2. LANGUAGE
The language of the children the eloquence of Atticus, and the language of the townspeople reflect their attitudes and often their prejudices. This language shows how the power of words establishes what society most values.

3. What effect does language have in society?
Language can elevate or demean individuals.
It can determine who deserves status (respect) and who can be dismissed as inferior and powerless.
Take note of the names in the novel. Can you guess their social status?

4. HOW ARE THESE PEOPLE ADDRESSED?
Jem -white13 year male child of Atticus.
Dubose – married white woman.
Maudie – unmarried white woman.
Atticus Finch – white man with title
Calpurnia – black woman
Tom Robinson – black man
Mayella Ewell- poor white woman, no status
Sykes – black minister
Arthur Radley – simple white man
Scout - six year old white child of Atticus

5. Additional Language Issues to Consider Refer Back to Text
1. What lessons does Atticus attempt to teach Scout about the use of racial slurs?
2. Examine the dialects used by Lee in the novel. (poor whites/poor blacks/small children/genteel Southern ladies/educated lawyer)
3. What lesson does Calpurnia try to teach Scout when she says that she has one way of talking at home and another way of talking at the Finch household?

6. Is Mockingbird an example of a American Realism?
Renders reality closely and in comprehensive detail. Selective presentation of reality with an emphasis on verisimilitude, even at the expense of a well-made plot
Character is more important than action and plot; complex ethical choices are often the subject.
Characters appear in their real complexity of temperament and motive; they are in explicable relation to nature, to each other, to their social class, to their own past.
Class is important; the novel has traditionally served the interests and aspirations of an insurgent middle class.
Events will usually be plausible. Realistic novels avoid the sensational, dramatic elements of naturalistic novels and romances.
Diction is natural vernacular, not heightened or poetic; tone may be comic, satiric, or matter-of-fact.

7. The Use of Realistic Dialogue
The attempt to portray speech patterns and vocabulary that reflect the language of the times and the environments in which the characters live.
Sometimes this results in words and passages that might offend the reader. Yet they are included as part of the author’s moral vision and larger theme.

8. Strongly agree 2. Agree 3. Disagree 4. Strongly disagree.
1. All men are created equal.
2. Girls should act like girls.
3. It’s okay to be different.
4. Nobody is all bad or all good.
5. Some words are so offensive they should never be stated or written.
6. Under our justice system, all citizens are treated fairly in our courts of law.

9. 7. The old adage, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me,” is true.
8. Speaking standard grammar reflects high intelligence level.
9. A hero is born, not made.
10. No one is above the law.
11. Education is the great equalizer.
12. When the law does not succeed in punishing criminals, citizens should do so.

10. 1.Stereotyping- Labeling categories of people in rigid ways
THEMES AND ISSUES
1.Stereotyping- Labeling categories of people in rigid ways .
Jock/prep/dude/lawyer/football player/ babe/tomboy/geek/redneck/
cheerleader/ motorcyclist/ grunge

13. What is the nature of a stereotype. How do stereotypes form
What is the nature of a stereotype? How do stereotypes form? Identify a stereotyped character in TKAM and explain how this stereotype formed.

14. 2. The nature of a hero – What is a hero?
How does the issue of courage work in the lives of Atticus, Scout, and Tom Robinson?

15. 3. The Legal Connection- Upon what real events might the trial of Tom Robinson be based? Is it a specific incident or simply a reflection of the setting?

16. 4. The family – What is Lee’s general perspective regarding childrearing and the education of children? Consider the issues of single parenting and a child’s preparation for entering the adult world.

17. 5. Gender – Consider how the female characters (including our narrator) serve to develop the plot and communicate theme.

18. Bildungsroman-
This particular vein of literature is popular and fundamental because it exemplifies struggles that everyone must face. Within life, there are few wholly accepted truths, life and death being the two most predominant; but within everyone’s life there is the time of facing the fear of growing up, “coming of age.” Bildungsroman is this coming of age manifested within literature. Though it is sometimes viewed as a pedantic attempt to break free from the social barriers set around the main character, it is more of the involvement of the character’s views of these barriers. In the end, the character is wiser, whether or not they chose to eventually conform to the societal norms; and within that wisdom, identity is found.
Compiled by Melanie Kinchen, Paul Major, Summer Prejean and Collins Phillips III

19. 6. Coming of Age? What are the life-changing experiences that enable use to see Scout and/or Jem “grow up” during the course of the story? How might they be changed into a more mature understanding of the world around them? Is the story of growing up more about Scout or Jem?

20. 7. Invisibility – Who in the novel is invisible? Why? To whom?

21. 8. Bridges – The children represent the bridge between segregated society, bridging between race, class and invisible “outsiders.”

22. 9. Plot Considerations – Getting Boo to come out of his house.(main)
The trial of Tom Robinson.
The maturation of Scout and Jem.
What initiates the main plot? Where does it conclude? How does it touch on the other two plots individually and together?

23. 10. The importance of setting-
Could this be considered an historical novel? How do specific elements of setting reveal character and theme?