1. To Kill a Mockingbird
By Harper Lee

2. SETTING OF THE NOVEL Southern United States 1930’s Great Depression
Prejudice and legal segregation
Ignorance

3. 1930’s - Great Depression began when the stock market crashed in October, 1929
Businesses failed, factories closed
People were out of work
Even people with money suffered because nothing was being produced for sale.
Poor people lost their homes, were forced to “live off the land.”

4. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”

5. Racial prejudice was alive & well
Racial prejudice was alive & well. Although slavery had ended in 1864, old ideas were slow to change.

6. Racial separation (segregation)

7. Gender Bias (Prejudice)
Women were considered “weak”
Women were generally not educated for occupations outside the home
Women were not allowed to serve on juries.
In wealthy families, women were expected to oversee the servants and entertain guests
Men not considered capable of nurturing children

8. “White trash” Poor, uneducated white people who lived on “relief “
lowest social class, even below the poor blacks
prejudiced against black people
felt the need to “put down” blacks in order to elevate themselves
“White trash”

9. Legal Issues of the 1930’s which impact the story
Women given the vote in 1920
Juries were MALE and WHITE
“Fair trial” did not include acceptance of a black man’s word against a white man’s

10. Race Gender Handicaps Rich/Poor Age Religion
Prejudice in the novel
Race
Gender
Handicaps
Rich/Poor
Age
Religion

11. Characters
Atticus Finch - an attorney whose wife has died, leaving him to raise their two children:
-Jem – 10-year-old boy
-Scout – (Jean Louise), 6-year-old girl
Tom Robinson – a black man accused of raping white girl; he is defended at trial by Atticus

12. There are Autobiographical elements to the novel.
The town on Maycomb is based on Monroeville, Alabama.
Harper Lee’s father was also an attorney. After unsuccessfully defending two black men accused of murder he gave up criminal trials.
The character of Dill was based on the author Truman Capote, a friend of Harper Lee’s

14. Point of View First person
Story is told by Scout, who at the beginning is six and at the end 10.
The perspective of a small child allows the author to explore the world of Maycomb from the point of view of an innocent.
As a child learning about the world around her, Scout questions everything.
Point of View

15. Reading the Novel Themes:
Seeing another’s viewpoint creates understanding.
Growing up means losing one’s innocence.

16. What would people learn about your life if they were to “walk a mile” in your shoes? Your obligations and activities; family and friends; likes and dislikes.
Who do you find it hard to understand and appreciate? Why?
As you’ve grown older, what have you learned about the world that made you smarter but sadder?