1. Background of To Kill a Mockingbird Presented by Mr. Afram www.leofuchsarchives.com es.wikipedia.org www.leofuchsarchives.com www.mhpbooks.com Harper Lee today Scout Atticus Finch & Tom Robinson Scout playing w/the boys

2. Introduction To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most widely- read books in the American high school system. First published in 1960, it immediately received the Pulitzer Prize, one of the world’s greatest awards for literature, in 1961. It’s considered a modern-day classic, and a group of British librarians said that TKM is the one book that every person should read before dying. tanisharankins.wordpress.com www.biography.com Downtown Monroeville, AL Harper Lee in the ‘60s

3. Table of Contents Setting 1930s The South Scottsboro Boys & Emmett Till Literary Elements Southern Gothic Bildungsroman Voice of the Narrator Harper Lee Essential Questions Works Cited www.enchantedlearning.com en.wikipedia.org State of Alabama Typical small-town courthouse 10000birds.com Mockingbird

4. Setting: The 1930s During the Great Depression, the world economy collapsed. Most economists believe that the Depression was due to the crash of the US stock market, which had a ripple effect across the world. The collapse of the stock market led to bank failures, and many people couldn’t retrieve money from the banks (Kelly). Finally, there was a severe drought in the Mississippi Valley, and it was hard to produce crops (Kelly). www.oregonlive.com www.theguardian.com Bread lines Unemployment was at 25%

5. Setting: The South The novel portrays the South as: 1. Proud of its history; 2. Deeply segregated; and 3. With a profound divide between the rich and poor. In other words, the South hasn’t seen its glory days in a long time! allabouthousesblog.blogspot.com verysmartbrothas.com uncyclopedia.wikia.com

6. Setting: Scottsboro Boys In 1931, nine black youths (between the ages of 12 and 20) were falsely accused of raping two white women on a freight train in Alabama. The trial was held in the small town of Scottsboro, and eight of the youths were sentenced to death (Wormser). fineartamerica.com www.wnyc.org Scottsboro boys Victoria Price & Ruby Bates

7. Setting: Emmett Till In 1955, Emmett Till, a fifteen year-old boy from Chicago, was visiting family in Money, Mississippi. While there, he reportedly flirted with a white female clerk at the grocery store. Four days later, two white men kidnapped Till, beat him, and shot him in the head. Till’s mother, Mamie, insisted on an open casket funeral, and Emmett Till’s violent death helped galvanize the emerging civil rights movement (A & E Networks). thoughtprovokingperspectives.wordpress.com law2.umkc.edu reasonablydoubted.com

8. Literary Elements, Part I Southern Gothic: a literary style involving the following elements: disturbed characters, decaying settings, flexible gender roles, and elements of poverty, racism, and violence (Wikipedia.org) Bildungsroman: type of literature that involves the main character’s shift from innocence to experience or maturity (Princeton.edu) www.thecarpetbagger.org www.jerseyarts.com

9. Literary Elements, Part II Because TKM is a bildungsroman, and written from Scout’s perspective, the reader must always question the reliability of Scout’s narration. She isn’t lying, per se, she’s just sharing her perspective. Example: “_______________ was about six- and-a-half feet tall…[and] he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch…There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face” (Lee 16). en.wikipedia.org www.comicvine.com

10. Harper Lee, Part I Born on April 28, 1926, Lee grew up in Monroeville, AL. She was the youngest of four children (McGraw-Hill). Her father was a lawyer and also a state legislator. Sadly, her mother had a serious case of mental illness (bipolar?) and she rarely left the home (A&E Networks). She attended the University of Alabama and planned on being a lawyer, but later decided to be a writer. As a child, she befriended Truman Capote, who also became a famous writer. imogeneandwillie.blogspot.com capoteweb.com

11. Harper Lee, Part II In 1949(at age 23), Lee moved to NYC in hopes of becoming a writer. By 1957 she had finished a draft of TKM (McGraw- Hill). TKM was published in 1960, and the novel receive the Pulitzer Prize, in 1961. The book was made into an Academy Award- winning film. TKM is Lee’s only novel, and she largely avoids media attention. johneaves.wordpress.com www.frankwbaker.com

12. Essential Questions What does it mean “to do the right thing?” What are your principles? How do you stand up for your principles? fineartamerica.com www.myhiddengems.co.uk

13. Works Cited "Bildungsroman." Bildungsroman. Princeton.edu, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.. "Harper Lee Biography." www.biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 2013. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.. Kelly, Martin. "Top 5 Causes of the Great Depression." About.com American History. About.com, 2013. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.. "Southern Gothic." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Oct. 2013. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.. Study Guide for To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, n.d. Print. Wormser, Richard. "The Scottsboro Case." PBS. PBS, 2002. Web. 27 Oct. 2013..