Intro to To Kill a Mockingbird

Mr. ChupakHonors 9 Language Arts1-18-2011– 1-19-2011

Historical/Social Background

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Scottsboro Trials (1931)

Nine African-Americans Between the ages of 12 and 20 Indicted and tried for raping two white women,

Ruby Bates and Victoria Price, while hoboing on a freight train.

Historical/Social Background

Scottsboro Trials (1931) continued

Eight of the young men were sentenced to death in the electric chair.

However: The women did not have injuries consistent with

an attack. The women did not appear to be under stress.

Those convicted spent no less than 6 years and as many as 19 years in prison.

Historical/Social Background

Scottsboro Trials (1931) continued

Their juries Entirely white

Their attorneys Inexperienced Judges did not give them time to prepare

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the defendants were denied proper legal representation or due process.

Historical/Social Background

Great Depression (1929-1939)

Stock market crashes on October 29, 1929, “Black Tuesday,” ushering in the Depression.

1933 The banking system fundamentally collapses Unemployment rate rises to 25 percent

1939 The U.S. economy begins to bounce back,

boosted by manufacturing supplies for the countries fighting the war.

Historical/Social Background

World War II (1939-1945)

Germany invades Poland in 1939, and England and France declare war on Germany, thus starting World War II.

Sunday, December 7, 1941 The U.S. military officially becomes involved in

World War II.

Historical/Social Background

Author BackgroundHarper Lee (1926- )

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Parents:

Amasa Coleman Lee Descendant of Confederate General Robert E. Lee

Frances Finch Lee Both her father and sister practiced law in

Monroeville, AL. Her father was also a member of the state legislature.

Her mother rarely left the house because of mental illness (bipolar disorder).

Author Background:Harper Lee (1926- )

She studied in Oxford, England, and also

studied law. She quit law school six months before

completing her degree and moved to New York City.

She was a cousin and close friend of Truman Capote, a noted literary figure and the author of In Cold Blood.

Author Background:Harper Lee (1926- )

To Kill a Mockingbird

Published in 1960 Won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 The film

1962 Earned 8 Academy Award nominations Won 4 awards in 1962

#41 on the American Library Association list of “The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000.”

Harper Lee considered herself “more of a rewriter than a writer.”

Author Background:Harper Lee (1926- )

Literary Devices

Plot

3 years of Scout’s childhood from age 6 to 8 (1933-1935) in fictional Maycomb, Alabama

2 plot strands: Boo Radley Trial of Tom Robinson

Point of View 1st person (Scout) recounts childhood episodes

from the perspective of an adult

Literary Devices

Subject/Themes

Striving to reach adulthood Racial, social, and sexual prejudices Man’s inhumanity to man Definition of real courage Definition of Christian behavior Most effective learning takes place through life

experiences Superstition is a result of ignorance and fear

Literary Devices

Symbols

Used to represent abstract ideas or concepts Objects Characters Figures Colors

Literary Devices

Irony

When what we expect to happen is in fact the opposite of what really does take place Example: Calpurnia’s church

Foreshadowing The use of clues to hint at events that will

happen later in the plot Examples:

Jem’s broken arm The reclusive Boo Radley

Literary Devices

Foils

A contrasting character Gothic

A style of literature featuring supernatural occurrences and gloomy and haunted settings.

Bildungsroman “Novel of education”

Focuses on the maturation and coming-of-age of its central character

Literary Devices

Local Color

Distinctive characteristics of a region: Peculiarities of speech Quaint local customs Distinctive modes of thought Stories about people

Literary Devices