Written by:

Angelia Greiner

Table of Contents

• Harper Lee’s early years• The 1930s “Deep South”• Harper Lee’s adult years• Civil Rights movement• Writing To Kill A Mockingbird

Harper Lee’s Early YearsHarper Lee’s Early Years

• Born Nelle Harper Lee, spring 1926

• Grew up in Monroeville, Alabama

• Youngest of four children

Monroeville, Alabama MapMonroeville, Alabama Map

ParentsParents

• Father: Amasa Coleman Lee

• Mother: Frances Finch Lee

• Father: practiced law in Monroeville

• Father: editor of The Monroe Journal

Childhood Childhood

• Personality

• Childhood friend

CapoteCapote

Harper Lee’s FamilyHarper Lee’s Family

• Position in the community

• Responsibility for the community

• Alice Lee

Alice LeeAlice Lee

“Alice Lee has been a Rock of Gibraltar for this commission,'' said Armistead Harper, a 21-year member of the commission. "She has guided this board with her wisdom, fairness and intelligence. When we needed proper guidance for Monroeville, we got it from Alice Lee,” Harper said. “Because of her knowledge of the historic background of Monroeville and her legal background, she could recognize problems we would face and find a fair solution.”

Father and DaughterFather and Daughter

“It was my plan for her to become a member of our law firm – but it just wasn’t meant to be. She went to New York to be a writer.” —Amasa Lee, 1961

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Harper Lee’s Adult YearsHarper Lee’s Adult Years

• Attended Huntingdon College

• Attended the University of Alabama to study law

• Worked for student publications

• Editor of Rammer- Jammer

• Attended Oxford University

University YearsUniversity Years

1950-19571950-1957

• Worked for Eastern Airlines in NYC

• Pursued writing career full time in NYC

• Wrote and submitted To Kill a Mockingbird

1957-19591957-1959

• To Kill A Mockingbird manuscript rejected

• Research assistant for Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood

The Writer Emerges!The Writer Emerges!

• Published To Kill A Mockingbird

• Received Pulitzer Prize for novel

Novel Goes to the MoviesNovel Goes to the Movies

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• Did not initially attract producers

• Gregory Peck starred as Atticus Finch

Additional WritingAdditional Writing

• Wrote essay “Love…In Other Words” for Vogue

• Wrote essay “Christmas To Me” for McCall’s

• Wrote essay “When Children Discover America” for McCall’s

National Council of ArtsNational Council of Arts

• Named to the National Council on the Arts in 1966

JohnsonJohnson

Honorary DoctoratesHonorary Doctorates

• University of Alabama

• Spring Hill College

• Sewanee: The University of the South

• University of Notre Dame

1930s Statistics1930s Statistics

• Facts about the 1930s:

– Population: 123,188,000 in 48 states

– Life Expectancy: Male, 58:1; Female, 61:6

– Average annual salary: $1,368

– Unemployment rises to 25%

– Car Sales: 2,787,400

– Food Prices: Milk, 14 cents a qt.; Bread, 9 cents a loaf

– Round Steak, 42 cents a pound

– Lynchings: 21

Social OrderSocial Order

• Wealthy and educated

• Working-class whites

• Nonworking-class whites

• African Americans

Jim Crow LawsJim Crow Laws

• Racial caste system

• Perpetuated racism

The Deep SouthThe Deep South

• Social order

• Jim Crow laws

• Southern towns

The Deep South MapThe Deep South Map

African American Row HousesAfrican American Row Houses

Affluent White’s HomesAffluent White’s Homes

Monroeville Demographics: 1930Monroeville Demographics: 1930

Owner families: 1,925

Native white 1,242Native parentage 1,241Foreign or mixed parentage 1Foreign-born white 3Negro 677

Tenant families: 3,927

Native white 1,609Native parentage 1,604Foreign or mixed parentage 5Foreign-born white 3Negro 2,311

Tenure unknown 459

Farm families 4,426

Non-farm families 1,885

Median value (Dollars)

All owners 2,359

Native white owners 2,833

Negro owners 0

Rented non-farm homes 1,278

Rental under $15 1,052

$15 to $29 90

$30 to $49 21

$50 to $99 2

$100 and over 2

Not reported 111

Monroeville Demographics: 1930Monroeville Demographics: 1930

• On March 25, 1931, a freight train was stopped in Paint Rock, Alabama

• Nine young African American men arrested

• Two white women accused men of raping them on the train

Scottsboro TrialScottsboro Trial

The Scottsboro Trial v. Tom Robinson’s TrialThe Scottsboro Trial v. Tom Robinson’s Trial

• Scottsboro:

– 1930s event

– Northern Alabama

– The poor white status of accusers was important

• Robinson:

– 1930s event

– Southern Alabama

– The poor white status of Mayella was important

The Scottsboro Trial v. Tom Robinson’s TrialThe Scottsboro Trial v. Tom Robinson’s Trial

• Scottsboro:

– James E. Horton, judge, over-turned the guilty jury verdict

– All-white jury

– The jury ignored evidence— that the women suffered no

injuries, for example

• Robinson:

– Atticus, lawyer, defends the African-American man

– All poor, white jury

– The jury ignores evidence— that Tom has a useless left arm, for example

HortonHorton Atticus and Tom

Civil Rights MovementCivil Rights Movement

• Influenced Harper Lee

Influence on Harper LeeInfluence on Harper Lee

• The Law and Jim Crow

• Civil Rights Movement

• Events in Alabama

Bus boycottMontgomery, AL

Bus boycottMontgomery, AL

Martin Luther King’srise to leadership

Martin Luther King’srise to leadership

Autherine Lucytries to attend

graduate schoolUniv. of Alabama

Autherine Lucytries to attend

graduate schoolUniv. of Alabama

Timeline of EventsTimeline of Events

• 1954: Brown v. Topeka, Kansas Board of Education case

• 1955: Young African American brutally murdered by whites

• 1955: Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott

ParksParks

Brown v. Board VideoBrown v. Board Video

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Timeline of EventsTimeline of Events• 1956: Autherine Lucy first African

American admitted to University of Alabama

• 1956: Autherine Lucy forced to flee University of Alabama campus

• University’s Board of Trustees barred her from campus

• 1957: Federal troops sent to Little Rock, Arkansas to protect nine African American students enter first integrated school

Letter from a Birmingham JailLetter from a Birmingham Jail

“An unjust law is a code that a majority inflicts on a minority that is not binding on itself. This is difference made legal. On the other hand, a just law is a code that a majority compels a minority to follow that it is willing to follow itself. This is sameness made legal.” —Martin Luther King, 1963

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Writing To Kill A MockingbirdWriting To Kill A Mockingbird

• Themes

• Viewpoint

• Characters

• Major Conflicts

ThemesThemes

• Moral nature of man

• Innocence to experience

• How children learn morality

• Social inequality

• Vulnerability of innocent

Boo VideoBoo Video

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Point of ViewPoint of View

• First person narrative through Scout

• “When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow. When it healed, and Jem’s fears of never being able to play football were assuaged, he was seldom self-conscious about his injury.”

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CharactersCharacters

Working-Class Whites

Cunningham Family

Working-Class Whites

Cunningham Family

Non-Working Whites

The Ewell Family

Non-Working Whites

The Ewell Family

African Americans

Tom Robinson, Calpurnia and Others

African Americans

Tom Robinson, Calpurnia and Others

Middle-Class Whites – The Finches

Jean Louise “Scout” Finch--The narrator and protagonist of the story

Arthur “Boo” Radley-- A recluse who never sets foot outside his house

Atticus Finch--Scout and Jem’s father, a lawyer in Maycomb

Bob Ewell--A drunken, mostly unemployed man

Calpurnia--The Finches’ black cook, Calpurnia is a stern disciplinarian

Jeremy Atticus “Jem” Finch--Scout’s brother and constant playmate

Charles Baker “Dill” Harris--Jem and Scout’s summer neighbor and friend

Aunt Alexandra-- Atticus’ sister, a strong-willed woman with a fierce devotion to her family. Alexandra is the perfect Southern lady Mayella Ewell--Bob

Ewell’s abused, lonely, unhappy daughter

Tom Robinson--The black field hand accused of rape

Major CharactersMajor Characters

Link Deas--Tom Robinson’s employer

Mr. Dolphus Raymond--A wealthy white man who lives with his black mistress and mulatto children

Mr. Underwood--The publisher of Maycomb’s newspaper

Mr. Walter Cunningham--A poor farmer

Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose--An elderly, ill-tempered, racist woman who lives near the Finches

Minor CharactersMinor Characters

Walter Cunningham--Son of Mr. Walter Cunningham and classmate of Scout

Miss Maudie Atkinson--The Finches’ neighbor, a sharp-tongued widow, and an old friend of the family

Harper Lee v. Scout Finch

• She grew up in the 1930s in a rural Southern Alabama town.

• Her father, Amasa Lee, is an attorney who served in the state legislature in Alabama.

• Her older brother and young neighbor (Truman Capote) are playmates.

• Harper Lee is an avid reader as a child.

• She is six years old when the Scottsboro trials are widely covered in national, state and local newspapers.

• She grew up in the 1930s in a rural Southern Alabama town.

• Her father, Atticus Finch, is an attorney who served in the state legislature in Alabama.

• Her older brother (Jem) and young neighbor (Dill) are playmates.

• Scout reads before she enters school and reads the Mobile Register newspaper in first grade.

• She is eight years old when the trial of Tom Robinson takes place.

ConflictsConflicts

• Person versus society

• Person versus person

• Person versus self

“What did your father see in the window, the crime of rape or the best defense to it? Why don’t you tell the truth, child, didn’t Bob Ewell beat you up?”

—Atticus Finch questioning Mayella on the witness stand

Mayella VideoMayella Video

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Harper Lee’s StyleHarper Lee’s Style

• Allusions

• Idioms

• Colloquial Language

• Autobiographical

• Symbolism

AllusionsAllusions“nothing to fear but fear itself”

“nothing to fear but fear itself”

DraculaDracula

John WesleyJohn Wesley

Battle of HastingsBattle of Hastings

Indian-headpenny

Indian-headpenny

“Let the cup pass from

you”

“Let the cup pass from

you”

StonewallJackson

StonewallJackson

Rosetta stoneRosetta stone

IvanhoeIvanhoeAndrew JacksonAndrew Jackson

Willam JenningsBryan

Willam JenningsBryan

IdiomsIdioms

“get Miss Maudie’sgoat”

“get Miss Maudie’sgoat” “walked on eggs”“walked on eggs”

“set my teeth permanently on

edge”

“set my teeth permanently on

edge”

“break camp”“break camp” “when the chips are down”

“when the chips are down”

“he had seen thelight”

“he had seen thelight”

“looked daggers”“looked daggers” “blue in the face”“blue in the face” “into the limelight”“into the limelight”

SymbolismSymbolism

The MockingbirdThe Mockingbird

Boo RadleyBoo Radley

Tom RobinsonTom Robinson

Mockingbird VideoMockingbird Video

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Colloquial LanguageColloquial Language

“Hush your mouth! Don’t matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house’s yo’ comp’ny, and don’t you let me catch you remarkin’ on their ways like you was so high and mighty!”

—Calpurnia

“I scurried to my room and went to bed. Uncle Jack was a prince of a fellow not to let me down. But I never figured out how Atticus knew I was listening, and it was not until many years later that I realized he wanted me to hear every word he said.”

—Scout

“It ain’t honest but it’s mighty helpful to folks. Secretly, Miss Finch, I’m not much of a drinker, but you see they could never, never understand that I live like I do because that’s the way I want to live.” —Mr. Raymond

35th Anniversary of Novel35th Anniversary of Novel

“Please spare ‘Mockingbird’ an Introduction. As a reader I loathe Introductions. To novels I associate Introductions with long-gone authors and works that are brought back into print after decades of Interment… “Mockingbird” has never been out of print and I am still alive… It still says what it has to say; it has managed to survive the years without preamble.” —Harper Lee

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Harper Lee: An EnigmaHarper Lee: An Enigma

“But I think we can learn a lot about her by reading To Kill A Mockingbird. To think it is more autobiographical than we realize… I suspect that she is Scout, that Atticus Finch is her father, and that her dear friend Truman Capote is Dill. That is probably all she wants us to know, and all we need to know.”

—Judith Handschuh

In Conclusion: Harper Lee’s LegacyIn Conclusion: Harper Lee’s Legacy

• To Kill a Mockingbird

• Gives us new appreciation for our childhood experiences

• Shows us how one’s sense of right and wrong is learned

• Allows us to experience destructiveness of hatred in society

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