2. Key Facts Title: To Kill a Mockingbird Author: Harper Lee Type: Novel
Genre: Coming of Age, social drama
Time and Place Written: mid 1950s New York
Published: 1960
Point of View: 1st Person
Tone: Childlike, humorous, nostalgic innocent
Tense: Past
Setting (Time):
Setting (Place): Fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama
Protagonist: Scout
Antagonist: Society, human nature, classification

3. Nelle Harper Lee Born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama
Lee’s father was a lawyer like her main character’s father in the novel
In 1931 nine young black men were accused of raping two white women near Scottsboro, AL
5 of them were sentenced to long term prison sentences
Many prominent lawyers and American citizens saw the sentences motivated by racial prejudice

4. Lee began TKAM the mid-1950s, after moving to New York to become a writer
Completed in 1957
Published in 1960 before peak of ACRM
Book became a great success due to the racially charged atmosphere of the 1960s
Lee started to retreat from public eye in mid-1960s
She avoided interviews
Only published a few short stories after 1961
She returned to Monroeville where she still lives today
In 1961 she won the Pulitzer Prize in Lit. and sold over 15 million copies
A lot of similarities between Lee’s childhood and her story
But she maintains that the book is NOT about her life

5. Character List
Jean Louise Finch “Scout-” the narrator and protagonist of the story
Atticus Finch- Jem and Scout’s father; he is a widower and a lawyer
Jeremy Finch “Jem-” brother to Scout and playmate. A typical American boy
Arthur “Boo” Radley- a recluse who never sets foot outside the house

6. Character List Continued
Charles Baker “Dill” Harris- Jem and Scout’s summer neighbor and friend
Calpurnia- the Finch’s black cook. She is the bridge between the white world and black community for the children
Aunt Alexandra
Bob Ewell
Miss Maudie
Tom Robinson
**There are 19 characters in all!

7. Symbols Mockingbird Boo Radley Represents the idea of innocence
To kill a mockingbird would be to destroy______
Boo Radley
Children’s changing attitude toward him shows transition from childhood to grown-up
Beginning:
Middle:
End:
He is a symbol of good that exists in people

8. Themes 1. The Coexistence of Good and Evil=
Ask and answer whether people are good or evil, from a child’s perspective
Jem and Scout’s transition from childhood innocence to an adulthood perspective of WHAT good and evil is

9. “People Fear What They Do Not Understand”
2. Threat of hatred, prejudice, and ignorance toward the innocent
The moral voice in the novel is Atticus
Unique- he has experience and understood evil without losing faith in the human capacity for goodness
Atticus understands that most people have both good and bad qualities
Important to appreciate the good qualities and understand the bad
Atticus tries to teach this moral lesson to his kids

10. 3. The Importance of Moral Education=
The plot charts Scout’s moral development, and shows how children are educated
Education is how they are taught to move from innocence to adulthood
Atticus devotes himself to instilling a social conscience in Jem and Scout
A sympathetic and understanding approach is the best way to teach the moral lessons

11. 4. The Existence of Social Inequality

12. Words to Know These belong in your notes!
1. Prejudice: a judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts.
Irrational attitude of hostility and suspicion or hatred of a particular group, race, or religion.
2. Racism: the belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
Discrimination or prejudice based on race.

13. Summary
At the bottom of your notes, please write a 3-4 sentence summary covering the author, characters, and themes from the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.