1. To Kill a Mockingbird
By Harper Lee

2. The Setting of the Novel
Southern United States
Maycomb, Alabama: Alabama is renown as a site of racial tension, historically.
1930s
- The Great Depression
- Racial segregation

3. The 1930s – The Great Depression
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. Racial Segregation
Racial prejudice was alive & well. Although slavery had ended in 1864, old ideas were slow to change.

6. Sexism
Despite that women were declared “equal” and given the right to vote in the 1920s, women were still viewed as the “weaker sex.”
Women were generally not educated for occupations outside the home
In wealthy families, women were expected to oversee the servants and entertain guests
Men were not considered capable of nurturing children

7. Legal Issues of the 1930s & their impact on the novel’s setting
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

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

9. Prejudice/Discrimination in To Kill a Mockingbird
Race
Gender
Handicaps
Rich/Poor
Age
Religion

10. To Kill a Mockingbird - 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

11. To Kill a Mockingbird – Point of View
First person narration
The story is not told by the younger Scout Finch. It is told by an older Scout, looking back. However, the point of view is mostly a first-person limited one; that is, limited to the knowledge of the younger Scout.
In this way, the narration presents a sort of “doubled” perspective on the events.

13. Question:
Why would the author choose to present a first-person limited point of view, rather than an omniscient one? What advantage is there to using the first-person limited?

14. To Kill a Mockingbird – Themes
Review:
Theme is the controlling idea, meaning, or message of a work of art.
Themes in the novel are based on the concept of racial prejudice which was so much a part of society at that time:
Lee stresses the need for human understanding to destroy the evils off racial prejudice..

15. Autobiographical Elements – Harper Lee vs. Scout Finch
Born & raised in Alabama
Grew up in 1930s
Father was a lawyer
Mother’s maiden name = Finch
Scout Finch:
Born & raised in Alabama
Grew up in 1930s
Father was a lawyer
Last name is Finch
While the story is fictional, there are elements of it that are undeniably autobiographical.

16. Keep in mind while reading…
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