Southern Gothic - Union Endicott High School
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Transcript Southern Gothic - Union Endicott High School
Harper Lee
Born April 28, 1926
About the author
Grew up in Monroeville, Alabama
Her father, a lawyer and state legislator, was
a descendant of General Robert E Lee
Lee was an avid reader and from a young age
wanted to become a writer
More About the Author
Attended University of Alabama and later
moved to NYC to pursue a writing career
After two years of writing and revising, To Kill
a Mockingbird was published in 1960
About the novel
To Kill a Mockingbird was an immediate
success
Won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961
Voted best novel of the century by Library
Journal in 1999
More About the Novel
1991 survey by the Library of Congress asked
readers to rank books that had made a
significant difference in their lives. TKaM
ranked second after the Bible.
TKaM is the only novel Lee ever published
For more than 40 years, Lee has declined to
comment on her novel, letting it speak for
itself
Style
Coming of Age
Lee chose a form of fiction that explicitly deals
with the main characters growing up and
maturing.
Language
Lee employs colloquial language – esp. in the
speech of the characters (dialogue) and in the
descriptions of setting
Style Cont.
Narration
Double-layered narration is used.
The older Scout explicitly tells the story at the
outset of the novel and at its end.
In the middle, the story is told from the
perspective of Scout as a child.
However, there are points in the novel where the
two narrators are almost telling the story at the
same time.
Style Cont.
Symbols
Lee employs several central symbols in the novel
Mockingbird
Snowman
Mad dog
Boo Radley
Clothing – esp. Scout’s clothes
Buildings
Themes
Race Relations
Growing up
Search for Identity
America divided
Justice vs. the Law
History vs. the
Present
Conformity vs.
Individuality
Gender Roles
Stereotypes Exposed
Myths of Childhood