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An Introduction to Harper Lee’s
___________________________
Harper Lee Born on ____________in
Monroeville, Alabama
Youngest of four children
1957 – submitted manuscript for her novel; was urged to rewrite it
Spent over ___________reworking it
1960 – To Kill a Mockingbird (her only novel) published
1966 - was one of two persons named by __________________to the National Council of Arts
SETTING
Maycomb,
____________
Autobiographical Elements:Harper Lee vs Scout Finch
Born in Monroeville, Alabama
Grew up in ________ Father was a
lawyer Mother’s maiden
name = __________
Born in Maycomb, Alabama
Grew up in ________ Father (Atticus) is a
lawyer Last name =
_______
Narrative Point of View:
TKAM is told in the ________person, from the point of view of Scout Finch, a young girl.
The story is not told by the younger Scout Finch. It is told by an older Scout,_____________________.
____________________________ Scout (Jean Louise Finch) – eight-year-old
narrator of story
Jem (Jeremy Finch) – her older brother
Atticus Finch – Jem and Scout’s father, a prominent lawyer who defends a black man accused of raping a white woman
Arthur (Boo) Radley – a thirty-three-year-old recluse who lives next door
Charles Baker (Dill) Harris – Jem and Scout’s friend who comes to visit his aunt in Maycomb each summer
Tom Robinson – a respectable black man accused of raping a white woman
Calpurnia – the Finches’ black cook
What do you know about the Great
Depression? What do you wonder?
When was it?How did it start?
How did it affect people?In the next 2 minutes, jot down everything you remember, then be prepared to share in class.
Introduction to the NovelBackground Information
GREATDEPRESSION
A period of extreme drought, poverty and hardships during
the 1930s.
25% of population had no job
Even those with jobs were affected because nothing was being produced
Average family income dropped to 50% by 1935
Hundreds of thousands lost homes, farms and possessions
Stock Market Crash caused people to lose billions. Entire banks were wiped out and by 1933 over 60% of population was considered poor
The novel takes place during the mid-1930s at a time when the government was attempting to stop the Great Depression. The President at the time, Franklin Roosevelt, famously said, “the only thing to fear is fear itself” as his government created programs to create jobs, house the homeless and feed the starving.
On this slide, write a reflection on how you feel upon seeing the picture displayed on the overhead. Consider how you would feel if you saw the public sign as a white person, and then as a black or minority person.
Introduction to the NovelBackground Information
Racism and Social Classes
Although slavery was abolished in the 1890s racism and discrimination were alive and well during the time of the novel.
The novel is based on many historical facts that help to drive the story, (and allow the readers to explore a sad time in American history) including:
Jim Crow Laws (1890s – 1960s)
Scottsboro Trials (1931)
Social Inequality (Forever)
Introduction to the NovelBackground Information
Social Inequality Wealthy
White Town/Country
People
“White Trash”
Black People
__________________________
________________________________________________________
_______________________
________________
Even the law was one-sided: Juries were always all-white and all-male. The word of a black man meant nothing against the word of a white man.
Setting and Theme
Themes in the novel are based on the concept of racial prejudice which was so much a part of society at that time.
Lee stresses the need for human understanding to __________
__________________________________________________________.
"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."