Take out a sheet of notebook paper and be ready to take Cornell Notes on

the history and background of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird.

November 26, 2012

• Wrote To Kill a Mockingbird in 1960

• Based the story on her life growing up in Monroeville, Alabama

• TKAM was the only novel she ever wrote

• In 1962 the novel was turned into a film starring Gregory Peck.

• It received a humanitarian award and several Academy Award nominations.

• Focuses on the people, attitudes, and laws of the South during this time period.

• The plot of TKAM reflected Lee’s own childhood in Alabama and was greatly influenced by the training she received in law school.

• Told in flashback• 2 story lines – each with its own

climax• First-person point of view• Bildungsroman - a novel about the moral and psychological

growth of the main character

• Origin of BILDUNGSROMAN

• Covers approx. 3 years

Maycomb,

ALABAMA

•Jean Louise Finch(Scout)

•Narrator switches perspectives from a six year-old girl to one with the wisdom of an adult looking back.

This is probably similar to how class

structure existed during the 1930’s in the South. The

wealthy, although fewest in number,

were most powerful. The blacks, although

great in number, were lowest on the class ladder, and

thus, had the least privileges.

Examples of each social class:

Wealthy - Finches

Country Folk - Cunninghams

“White Trash” – Ewells

Black Community – Tom Robinson

Wealthy

Country Folk

"White Trash"

BlackCommunity

Prejudice in Maycomb County, Alabama, 1930’s

“Now gentlemen, in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal. I'm no idealist to

believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and of our jury system. That's no ideal to me. That is a living, working reality.”

-Atticus to the jury

Legal Segregation in Alabama, 1923-

1940

• No white female nurses in hospitals that treat black men

• Separate passenger cars for whites and blacks

• Separate waiting rooms for whites and blacks

• Separation of white and black convicts

• Separate schools• No interracial marriages• Segregated water fountains • Segregated theatres

• Language of Scout switches from childhood to adulthood

• Atticus always uses formal speech• Calpurnia uses “white language” in the Finch

house and switches to “black jargon” when amidst blacks

• The Ewell’s use foul words and obscenities• Jem, Scout, and Dill will use slang words,

typical of their age• Tom Robinson uses language typical of the

southern black such as “suh” for “sir” and “chillun” for “children”

• Various derogatory terms for blacks will be used – Lee uses such language to keep her novel naturally in sync with common language of the times

• Somber• Serious• Humorous (at times)

Gothic Details

Depictions of a small-town life

• Tomboy• Impulsive• Emotional• Warm & Friendly• Sensitive• Adorable• Gains in Maturity throughout the Novel

• Widower/Father of Scout & Jem• An attorney by profession• Highly respected• Good citizen• Instills good values and morals in his children.• His children call him “Atticus”• Honest, Brave & Courteous• Typical southern gentleman• Soft-spoken

“You never really know a man until you crawl into his skin and walk around

for awhile.”

Atticus Finch

Scout’s older brother

Looks up to Atticus

Usually looks out for Scout

Typical older brother at times

Smart & Compassionate

Matures as the story progresses

• Finch’s Housekeeper

• Has watched the children since their mother’s death

• Has been a positive influence on the children.

• An enigma (puzzling or contradictory character)• An adult man, whose father has “sentenced” him to

a lifetime confinement to their house because of some mischief he got into when he was a teenager.

• Has a reputation of being a lunatic• Basically a harmless, well-meaning person• Sometimes childlike in behavior• Starving for love and affection• Saves Jem and Scout from certain danger

• Young, harmless, innocent, hardworking

• Has a crippled left hand

• Married with three children. Works on a farm belonging to Mr. Link Deas

• Accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell

• A close friend of Jem and Scout

• Usually lives in Maycomb only during the summer

• Tells “big stories”• Has been deprived of

love and affection

• The character of “Dill,” Scout and Jem’s playmate in the novel was based upon Lee’s actual neighbor, Truman Capote

• Capote is famous for amongst other things, In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

• It has been said that he gave Lee Mockingbird as a gift.

1930s Typical Morphine Addict:–White female–Middle-aged or older–Widowed–Homebound–Lives in the south–Property owner–Began using morphine

for medical reasons (pain relief)

In “To Kill a Mockingbird,” the Finch children will become acquainted

with a morphine addict. Although only a

fictitious character, she personifies the

American morphine addict of the late

nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

• Poor white family• Hard-working• Honest & Proud• Survive on very

little• Always pay back

their debts – even if it is with hickory nuts, turnips, or holly.

• Poor white trash• Dirty & Lazy• Never done a day’s

work• Foul-mouthed• Dishonest• Immoral

The Cunningham’s Ewell’s

• Simple• Honest• Clean• Hard-working• God-fearing• Proud• Would never take

anything with paying it back

• Respectful

• Had stronger character than most of the whites

• Oppressed• Uneducated• Discriminated against• Talked about badly• Deserve better than

what is dished out to them by society

• Education is not limited to the classroom but is an important part of a person’s everyday life.

• Prejudice is responsible for much social injustice.

• People often fear what they do not understand.

• Education is not limited to the classroom but is an important part of a person’s everyday life.

• Prejudice is responsible for much social injustice.

• People often fear what they do not understand.

• Courage is doing what you think is right when the odds of succeeding are against you.

• Maturation• Pride