TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRDMRS. BELOF ELA 20

MARKING GRID FOR TKAM UNIT

• CHAPTER QUESTIONS AND VOCABULARY

• QUIZ AFTER CHAPTERS 1-8; 9-15; 16-21; 22-31

• CHAPTER 15 – 11 POINT PARAGRAPH ASSIGNMENT

• FINAL PROJECT- GROUP ACTIVITY

• “A TIME TO KILL” VIEWING ASSIGNMENT

• FINAL EXAM

When To Kill a Mockingbird’s story of an African-American man falsely accused of raping a white woman first appeared in 1960, the Civil Rights Movement was well on its way toward significantly revolutionizing how the U.S. conceived of race. In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in Brown vs. the Board of Education that separate was not equal, paving the way for the integration of the public school system. In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white person and was arrested, sparking a series of boycotts that were ultimately successful in changing policy. Progress was far from smooth, however: in 1958 some southern schools closed altogether, rather than let African-Americans study alongside whites. And, in 1955, fourteen-year-old Emmett Till was brutally murdered after approaching a white woman in a store – an event that may have influenced author Harper Lee in writing To Kill a Mockingbird.

Lee did not set her novel in contemporary late 1950s society, however. This novel instead takes place a few decades earlier, before the changes and conflicts of the Civil Rights era. During this period, America was watching closely the infamous Scottsboro Trials, in which two impoverished white women accused nine young black men of rape. These trials may have been one of several influences on Lee as she crafted the Mockingbird story. “When To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960, it brought its young first-time author, Harper Lee, a startling amount of attention and notoriety. The novel replays three key years in the life of Scout Finch, the young daughter of an Alabama town's principled lawyer. The work was an instant sensation, becoming a best-seller and winning the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Scout's narrative relates how she and her elder brother Jem learn about fighting prejudice and upholding human dignity through the example of their father. Atticus Finch has taken on the legal defense of a black man who has been falsely charged with raping a white woman.

Lee's story of the events surrounding the trial has been admired for its portrayal of Southern life during the 1930s, not only for its piercing examination of the causes and effects of racism, but because it created a model of tolerance and courage in the character of Atticus Finch. Some early reviewers found Scout's narration unconvincing, its style and language too sophisticated for a young girl. Since then, however, critics have hailed Lee's rendering of a child's perspective—as told by an experienced adult—as one of the most technically proficient in modern fiction. The book is set in the time period of Lee’s own youth, and many critics have pointed out the similarities between her and Scout, and her childhood friend, Truman Capote, and Dill. Lee herself has said that she did not intend the book to be an autobiography. She simply wrote what she knew. It’s also her only book: she never published another novel, and, within a few years of Mockingbird's publication, she went into a seclusion to rival that of her character Boo Radley.

If a person’s only going to write one novel, they couldn’t do much better than Mockingbird. Awarded the Pulitzer Prize, it’s also never been out of print, and has long been a staple of high school English classes. On at least one list of top-whatever books, it’s ranked #1. The novel has become an iconic example of a book that can make its readers into better people in 300 pages or less.

While Mockingbird’s message of standing up for what’s right even when the costs are high still receives acclaim, not everyone agrees that it holds the moral high ground. While the main reason it frequently appears on the ALA’s list of banned books is its use of profanity, it’s also been challenged for its one-dimensional representation of African-Americans as docile, simple folk who need whites to protect them. While some see the novel as a powerful statement against racism, others see it as reproducing racism in a less obvious form. No matter which side a reader leans towards, the strong reactions the novel provokes just go to show that its influence remains strong even today. It is regional novel dealing with universal themes of tolerance, courage, compassion, and justice, To Kill a Mockingbird combined popular appeal with literary excellence to ensure itself an enduring place in modern American literature.

WHY SHOULD I CARE?

ONE OF THE MOST INFURIATING THINGS WE HEAR AS KIDS, USUALLY FROM OBNOXIOUSLY SMUG ADULTS, IS “LIFE ISN’T FAIR." THE FEELING BEHIND THIS SENTENCE USUALLY ISN’T "BUT IT SHOULD BE, SO LET’S GET WORKING ON THAT," BUT RATHER "THAT’S THE WAY GROWN-UPS ROLL – SUCK IT UP AND DEAL, KID." AND AS WE GET OLDER, WE START BELIEVING THAT THAT’S JUST THE WAY IT IS, AND NOTHING WE CAN DO WILL CHANGE IT.

To Kill a Mockingbird portrays a society that is supremely, staggeringly unfair: the U.S. South in the 1930s in a small town where racism is part of the very fabric of society. Faced with this situation, an equality-minded person might be tempted to say, "Screw it, wake me up when the Civil Rights Movement gets here," and keep his or her head down until then.

Some people in the novel do just that. But a few decide to do what they can to take action on the side of justice and equality, even though they think it’s mostly hopeless. To Kill a Mockingbird doesn’t sugarcoat the results (minor spoiler: the book does not end with African-Americans and whites holding hands and singing "It’s a Small World"). It does, however, suggest that doing something to make life a little more fair, even if it seems like it’s not having any effect, is still worthwhile, and what’s more, admirable. (E-notes, Schmoop)

IMPORTANT BACKGROUND INFORMATION

THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT:

THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IS SOMETIMES DEFINED AS A STRUGGLE AGAINST RACIAL SEGREGATION THAT BEGAN IN 1955 WHEN ROSA PARKS, THE "SEAMSTRESS WITH TIRED FEET," REFUSED TO GIVE UP HER SEAT TO A WHITE MAN ON A BUS IN ALABAMA. BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION, THE 1954 SUPREME COURT CASE THAT ATTACKED THE NOTION OF "SEPARATE BUT EQUAL," HAS ALSO BEEN IDENTIFIED AS THE CATALYST FOR THIS EXTRAORDINARY PERIOD OF ORGANIZED BOYCOTTS, STUDENT PROTESTS, AND MASS MARCHES.

These legendary events, however, did not cause the modern Civil Rights Movement, but were instead important moments in a campaign of direct action that began two decades before the first sit-in demonstration.The African American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) ) refers to the movements in the United States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring voting rights in Southern states. The movement was characterized by major campaigns of civil resistance. During the period 1955–1968, acts of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience produced crisis situations between activists and government authorities. Federal, state, and local governments, businesses, and communities often had to respond immediately to crisis situations that highlighted the inequities faced by African Americans.

BROWN VERSUS BOARD OF EDUCATION:

IT WAS A LANDMARK DECISION OF THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT THAT DECLARED STATE LAWS ESTABLISHING SEPARATE PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR BLACK AND WHITE STUDENTS UNCONSTITUTIONAL. OLIVER BROWN'S DAUGHTER LINDA, A THIRD GRADER, HAD TO WALK SIX BLOCKS TO HER SCHOOL BUS STOP TO RIDE TO MONROE ELEMENTARY, HER SEGREGATED BLACK SCHOOL ONE MILE (1.6 KM) AWAY, WHILE SUMNER ELEMENTARY, A WHITE SCHOOL, WAS SEVEN BLOCKS FROM HER HOUSE. THEY TRIED TO ENROLL HER, BUT WAS REFUSED ENROLLMENT AND WAS TOLD TO GO TO A SEGREGATED SCHOOL.

ROSA PARKS (1913-2005)

ON DECEMBER 1, 1955 IN MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA, PARKS, AGE 42, REFUSED TO OBEY BUS DRIVER JAMES BLAKE'S ORDER THAT SHE GIVE UP HER SEAT TO MAKE ROOM FOR A WHITE PASSENGER. PARKS' CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE HAD THE EFFECT OF SPARKING THE MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT.

MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT

IN MONTGOMERY, THE FIRST FOUR ROWS OF BUS SEATS WERE RESERVED FOR WHITE PEOPLE. BUSES HAD "COLORED" SECTIONS FOR BLACK PEOPLE—WHO MADE UP MORE THAN 75% OF THE BUS SYSTEM'S RIDERS—GENERALLY IN THE REAR OF THE BUS. THESE SECTIONS WERE NOT FIXED IN SIZE BUT WERE DETERMINED BY THE PLACEMENT OF A MOVABLE SIGN. BLACK PEOPLE COULD SIT IN THE MIDDLE ROWS, UNTIL THE WHITE SECTION WAS FULL. THEN THEY HAD TO MOVE TO SEATS IN THE REAR, STAND, OR, IF THERE WAS NO ROOM, LEAVE THE BUS. BLACK PEOPLE WERE NOT ALLOWED TO SIT ACROSS THE AISLE FROM WHITE PEOPLE. THE DRIVER ALSO COULD MOVE THE "COLORED" SECTION SIGN, OR REMOVE IT ALTOGETHER. IF WHITE PEOPLE WERE ALREADY SITTING IN THE FRONT, BLACK PEOPLE COULD BOARD TO PAY THE FARE, BUT THEN HAD TO DISEMBARK AND REENTER THROUGH THE REAR DOOR. SOMETIMES, THE BUS DEPARTED BEFORE THE BLACK CUSTOMERS WHO HAD PAID COULD MAKE IT TO THE BACK ENTRANCE.

EMMET TILLEmmett Louis "Bobo" Till (July 25, 1941 – August 28, 1955) was an African-American boy who was murdered in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly flirting with a white woman. Till was from Chicago, Illinois visiting his relatives in the Mississippi Delta region when he spoke to 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, the married proprietor of a small grocery store. Several nights later, Bryant's husband Roy and his half-brother J. W. Milam, arrived at Till's great-uncle's house where they took Till, transported him to a barn, beat him and gouged out one of his eyes, before shooting him through the head and disposing of his body in the Tallahatchie River, weighting it with a 70-pound (32 kg) cotton gin fan tied around his neck with barbed wire. His body was discovered and retrieved from the river three days later.

The trial attracted a vast amount of press attention. Bryant and Milam were acquitted of Till's kidnapping and murder, but months later, protected by double jeopardy, they admitted to killing him in a magazine interview. Till's murder is noted as one of the leading events that motivated the African-American Civil Rights Movement.

THE SCOTTSBORO TRIALS

THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS WERE NINE BLACK TEENAGE BOYS ACCUSED OF RAPE IN ALABAMA IN 1931. THE LANDMARK SET OF LEGAL CASES FROM THIS INCIDENT DEALT WITH RACISM AND THE RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL. THE CASE INCLUDES A FRAMEUP, ALL-WHITE JURY, RUSHED TRIALS, AN ATTEMPTED LYNCHING, ANGRY MOB, AND MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE.

On March 25, 1931, several people were hoboing on a freight train traveling between Chattanooga and Memphis, Tennessee. Several white boys jumped off the train and reported to the sheriff they'd been attacked by a group of black boys. The sheriff deputized a posse, stopped and searched the train at Paint Rock, Alabama, arrested the black boys, and found two white girls who accused the boys of rape. The case was first heard in Scottsboro, Alabama in three rushed trials, where the defendants received poor legal representation. All but the twelve-year-old Roy Wright were convicted of rape and sentenced to death, the common sentence in Alabama at the time for black men convicted of raping white women. But with help from the American Communist Party, the case was appealed. The Alabama Supreme Court affirmed seven of the eight convictions, and granted thirteen-year-old Eugene Williams a new trial because he was a juvenile. Chief Justice John C. Anderson dissented however, ruling that the defendants had been denied an impartial jury, fair trial, fair sentencing, and effective counsel.

The case was returned to the lower court and the judge allowed a change of venue, moving the retrials to Decatur, Alabama. Judge Horton was appointed. During the retrials, one of the alleged victims admitted fabricating the rape story and asserted that none of the Scottsboro Boys touched either of the white women. The jury found the defendants guilty, but the judge set aside the verdict and granted a new trial. After a new series of trials, the verdict was the same: guilty. The cases were ultimately tried three times. For the third time a jury—now with one black member—returned a third guilty verdict. Charges were finally dropped for 4 of the 9 defendants. Sentences for the rest ranged from 75 years to death. All but two served prison sentences. One was shot in prison by a guard. Two escaped, were charged with crimes, and were sent back to prison. Clarence Norris, the oldest defendant and the only one sentenced to death, escaped parole and went into hiding in 1946. He was pardoned by George Wallace in 1976 after he was found, and wrote a book about his experiences. The last surviving defendant died in 1989.

The Scottsboro Boys, as they became known, at the time were defended by many in the North and attacked by many in the South. The case is now widely considered a miscarriage of justice that led to the end of all-white juries in the South. The case has inspired and has been examined in literature, music, theatre, film and television.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY

AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY IS A BOOK ABOUT THE LIFE OF A PERSON, WRITTEN BY THAT PERSON. JUST A LITTLE FYI: NARRATIVE POINT OF VIEW: TKAM IS TOLD IN THE FIRST 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, 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.

Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926, to Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee. Harper Lee grew up in the small southwestern Alabama town of Monroeville. Her father, a former newspaper editor and proprietor, was a lawyer who also served on the state legislature (1926-38). As a child, Lee was a tomboy and a precocious reader, and she enjoyed the friendship of her schoolmate and neighbor, the young Truman Capote, who provided the basis of the character of Dill in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird.

Lee was only five years old in when, in April 1931 in the small Alabama town of Scottsboro, the first trials began with regard to the purported rapes of two white women by nine young black men. The defendants, who were nearly lynched before being brought to court, were not provided with the services of a lawyer until the first day of trial. Despite medical testimony that the women had not been raped, the all-white jury found the men guilty of the crime and sentenced all but the youngest, a twelve-year-old boy, to death. Six years of subsequent trials saw most of these convictions repealed and all but one of the men freed or paroled. The Scottsboro case left a deep impression on the young Lee, who would use it later as the rough basis for the events in To Kill a Mockingbird.

SYNOPSIS:

THE NOVEL TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD MAINLY REVOLVES AROUND A SMALL FAMILY OF THREE -- ATTICUS FINCH, AN ATTORNEY, AND HIS TWO CHILDREN, SCOUT AND JEM. AS THE NOVEL PROCEEDS CERTAIN CHARACTERS ARE LINKED WITH THE THREE MAIN CHARACTERS TO FORM A DRAMATIC STORY OF EVENTS, ATTITUDES, PREJUDICES AND VALUES.

THE NOVEL IS SET IS THE QUIET TOWN OF MAYCOMB; BUT THE SERENITY IS ONLY SUPERFICIAL. THE TOWN IS COMPRISED OF THREE COMMUNITIES: THE WHITE FOLK, THE BLACK COMMUNITY, AND THE ‘WHITE TRASH’. OUTWARDLY THERE IS PEACE AMONG THE THREE, BUT UNDERNEATH PREVAILS A COMBINATION OF HOSTILITY, RACIAL PREJUDICES, AND FRIENDLESSNESS.

Jem and Scout go to school together. On their way to school, they pass the Radley house; it is a terrifying place to them, for it houses Boo Radley, who has been labeled a lunatic. At the same time, their curiosity pushes them to try out ways to make Boo come out of the house. Their overtures are, however, suppressed by Atticus who does not want them to torment Boo. The main plot of the novel revolves around the trial in which Atticus defends Tom Robinson, a black, who has been accused of having molested a white girl, Mayella Ewell. She is part of the ‘white-trash’ community. The children follow the case proceedings avidly and are inconsolable when their father loses the case.

The case is lost simply because it was still impossible (despite statutory laws protecting them) for a black man to attain victory over a white in the South. This amply reveals the deeply ingrained racial prejudices still prevalent among the white society which cannot give an equal status to a black. The relation between the children and Boo Radley resurfaces at the end, when it is Boo who saves them from imminent death at the hands of the vicious Bob Ewell. It is ultimately revealed that Boo is not a lunatic, but a simple-minded person with failing health and a childish attachment for Scout and Tom.

Chapters 1-3 Questions

1.Identify Atticus Finch, Jean Louise (Scout) Finch, Jem Finch, Maycomb, Calpurnia, Charles Baker, (Dill) Harris, The Radley Place, Stephanie Crawford, Arthur (Boo) Radley, Miss Caroline Fisher, Walter Cunningham, and Burris Ewell.

2. What did Dill dare Jem to do?3. What was Scout's first "crime" at school? 4. What was Calpurnia's fault? 5. Why did Scout rub Walter Cunningham's nose in the dirt? 6. Scout said, " He ain't company, Cal, he's just a

Cunningham." What did she mean by that, and what was Cal's answer?

7. What two mistakes did Miss Caroline make on the first day of school?

8. Why didn't the Ewells have to go to school?

Chapters 4-7 Questions 1. What did Scout and Jem find in the Radleys' tree? 2. Identify Mrs. Dubose. 3. How did Jem get even with Scout for contradicting him

about "Hot Steams?" 4. What was the Boo Radley game? 5. Identify Miss Maudie. 6. What does Miss Maudie think of the Radleys? 7. Why do Dill and Jem want to give Boo Radley a note? What

does Atticus say when he finds out about their plan? 8. How did Jem lose his pants? What did he find when he

went back for them? 9. What else did Jem and Scout find in the Radleys' tree? 10.Why would there be no more surprises in the tree?

Chapters 8-9 Questions

1.What happened to Miss Maudie's house? What was her reaction?

2.Identify Cecil Jacobs. 3.What "disaster" happened at Christmas between

Scout and Francis?

Chapters 10-11 Questions

1.What did Scout's Uncle Jack learn from Scout and Atticus?

2.What brave thing does Atticus do in Chapter 10? Why are Scout and Jem shocked?

3.What did Jem do when Mrs. Dubose said Atticus "lawed for niggers?"

4.What was Jem's punishment? 5.What did Jem learn from his encounter with Mrs.

Dubose and following her death?

Chapters 12-14 Questions1.How does Jem change? 2.Identify Lula, Zeebo and Reverend Sykes. 3.What does Scout learn about Calpurnia? 4.Who was waiting for the children when they came home

from the church service? Why had she come? 5."Aunt Alexandra fitted into the world of Maycomb like a

hand in a glove, but never into the world of Jem and me." Explain.

6.Atticus and Alexandra disagree about how to deal with the children. How does Atticus handle the situation?

7.Describe Jem and Scout's relationship through these chapters as Jem matures.

8.Why did Dill run away from home back to Maycomb?

Chapters 15-17 Questions

1.What did Mr. Heck Tate's mob want? 2.What was the purpose of Walter Cunningham's mob? 3.Why did Mr. Cunningham's mob leave?4.Identify Mr. Dolphus Raymond. Identify Tom Robinson,

Mr. Gilmer, Bob Ewell, Mayella Ewell, and Judge Taylor. 5.What was the importance of Mayella's bruises being

primarily on the right-hand side of her face?

Chapters 18-21Questions

1.What was Mayella's account of the incident with Tom Robinson?

2.What was Tom's side of the story?3.What was Tom's handicap? Why was it

important to his case? 4.What do Dill and Scout learn from Mr.

Raymond? 5.What were Atticus' closing remarks to the jury? 6.What was the jury's verdict?

Chapters 22-25 Questions (11 questions)

1. Why did Jem cry? 2. What was "'round the back steps" when Calpurnia came in on

Monday morning? 3. What was the significance of Maudie's two little cakes and one

large one? 4. Describe Bob Ewell's meeting with Atticus at the post office. 5. What is Atticus' reaction to Ewell's threats? 6. Alexandra doesn't want Scout playing with Walter Cunningham.

Why not? 7. Jem said. "I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's

stayed shut up in the house all this time . . . it's because he wants to stay inside." Why does he say that?

8. Mrs. Merriweather of the missionary circle complains about her cooks and field hands. What does that tell us about her? 9. What happened to Tom Robinson? 10. What more do we learn about Alexandra after Atticus and Calpurnia leave? 11. What did Mr. Underwood's editorial say?

Chapters 26-31 1. What was Scout's fantasy regarding Arthur (Boo) Radley? 2. What did Scout hear Miss Gates say at the courthouse? In class, Miss Gates said,

"That's the difference between America and Germany. We are a democracy and Germany is a dictatorship. . . . We don't believe in persecuting anybody. Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced." What does this tell us about Miss Gates?

3. What happened to Judge Taylor? 4. What happened to Helen Robinson? 5. What was Scout's part in the pageant? 6. Why did Scout and Jem not leave the school until almost everyone else had gone? 7. What happened to Jem and Scout on the way home from the pageant? 8. Who saved Jem and Scout? Who killed Bob Ewell? 9. Why did Heck Tate insist that Bob Ewell fell on his own knife?10.Scout arranged things so that "if Miss Stephanie Crawford was watching from her

upstairs window, she would see Arthur Radley escorting [her] down the sidewalk, as any gentleman would do." Why did she do that?

11.As Scout leaves the Radley porch, she looks out at the neighborhood and recounts the events of the last few years from the Radleys' perspective. Why is that important?

“A TIME TO KILL” VIEWING ASSIGNMENT

• YOU WILL WATCH “A TIME TO KILL” AND HAVE A QUESTION SHEET THAT MUST BE COMPLETED AND HANDED IN AT THE END OF THE MOVIE

• THE QUESTION SHEET IS IN YOUR TKAM DUO TANG

Final TKAM Projects You will complete one creative project which reflects your understanding, analysis and interpretation of the novel. You may work in a group, no larger than 4, and each member must contribute an equal amount of effort. I will expect more from a group of 4 than a group of two or an individual project. Once you choose your project, please clarify details with me in exchange for a rubric.

1) Make a scrapbook that Scout would own. Explain the importance of each item and how it was acquired separate from the scrapbook.

2) Create a movie poster with catchy slogans that would entice people to watch the movie.

3) Create a movie trailer that would entice people to watch the movie. Note: You will be given the same amount of class time as everyone else.

4) Select a character and write a character sketch. The sketch should be detailed, approximately two pages double spaced. Also, include a visual representation of your character.

5) Write a head lining newspaper report addressing the important details of the case.

TKAM FINAL EXAM REVIEW

• YOUR FINAL EXAM WILL INCLUDE:

1) 30 MULTIPLE CHOICE

2) 10 MATCHING

3) 10 FILL IN THE BLANKS

4) 10 IDENTIFICATION OF QUOTES