To Kill a Mockingbird

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To Kill a Mockingbird

• A Novel by Harper Lee

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Literary Concepts in Unit

• Allusion

• Ambiguity

• Reference to a statement, a person, a place, or
  an event from literature, history, religion,
  mythology, politics, sports, science, or pop
  culture.

• An element of uncertainty in a text, in which
  something can be interpreted in a number of
  different ways.

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Literary Concepts in Unit

• Diction

• Euphemism

• A writers or speakers choice of words.
• Denotationdefinition
• Connotationfeelings associated with a word

• An expression that makes something sound better
  than it actually is.
• Previously-owned vehicle
• Sanitation Engineer

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Literary Concepts in Unit

• Idiom

• Imagery

• A set expression of that means something other
  than the literal meanings of its individual
  words.
• Its raining cats and dogs!

• Any language that appeals to the readers five
  senses.

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Literary Concepts in Unit

• Motivation

• Point of View

• The fears or conflicts or needs that drive a
  character.

• Vantage point from which a writer tells a story.
  In broad terms there are three possible points of
  view omniscient, first person, and third person
  limited.

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Literary Concepts in Unit

• Setting

• Style

• The time and place of a story or play.

• The distinctive way an author uses language.
• Consider
• Edgar Allan Poe
• Lois Lowry
• Elie Weisel
• Shakespeare

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Literary Concepts in Unit

• Symbol

• Person, place, thing, or event that stands for
  itself and for something beyond itself as well.

• Consider
• Snow in The Giver
• Bird in The Scarlet Ibis
• Stars in Romeo and Juliet
• Fire in Night

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Literary Concepts in Unit

• Syntax

• Theme

• Grammatical structure of sentences.

• Central idea of a work of literature.
• A theme is not the same as a subject.

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Rhetorical Concepts in Unit

• Argument

• Claim

• A series of statements in a text designed to
  convince us of something.

• The writers opinion.
• What the writer wants to prove.

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Rhetorical Concepts in Unit

• Generalization

• Broad statement that covers many situations.

• If animals can think, they will probably do
  their best thinking when it serves their
  purposes, not when some scientist asks them to
• from Can Animals Think?

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Rhetorical Concepts in Unit

• Logical Appeal

• Evidence

• An appeal to ones sense of intellect.
• This makes me think

• Specific, factual information or proof that backs
  up the reasons in an argument.
• Statistics, numbers, etc.

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Rhetorical Concepts in Unit

• Emotional Appeal

• An appeal to ones emotions.
• This makes me feel

• Loaded Words--words loaded with emotional
  connotations
• Anecdotes--brief, personal stories

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Rhetorical Concepts in Unit

• Ethical Appeal

• Establishing credibility as a speaker.
• I trust him because

• A speaker can win an audiences trust with verbal
  and non-verbal cues.

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Rhetorical Concepts in Unit

• Intent

• Tone

• The authors purpose.
• What does he/she want us to do with this text?
• Consider
• The Giver
• Sleeping Freshmen
• Night

• Attitude a writer takes toward a subject, a
  character, or the audience.

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Genre Fiction/Bildungsroman

• BILDUNGSROMAN

• COMING OF AGE

• This word is German for coming of age novel.
• The narrator will attempt to discover her
  identity.

• A coming of age novel is a work about the
  development of a character into adulthood.
• The character will have experiences that
  initiates her into self-awareness.

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AUTHORS BACKGROUND

• Harper Lee

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Authors Background

• Born Nelle Harper Lee on April 28, 1926
• Born in Monroeville, Alabama, a small city w/ a
  population of about 7,000 people

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Authors Background

• Father Amasa Coleman Lee--began practicing law
  in 1915
• Mother Frances Cunningham Finch Lee
• Attended Huntington College from 1944-45

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Authors Background

• Studied Law _at_ University of Alabama from 1945-49
• Attended Oxford for one year
• Left school to move to New York and pursue a
  career as a writer

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Authors Background

• First submitted To Kill A Mockingbird for
  publication in 1957
• Worked on revisions for 3 years/ published in 1960

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Authors Background

• Won a Pulitzer Prize in 1961
• Never published another novel
• Is considered a hermit

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Historical Context

• The Scottsboro Trials

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Historical Context

• Novel takes place in Alabama in the 1930s
• Time of the Great Depression
• Although slavery was abolished in 1860s, African
  Americans were still denied many rights
• Segregation exists in schools, public bathrooms,
  busses and many other public places

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Historical Context

• A great deal of discrimination existed in the
  justice system
• African Americans were not allowed to be on
  juries
• Blacks were often arrested, tried, and convicted
  with little cause

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Historical Context

• Agricultural economy was hit hard by the
  depression
• Many white southerners had a romanticized idea of
  how life should be
• They felt threatened by change and
  industrialization

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Historical Context The South

• Little opportunity for African Americans to
  advance themselves
• Nearly half of all blacks in the South did not
  receive an education past the 5th grade
• Racist groups like the Ku Klux Clan and the Black
  Shirts terrorized blacks
• Lynching was still a common practice

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EXIGENCE/PURPOSE

• EXIGENCE
• WHAT CAUSES THE AUTHOR TO WRITE WHAT HE/SHE
  WRITES?
• PURPOSE
• WHAT DOES THE AUTHOR WANT US TO DO WITH THIS
  INFORMATION?

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The Scottsboro Trials

• There are many parallels between the trial of Tom
  Robinson in the novel and the Scottsboro Trials
• In 1931, 9 young African American males are
  stopped on a freight train in Alabama

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The Scottsboro Trials

• They are arrested, tried, and convicted of the
  rape of two white women
• The men were pardoned in 1976

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Setting

• Entire story takes place in the town of Maycomb,
  Alabama
• The small town is conservative and traditional
• Blacks and whites live in separate sections of
  town
• Time period is 1933-35 during the years of the
  Great depression

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THE TITLESymbolism

• The mockingbird is a symbol of innocence in the
  novel
• Miss Maudie tells the children its a sin to
  kill a mockingbird because they never do harm.

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CHARACTERS
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Main Characters

• Jean Louise Finch- known as Scout the narrator
  of the novel tomboyish and very bright
• Jeremy Finch- known as Jem Scouts older brother

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Main Charaters

• Atticus Finch- Scouts widowed father works as a
  lawyer a model of tolerance and understanding

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Main Characters

• Calpurnia- the Finchs black housekeeper has
  helped to raise the children since the death of
  their mother
• Charles Baker Harris- known as Dill Scout and
  Jems summer friend
• Miss Maudie Atkinson- favorite neighbor of the
  Finches speaks to the children as equals

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Main Characters

• Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose- mean neighbor of the
  Finches often harasses the children
• Walter Cunningham (Jr. Sr.)- the poor but noble
  family who never took anything they couldnt pay
  back
• Heck Tate- the town sheriff

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Main Characters

• Arthur Radley- referred to as Boo the
  reclusive neighbor that both fascinates and
  frightens the children
• Bob Ewell- head of the Ewell family drunk,
  unemployed, full of hate anger
• Mayella Ewell- eldest daughter of the Ewells
  responsible for the care of her 7 siblings
  accuses Tom Robinson of rape

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Major Characters

• Tom Robinson- young, hard working black man has
  a mangled arm accused of raping Mayella Ewell
• Judge John Taylor- presiding judge in the rape
  case sympathetic toward Tom Robinson
• Dolphus Raymond- local man from a good white
  family prefers to live w/ the blacks lets
  people think hes a drunk

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Topics/Issues in TKAMB

• Prejudice and Tolerance
• Guilt and Innocence
• Justice

• Knowledge and Ignorance
• Courage and Cowardice

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