To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee

Background Information• Author: Nelle Harper Lee (She

is still alive and lives in Monroeville, AL.)

• Time: Written in the mid-1950s during the height of the Civil Rights Movement; Published in 1960.

• Setting: 1933-1935 in the fictional town of Maycomb, AL (based on Monroeville, AL); takes place during the Depression

Background Information

• The character of Atticus Finch is based on Harper Lee’s father.

• The character of Dill is based on famous author Truman Capote, Lee’s childhood friend.

• The character of Scout is loosely based on Harper Lee herself.

Background Information

• To Kill a Mockingbird has been named the #1 most teachable novel.

• Harper Lee won the Pulitzer Prize for this book.

• The book was once banned in schools and is often challenged today for its language and themes.

Literary Terms • Genre- a category of literary

composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content.

* Coming-of-age drama, Southern drama, courtroom drama

• Narrator- the character in literature who tells the story from her/his point of view

* Scout/1st person narration Scout is looking back on her childhood.

Literary Terms

• Tone- the attitude the author takes toward a subject or character

* Child-like and innocent in the beginning; dark and critical of society toward the middle

• Imagery- descriptive details in writing that create an image in the reader’s mind

Literary Terms

• Protagonist- the principal character in a story who brings about change

* Scout Finch• Antagonist- the character

who opposes change as well as the protagonist

* Bob Ewell

Literary Terms

• Motif- recurring element in a story, usually relates to a theme in the story

* Gothic details, small-town life

• Symbol- an object or action that means something more than its literal meaning

* mockingbird, Boo Radley

Literary Terms• Theme- the insight about life

that an author wishes to express in a story

* prejudice (good vs. evil), courage (morality vs. society), growing up (innocence vs. ignorance ; child vs. adult)

• Foreshadowing- the use of hints or clues to suggest what will happen later in the story

* the fire, the mad dog, presents in the knothole, Tom’s trial

Ms. Ratliff as Scout