To Kill a Mockingbird

By Harper Lee

The Setting of the Novel

Southern United States Maycomb, Alabama: Alabama is renown

as a site of racial tension, historically. 1930s - The Great Depression - Racial segregation

The 1930s – The Great Depression

Businesses failed, factories closed

People were out of work Even people with money

suffered because nothing was being produced for sale.

Poor people lost their homes, were forced to “live off the land.”

Racial Segregation Racial prejudice was alive & well.

Although slavery had ended in 1864, old ideas were slow to change.

Sexism Despite that women were declared “equal”

and given the right to vote in the 1920s, women were still viewed as the “weaker sex.”

Women were generally not educated for occupations outside the home

In wealthy families, women were expected to oversee the servants and entertain guests

Men were not considered capable of nurturing children

Legal Issues of the 1930s & their impact on the novel’s setting

Women given the vote in 1920

Juries were MALE and WHITE

“Fair trial” did not include acceptance of a black man’s word against a white man’s

“White Trash” Poor, uneducated white people who

lived on “relief “ lowest social class, even below the poor

blacks prejudiced against black people felt the need to “put down” blacks in

order to elevate themselves

Prejudice/Discrimination in To Kill a Mockingbird

Race Gender

Handicaps Rich/Poor

Age Religion

To Kill a Mockingbird - Characters

Atticus Finch - an attorney whose wife has died, leaving him to raise their two children:

Jem – 10-year-old boy Scout – (Jean Louise), 6-year-old girl

Tom Robinson – a black man accused of raping white girl; he is defended at trial by Atticus

To Kill a Mockingbird – Point of View

First person narration

The story is not told by the younger Scout Finch. It is told by an older Scout, looking back. However, the point of view is mostly a first-person limited one; that is, limited to the knowledge of the younger Scout.

In this way, the narration presents a sort of “doubled” perspective on the events.

Question:

Why would the author choose to present a first-person limited point of view, rather than an omniscient one? What advantage is there to using the first-person limited?

To Kill a Mockingbird – Themes

Review:Theme is the controlling idea, meaning, or message of a work of art.

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 destroy the evils off racial prejudice..

Autobiographical Elements – Harper Lee vs. Scout Finch

Harper Lee:Born & raised in

AlabamaGrew up in 1930sFather was a lawyerMother’s maiden

name = Finch

Scout Finch:Born & raised in

AlabamaGrew up in 1930sFather was a lawyerLast name is Finch

While the story is fictional, there are elements of it that are undeniably

autobiographical.

Keep in mind while reading…

Setting is all important –be aware of the “where” and “when” as you begin

Point of View – the novel is shaped by the voice of a young girl who sees the story from a position of naïve acceptance

“Goodness vs. Ignorance (Evil)” is an important theme