2. Shoot all the blue jays you want,
if you can hit ‘em,
but remember it’s a sin...

3. Harper Lee - Born in 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama
- Based the main character, Scout, on herself
- Remained out of the spotlight even though TKAM was wildly popular

4. To Kill a Mockingbird - Published in 1960
- Follows the adventures of a young girl in a small town in Alabama
- Widely loved due to its variety of powerful themes, memorable scenes, and lovable characters
- Considered one of the greatest works of American literature

5. Historical Context
- Jim Crow laws enforced racial segregation in the South, and were not outlawed until the Civil Rights Act in 1965
- Lee published this book in a time when it was perfectly acceptable to deny privileges to people based on their race
- To Lee, considering someone different than yourself as an equal is not radical, it’s basic human decency

6. Historical Context
- In the book, America is still in the midst of the Great Depression
- Americans were often fearful of the future and quick to place blame on people or things that were not the real problem
- Many townspeople in TKAM are quite poor

7. Historical Context
- Just as it is today, the South in TKAM is a place deeply rooted in tradition
Characters often establish their identities in their heritage, ancestry, faith, and region
- Scout discovers and questions many long-standing (and sometimes unjust) traditions in her Southern environment

8. Characters Scout Finch
- TKAM is told in first-person perspective by Scout, looking back on her life at an older age
- Scout is a tomboy that hates doing “girly” things
TKAM revolves around Scout learning lessons about life by coming into conflict with people and ideas
- Her mother died when Scout was little, so she is raised mostly by her father and housekeeper

9. Characters Jem Finch - Jem is Scout’s older brother
- He is typically a good, protective brother, but sometimes he gets the two into mischief
- Aside from Dill, the Finch siblings don’t interact with many other kids, so they remain close despite Jem wanting more space as he grows older

10. Characters
Dill
- Scout and Jem hang out with Dill when he visits in the summer
- He is based on the famous author, Truman Capote, who was a childhood friend of Harper Lee
- Dill shares a love of reading with the Finch siblings

11. Characters Atticus - Atticus is Scout and Jem’s father
- He depends on Calpurnia, and later his sister, to help raise the kids
- He is a hard-working lawyer who takes on the case of a black man when nobody else would
- Atticus is a beacon of wisdom and an amazing role model
- Every English teacher ever is in love with Atticus Finch, and if you aren’t, you’re wrong

12. Important Stuff -Pay attention to anything that Atticus says.
-Figure out just who the mockingbird is. There may be more than one.
-One of the major things that stands out about the Finch family is that they are avid readers. Why is reading important in this book and what is the benefit?
-Scout is not a typical girl. How does she break the rules and when is this okay?
-What qualifies this book as Southern literature?
-Segregation and racism were huge social injustices of this book’s time. What social injustices exist today?
-Themes revolve around race, injustice, poverty, life in the South, coming-of-age, love, gender roles, family, forgiveness, American identity, and lots more.

13. By the way...
...this is a mockingbird.