Transcript To Kill a Mockingbird - Pleasant Valley High School

To Kill a Mockingbird
By
Harper Lee
Author’s Background
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Born Nelle Harper Lee
on April 28, 1926
Born in Monroeville,
Alabama, a small city
w/ a population of
about 7,000 people
Youngest of three
children
Author’s Background
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Father- Amasa Coleman Lee- began
practicing law in 1915
Mother- Frances Cunningham Finch
Lee
Attended Huntington College from
1944-45
Author’s Background
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Studied Law @
University of Alabama
from 1945-49
Attended Oxford for
one year
Left school to move to
New York and pursue
a career as a writer
Author’s Background
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Worked in NY for
BOAC airlines
First submitted To Kill A
Mockingbird for
publication in 1957
Worked on revisions
for 3 years/ published
in 1960
Author’s Background
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Won a Pulitzer Prize in
1961
Never published
another novel, but did
publish several essays
Rumors report that
she is working on a
second novel
Historical Context
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Novel takes place in Alabama in the 1930’s
Time of the Great Depression
Although slavery was abolished in 1863,
African Americans were still denied many
rights
Segregation exists in schools, public
bathrooms, busses and many other public
places
Historical Context
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A great deal of
discrimination existed in
the justice system
African Americans were
not allowed to be on
juries
Blacks were often
arrested, tried, and
convicted with little cause
Historical Context- the South
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Agricultural economy was
hit hard by the
depression
Many white southerners
had a romanticized idea
of how life should be
They felt threatened by
change and
industrialization
Historical Context-the South
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Little opportunity for African Americans to
advance themselves
Nearly half of all blacks in the South did
not receive an education past the 5th
grade
Racist groups like the Ku Klux Clan and
the Black Shirts terrorized blacks
Lynching was still a common practice
The Scottsboro Trials
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Many parallels between the trial of Tom
Robinson in the novel & the Scottsboro
Trials
In 1931, 9 young African American males
are stopped on a freight train in Alabama
They are arrested, tried, and convicted of
the rape of two white women
The men were pardoned in 1976
Literary Devices- Point of View
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One of the most distinctive characteristics
of the novel
The story is told from the perspective of a
child who is approx 6 years old when the
story begins
Literary Devices-Setting
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Entire story takes place in the town of
Maycomb, Alabama
The small town is conservative and
traditional
Blacks and whites live in separate sections
of town
Time period is 1933-35 during the years of
the Great depression
Literary Devices-Symbolism
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The mockingbird is a
symbol of innocence
in the novel
Miss Maudie tells the
children “it’s a sin to
kill a mockingbird”
because they never
do harm
Literary Devices
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Motifs- recurring structures,
contrasts, or literary devices that
help develop the themes
ex: small town life
old fashioned values
gothic details
Literary Devices
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Allusions- references to various
places, people, things, historical
events, or other works of literature
Idioms- expressions or phrases that
have meanings different than a literal
interpretation would suggest
Main Characters
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Jean Louise Finchknown as Scout; the
narrator of the novel;
tomboyish and very
bright
Jeremy Finch- known
as Jem; Scout’s older
brother
Main Charaters
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Atticus Finch- Scout’s
widowed father;
works as a lawyer; a
model of tolerance
and understanding
Main Characters
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Calpurnia- the Finch’s black housekeeper;
has helped to raise the children since the
death of their mother
Charles Baker Harris- known as Dill; Scout
and Jem’s “summer friend”
Miss Maudie Atkinson- favorite neighbor of
the Finches; speaks to the children as
equals
Main Characters
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Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose- mean
neighbor of the Finches; often harasses
the children
Walter Cunningham (Jr. & Sr.)- the poor
but noble family who “never took anything
they couldn’t pay back”
Heck Tate- the town sheriff
Main Characters
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Arthur Radley- referred to as “Boo”; the
reclusive neighbor that both fascinates
and frightens the children
Bob Ewell- head of the Ewell family;
drunk, unemployed, full of hate & anger
Mayella Ewell- eldest daughter of the
Ewell’s; responsible for the care of her 7
siblings; accuses Tom Robinson of rape
Major Characters
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Tom Robinson- young, hard working black
man; has a mangled arm; accused of
raping Mayella Ewell
Judge John Taylor- presiding judge in the
rape case; sympathetic toward Tom
Robinson
Dolphus Raymond-local man from a good
white family; prefers to live w/ the blacks;
lets people think he’s a drunk
Themes
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Prejudice and
Tolerance
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Guilt and Innocence
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Justice
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Knowledge and
Ignorance
Courage and
Cowardice