To Kill a Mockingbird

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To Kill a Mockingbird

• By Harper Lee

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Nelle Harper Leeher life

• Born April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama
• Grew up and established a strong friendship with
  neighbor, Truman Capote
• Attended Huntingdon College (1944-45)
• Studied law at University of Alabama (1945-1949)
• Studied for one year at Oxford University

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Nelle Harper Leeher writing

• To Kill a Mockingbird is her only novel.
• Submitted TKAM in 1957 rejected
• Spent two and one-half years revising
• In 1960, TKAM published to widespread acclaim.
• Pulitzer Prize1961
• Movie version won four Academy Awards--1962

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TKAMthe novel

• Written during the Civil Rights Movement
• African Americans were fighting for equal rights.

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Major Civil Rights Events

• The Montgomery Bus Boycott (Rosa Parks)
• African Americans avoided mass transit for an
  entire year in protest of segregation.

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Major Civil Rights Events

• The Little Rock/Central High School Crisis
• The National Guard was called in to prevent
  African American students from enrolling in an
  all white high school.

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Notable Civil Rights Activists

• Martin Luther King
• Malcolm X

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TKAM--Setting

• While the novel was written in the late 1950s, it
  takes place in the 1930s when the segregation
  sentiment was high.

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TKAM--Setting

• Historically, the novel takes place around the
  time of the Great Depression, The 1929 Stock
  Market Crash, and World War 1.

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TKAMSociety at that time

• A definite class structure existed
• Upper and middle class whites lived in nice
  neighborhoods. (The Finch family)

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TKAMSociety at that time

• Lower class whites lived on the outskirts of town
  in rundown shacks. (The Ewell and Cunningham
  families)

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TKAMSociety at that time

• African Americans lived even farther away from
  civilization.
• Often many generations shared a home.

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The novel

• forces the reader to look at strengths and
  weaknesses in our society.
• allows the reader to examine prejudice and
  intolerance.
• permits the reader to analyze characters as they
  move from innocence to maturity in a realistic
  historical setting.

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Characters

• Scout Finch-- the protagonist and narrator
• Semi-autobiographical character

• Lee would have been the same age as Scout at the
  time the novel took place.
• Lees father was a lawyer like Scouts father.
• Lees hometown of Monroeville shares similarities
  with Maycomb.

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Characters

• Atticus FinchScouts father (a widower)
• An attorney
• Respected in the community

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Other Important Characters

• Jem FinchScouts older brother
• DillScouts friend who lives with his aunt in
  the house next to the Finches during the summer
  months
• CalpurniaThe Finchs housekeeper and caretaker
  of Scout and Jem
• Boo Radleya very mysterious neighbor
• These are the first characters introduced. Be
  sure to add to the character list as reading
  continues

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What is a mockingbird?

• The Texas state bird, which does not have its own
  song. Instead, it imitates the songs of other
  birds. Killing a mockingbird is illegal.
• In the novel, the mockingbird is an important
  symbol of innocence destroyed by evil.

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If you have read this story beforedo not spoil
it for others who have not read it yet!