is the significance of the title with regards to the plot and symbolism?
What experiences and people did Harper Lee rely on in order to develop her plot and characters?
Is there still prejudice in America today?

12. Literary Terms to Consider
Idiom- a construction or expression in one language that cannot be matched or directly translated word-for-word in another language
Green with envy
Raining cats and dogs
Colder than brass comode

13. Literary Terms to Consider
Hyperbole- the use of deliberate exaggeration to achieve an effect
Parody- an imitation of a specific literary work or the style of an author for comic effect, usually to ridicule or criticize that work, author, or style

14. Literary Terms to Consider
Paradox- a statement that seems self-contradictory or nonsensical on the surface but that, upon closer examination, may be seen to contain an underlying truth
Allegory- the presentation of an abstract idea through more concrete means, type of extended metaphor

15. Literary Terms to Consider
Personification- attributing human characteristics to anything nonhuman, this can be an abstract, inanimate object, or a living organism