To Kill A Mockingbird

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To Kill A Mockingbird

• Harper Lee

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Author Information

• Nelle Harper Lee (born April 28, 1926) is an
  American novelist known for her 1960 Pulitzer
  Prize-winning novel To Kill A Mockingbird.
• Lee was born in the small, southwestern Alabama
  town of Monroeville.
• The youngest of four children, Lee was born to
  Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch
  Lee.
• Her father worked as a newspaper editor as well
  as a lawyer and eventually served on the Alabama
  State Legislature from 1926-1938.

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Author Information

• As a child, Lee was a tomboy yet a committed
  reader.
• She also enjoyed a childhood friendship with
  Truman Capote.
• After graduating from high school in Monroeville,
  Lee enrolled at Huntingdon College in Montgomery
  (1944-1945).

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Author Information

• After Huntingdon, Lee pursued a degree in law
  from the University of Alabama (1945-1949).
• While there, she wrote several student
  publications and spent a year as editor of the
  campus humor magazine, Rammer Jammer.

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Author Information

• Though she did not complete her law degree, she
  pursued studies for a summer in Oxford, England
  before eventually moving to New York City in
  1950.
• In New York, Lee worked full time as a
  reservation clerk for Eastern Airlines.
• She worked with the airline until the late 1950s
  when she devoted herself full time to writing.
• She lived a frugal lifestyle, traveling between
  her cold-water-only apartment in New York and her
  family home in Alabama to care for her ailing
  father.

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Author Information

• Having only written several long stories, Lee was
  hesitant to begin a career as a writer however,
  within a year, she had completed the first draft
  of the novel that would bring her world-wide
  acclaim.
• Working closely with her editor, she completed To
  Kill A Mockingbird in the summer of 1959.

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Author Information

• The novel was first published on July 11, 1960.
  It became an immediate bestseller and won her
  critical acclaim.
• In 1961, she won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
• Today, there are over 15 million copies in print,
  and a 1999 poll voted To Kill A Mockingbird as
  the Best Novel of the Century

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Author Information

• I never expected any sort of success with
  Mockingbird. I was hoping for a quick and
  merciful death at the hands of the reviewers but,
  at the same time, I sort of hoped someone would
  like it enough to give me encouragement. Public
  encouragement. I hoped for a little, as I said,
  but I got rather a whole lot, and in some ways
  this was just about as frightening as the quick,
  merciful death Id expected.
• Harper Lee, 1964

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Author Information

• After the success of Mockingbird Lee accompanied
  Truman Capote to Holcomb, Kansas to assist him in
  researching what they thought would be an article
  on a small towns response to the murder of a
  farmer and his family. Capote expanded the
  material into his best-selling book, In Cold
  Blood.
• Since the publication of Mockingbird Lee has
  granted almost no requests for interviews or
  public appearances, and with the exception of a
  few short essays, she has published no further
  writings.
• She did work on another novel for years,
  eventually filing it away as unpublished.

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Author Information

• In 1962, Mockingbird was transformed into a
  wildly successful film, starring Gregory Peck as
  Atticus Finch.
• The film won two Academy Awards for Screenplay
  (Horton Foote) and Best Actor (Gregory Peck).

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Author Information
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Author Information
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Author Information
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Southern Gothic Literature

• Southern Gothic Literature is a subgenre of the
  Gothic writing style.
• It relies on the supernatural, ironic or unusual
  events to guide the plot.
• Often it uses these tools (characters) to explore
  social issues and reveal the cultural character
  of the American South.
• Many Southern Gothic writers avoid general
  southern stereotypes like the demure Southern
  belle, the chivalrous gentleman, or the
  righteous Christian preacher.
• Instead the author presents the characters in a
  more modern and realistic manner.

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Southern Gothic Literature

• One of the most notable features of Southern
  Gothic Literature is The Grotesque.
• This includes situations, places or stock
  characters that possess negative qualities (i.e.
  racial bigotry, self-righteousness).
• Many writers use flawed characters to further
  highlight the unpleasant nature of Southern
  culture.

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Southern Gothic Literature

• William Faulkner
• 1897-1962
• The Sound and the Fury
• As I Lay Dying
• Absalom, Absalom!
• Light in August
• A Rose for Emily

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Southern Gothic Literature

• Flannery OConner
• 1925-1964
• Wise Blood
• The Violent Bear It Away
• A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories
• Everything That Rises Must Converge

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Southern Gothic Literature

• Tennessee Williams
• 1911-1983
• A Streetcar Named Desire
• Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
• The Glass Menagerie

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Southern Gothic Literature

• Truman Capote
• 1924-1984
• In Cold Blood
• Breakfast at Tiffanys

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Southern Gothic Literature

• Cormac McCarthy
• 1933-
• Child of God
• All the Pretty Horses
• No Country For Old Men

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The Scottsboro Boys

• The case of the Scottsboro boys arose in
  Scottsboro, AL during the 1930s when nine black
  youths (ranging from 16-20) were accused of
  raping two white women.
• The trial is considered one of the worst American
  judicial travesties.

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The Scottsboro Boys

• All the defendants were found guilty and
  sentenced to death.
• Despite the fact that one of the woman denied
  being raped, the appeals courts found them guilty
  as well.
• Finally the case was appealed all the way to the
  Supreme Court where the sentences were
  overturned.
• All of the defendants were eventually acquitted,
  paroled and pardoned after serving years in
  prison.

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Setting

• The American Civil War (1861-1865) had staggering
  and long-lasting effects on the nation.
• More than 600,000 Americans were killed. Property
  damage was enormous, especially in the South.
• Many Southern cities, factories, plantations and
  railroads lay in ruin.
• Between 1865-1877 the Union restored relations
  with the Confederate states in hopes of
  rebuilding the South.
• Reconstruction was only partially successful.
• The South lagged behind the rest of the nation
  economically, largely remaining an agricultural
  area.

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Setting

• During Reconstruction, there was a lack of
  support from most Southern whites.
• Many Southern whites could not accept the idea
  that former slaves were now landowners as well as
  voters and eventually holding office.
• In time, Southern whites regained control of
  their state legislature and many of the rights
  slaves had won were quickly taken away.
• Lees fictional small town of Maycomb is an
  isolated setting. The outside perspective and
  industrialization has changed it little.
• Maycombs citizens, by and large, hold the same
  opinions as their grandparents.

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Setting

• The story begins in the summer of 1933 and ends
  on Halloween night, 1935.
• The country is faced with widespread poverty and
  unemployment due to the Great Depression.
• Former slaves work as field workers or house
  servants, whereas white land owners grow and
  trade crops. Both groups are cash poor.
• Situated 20 miles southeast of the nearest river
  and more than 30 miles from Selma, Maycomb is
  slow to respond to any type of change.
• Because of location, new ideas and newcomers are
  not easily accepted.

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Point of View

• Lee uses Scout Finch as a first person narrator.
  Every experience is seen through Scouts eyes.
• First person affords an increased sense of
  immediacy, a sense of actually experiencing the
  events.
• The voice (Scout) is reflective, increasing the
  meaning for the narrator.
• Scouts inexperienced nature create an innocence
  in her character.
• Her openness and sensibilities give credibility
  to the opinions and judgments she makes.

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Themes Prejudice

• Prejudice is the intellectual and moral bias of
  people who hold strict opinions without having
  examined the available facts.
• Most white people in Maycomb believe that
  prejudice against blacks must strictly upheld if
  southern society is to be preserved.
• Prejudice often leads characters to hypocrisy.
  Sometimes the hypocrisy is unintentional. The
  missionary circle ladies and Miss Gates are
  unaware of the depth of their prejudice.

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Themes Understanding (Coming of Age)

• Atticus teaches Jem and Scout the importance of
  seeing life from another persons point of view.
• The children learn to respect the behavior of
  very different people (Mrs. Dubose, Boo Radley,
  Tom Robinson).
• Scout fails to understand the Ewell family
  because their background and behavior are so
  unlike all else in her experience.
• Understanding is seen as the key to peaceful
  coexistence between the two communities.

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Themes Loss of Innocence

• Scout is innocent and inexperienced. Her world is
  determined by the boundaries of her community.
• The arrival of Dill gives Scout her first
  impression of the variety of lifes experiences.
• Scout outgrows her childish superstitions and
  better understands the tragic results of
  prejudice.
• The verdict leads Scout to question the nature of
  justice and wisdom displayed by the townspeople.
• Ultimately, Scout realizes Boo is the
  mockingbird. She has come to understand how
  another person sees the world.

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Themes Education

• The classroom is a microcosm of Maycomb society.
• Education is seen as a force that separate them.
• Mrs. Caroline relates to the students according
  to family type and status such behavior
  perpetuates prejudices.

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Themes Religion

• Mr. Radley, a very strict Baptist, treats Boo
  cruelly, without compassion.
• Miss Maudies directness and honesty are
  contrasted sharply with the hypocrisy of the
  missionary tea ladies.

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Themes A Time for Courage

• Jem demonstrates courage by touching the Radley
  house. Later, he returns for his pants.
• Atticus shoots a rabid dog with one shot.
• Atticus is seen as a moral compass. (Ex. Atticus
  vs. mob)
• Atticus explains to Jem and Scout that courage
  consists of confronting a situation or accepting
  a challenge when failure is likely. (Ex. Mrs.
  Duboses struggle to end her addiction)
• Atticus defends Tom Robinson to the best of his
  abilities, refusing to be intimidated or
  compromised, even though he knows Tom has little
  change of being saved.
• Bob Ewell, a coward, attacks the children in the
  darkness.

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Themes Coexistence of Good and Evil

• The novel explores the moral nature within
  humanity. Are people essentially good or evil?
• The children assume Maycomb is good because they
  have not truly encountered evil.
• Tom and Boo are not prepared for the evil they
  encounter, thus, they are destroyed.
• Jem discovers racism at the conclusion of the
  trial and internalizes these struggles.

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Themes Coexistence of Good and Evil

• Atticus understands evil without losing his faith
  in humanity and the goodness of man.
• Atticus understands mankind possesses both good
  and bad qualities.
• Atticus believes mankind must appreciate the good
  qualities and understand the bad qualities by
  treating others with sympathy and trying to see
  life from their perspective.

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Themes Coexistence of Good and Evil

• Atticuss teaching culminates when Scout sees Boo
  Radley as a human being rather than a monster.
• This newfound ability to view the world from this
  perspective ensures that she will not become
  jaded as she loses her innocence.