1. To Kill A Mockingbird

2. To Kill a Mockingbird?
"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
Think of “killing a mockingbird” like being prejudiced to someone who doesn’t deserve it. (this is a central theme in the story)

3. Mockingbird

4. Introduction to the Novel
About the Author – Harper Lee
Born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama
Youngest of four children
1957 – submitted manuscript for her novel; was urged to rewrite it
Spent over two years reworking it
1960 – To Kill a Mockingbird (her only novel) published
was one of two persons named by President Johnson to the National Council of Arts

5. Introduction to the Novel
About the Author– Harper Lee
To Kill A Mockingbird is semi-autobiographical for a number of reasons:
Lee grew up in Alabama
Father was prominent lawyer
Experienced Great Depression, Scottsboro Trials
“Scout” based on her life; “Dill” based on life of childhood friend Truman Capote

6. The story is set in Maycomb, a fictional city in southern Alabama.
Historical Background
To Kill a Mockingbird takes place from 1933 to 1935, during the Great Depression.
The story is set in Maycomb, a fictional city in southern Alabama.
The story’s setting, Maycomb County, is an isolated rural area, poor and undeveloped. It is slow to respond to change and progress.
Black people receive low wages as field workers and house servants. White farmers are more likely to own land, but their crops are often meager. Trade is slow and they are often poor.

7. What do you think prices were like in 1930???
Life in the 1930’s . . .
What do you think prices were like in 1930???
Candy Bar:
Rent:
Newspaper:
Ice cream:
Movie Ticket:
Doctor’s Visit:
Hamburger:
Cup of coffee:
Candy Bar – 3 Milky Way bars $.10
Rent
Newspaper $.02
Ice cream
Movie ticket $.10 per ticket
Dr’s visit $4 per day to stay in a hospital
Hamburger – 1 lb. $.15
Cup of coffee
Average cost of living was around $4k vs around $60k today for a family

8. Crash of the Stock Market, 1929
Historical Background
Crash of the Stock Market, 1929

9. Historical Background
Great Depression
During the Great Depression, thousands of people relied on charitable organizations for meals and would line up for simple meals often of bread and soup.
Picture of bread lines (people waiting in line for food – usually soup and bread) during the Great Depression.

10. Historical Background
Slavery was abolished in 1864, but Southerners still believe in white supremacy.
Segregation exists. Blacks may not sit in the same sections as whites. They have separate facilities as well.

11. "The Scottsboro Boys" Trials 1931 - 1937
Historical Background
"The Scottsboro Boys" Trials
No crime in American history-- let alone a crime that,
The Scottsboro Trials took place when 9 black boys were accused of raping 2 white girls.  This took place in Alabama, in the 1930's.  The boys were hoboeing (riding freight-trains), when they got into a fight with some white boys.  The boys accused the blacks of raping two girls, who had boarded the train.  The blacks were tried in court unjustly (by very incompetent lawyers) and there was no presumption of innocence.  They were sentenced to death-row initially, and spent 2 years in terrible conditions (prison) while waiting for the appeal.  They were tried again, and finally, most of them were freed either through parole, escape or by being killed.
Sad, but true.

12. Brown vs. Board of Education 1954
Brown vs. Board was about a 3rd grade black girl, named Linda Brown.  She lived in Topeka, Kansas.  She had to walk a mile to attend an all black school (through bad conditions) when there was a white school, only 7 blocks away.  Her father decided to solicit the help of the NAACP, and they took the case to court, which was fighting for Linda's right to attend the white school.  This was happening during the 1950's, when racial segregation was the norm.  In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of deeming desegregation unconstitutional.  The law did not end desegregation overall, as it still existed in restaurants and public facilities.  It also did not put a time-frame on when the schools had to combine the population, and in many states, it took a long time to end desegregation.

13. Historical Background
Gender Bias
Women were the weaker sex.
Education not important for women.
Wealthy women were expected to supervise staff
Men were not seen as nurturing

14. Historical Background
Social Class in the 1930’s
The social class structure in the novel is probably similar to how class structure existed during the 1930s in the South. The wealthy, although fewest in number, were most powerful. The blacks, although great in number, were lowest on the class ladder, and thus, had the least privileges.
Examples of each social class:
Wealthy - Finches
Country Folk - Cunninghams
“White Trash” – Ewells
Black Community – Tom Robinson

15. Historical Background
Poor White Families
Hard-working
Honest
Proud
Survive on very little
Always pay back their debts – even if it is with hickory nuts, turnips, or holly.
The Cunninghams fit this category

16. Historical Background
Poor white trash
Dirty
Lazy
Good-for-nothing
Never done a day’s work
Foul-mouthed
Dishonest
Immoral
The Ewells fit this category

17. Historical Background
The Black Community
Simple, Honest, Clean
Hard-working & God fearing
Proud
Would never take anything with paying it back
Respectful
Had stronger character than most of the whites
Oppressed & Uneducated
Discriminated against
Talked about badly
Deserve better than what is dished out to them by society

18. Introduction to the Novel
Background Information
Even those with jobs were affected because nothing was being produced
Average family income dropped to 50% by 1935
25% of population had no job
GREAT
DEPRESSION
Stock Market Crash caused people to lose billions. Entire banks were wiped out and by 1933 over 60% of population was considered poor
Hundreds of thousands lost homes, farms and possessions
A period of extreme drought, poverty and hardships during the 1930s.
The novel takes place during the mid-1930s at a time when the government was attempting to stop the Great Depression. The President at the time, Franklin Roosevelt, famously said, “the only thing to fear is fear itself” as his government created programs to create jobs, house the homeless and feed the starving.

19. Introduction to the Novel
Background Information
Although slavery was abolished in the 1890s racism and discrimination were alive and well during the time of the novel.
The novel is based on many historical facts that help to drive the story, (and allow the readers to explore a sad time in American history) including:
Racism and Social Classes
Jim Crow Laws (1890s – 1960s)
Scottsboro Trials (1931)
Social Inequality (Forever)

20. Introduction to the Novel
Background Information
Wealthy
White Town/Country People
“White Trash”
Black People
Social Inequality
The Finches
White folks of Maycomb &
Maycomb County
The Ewell Family
Tom Robinson
Even the law was one-sided: Juries were always all-white and all-male. The word of a black man meant nothing against the word of a white man.

21. Characters Jean Louise Finch “Scout”
The story’s narrator
Although now an adult, Scout looks back at her childhood and tells of the momentous events and influential people of those years.
Scout is six when the story begins.
She is naturally curious about life.

22. Characters Atticus Finch
Father of Scout and Jem
A widower
An attorney by profession
Highly respected
Good citizen
Instills good values and morals in his children.

23. Characters Jem Finch Scout’s older brother
Looks up to his father Atticus
Usually looks out for Scout
Typical older brother at times
Smart
Compassionate
Matures as the story progresses

24. Characters Calpurnia The Finch’s black housekeeper
Has watched the children since their mother’s death
Has been a positive influence on the children.

25. Characters Dill A close friend of Jem and Scout
Usually lives in Maycomb only during the summer (stays with a relative)
Tells “big stories”
Has been deprived of love and affection

26. Characters Tom Robinson
A young, harmless, innocent, hardworking black man
Has a crippled left hand
Married with three children. Works on a farm belonging to Mr. Link Deas, a white man

27. Characters Arthur “Boo” Radley
An enigma
An adult man, whose father has “sentenced” him to a lifetime confinement to their house because of some mischief he got into when he was a teenager.
Has a reputation of being a lunatic
Basically a harmless, well-meaning person
Sometimes childlike in behavior
Starving for love and affection

28. Characters Mayella Ewell
The oldest child of Bob Ewell
Shy
Lonely

29. Characters Miss Maudie Atkinson
Scout’s Neighbor
Loves gardens and bakes the best cake in Maycomb
Knows how to treat children like adults

30. Characters Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose
A mean old woman in the Finch neighborhood
Teaches the children a lesson in bravery

31. Characters Aunt Alexandra
Atticus’s sister
Wants Scout to be a lady
Wants Jem to be a gentleman

32. Characters Bob Ewell Mayella’s poor white trash father
The town parasite who lives off the town’s bounty

33. Characters Heck Tate
The town sheriff

34. Introduction to the Novel
Exploring Themes
Good vs. Evil
Moral reasoning by Atticus Finch
Acts of “Boo” Radley
Loss of innocence
Acts of the Ewell family: deception, harassment, lies and violence
Morals: Right and Wrong
Perspective: Life in someone else’s shoes
Atticus Finch defending Tom Robinson
“Boo” Radley and his background
Social Inequality, Racism and Discrimination
The treatment of Tom Robinson
Racial divide between blacks and whites during time period
Treatment of whites who defend blacks

35. Introduction to the Novel
Exploring Symbols
…Be on the lookout for:
SYMBOL:
A word or object that represents another word or object
Small-Town Life
“Boo” Radley
Mockingbirds / Birds
What do these symbols represent!?