Key Facts
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Key FactsKey Facts• Title: To Kill a Mockingbird• Author: Harper Lee• Type: Novel• Genre: Coming of Age, social drama• Time and Place Written: mid 1950s New York• Published: 1960• Point of View: 1st Person• Tone: Childlike, humorous, nostalgic innocent• Tense: Past• Setting (Time): 1933-1935• Setting (Place): Fictional town of Maycomb,
Alabama• Protagonist: Scout• Antagonist: Society, human nature, classification
Nelle Harper LeeNelle Harper Lee• Born on April 28, 1926 in
Monroeville, Alabama• Lee’s father was a lawyer
like her main character’s father in the novel
• In 1931 nine young black men were accused of raping two white women near Scottsboro, AL– 5 of them were
sentenced to long term prison sentences
• Many prominent lawyers and American citizens saw the sentences motivated by racial prejudice
• Lee began TKAM the mid-1950s, after moving to New York to become a writer– Completed in 1957– Published in 1960 before peak of ACRM
• Book became a great success due to the racially charged atmosphere of the 1960s
• Lee started to retreat from public eye in mid-1960s– She avoided interviews– Only published a few short stories after 1961
• She returned to Monroeville where she still lives today• In 1961 she won the Pulitzer Prize in Lit. and sold over
15 million copies• A lot of similarities between Lee’s childhood and her
story– But she maintains that the book is NOT about her life
Character ListCharacter List
• Jean Louise Finch “Scout-” the narrator and protagonist of the story
• Atticus Finch- Jem and Scout’s father; he is a widower and a lawyer
• Jeremy Finch “Jem-” brother to Scout and playmate. A typical American boy
• Arthur “Boo” Radley- a recluse who never sets foot outside the house
Character List ContinuedCharacter List Continued
• Charles Baker “Dill” Harris- Jem and Scout’s summer neighbor and friend
• Calpurnia- the Finch’s black cook. She is the bridge between the white world and black community for the children
• Aunt Alexandra• Bob Ewell• Miss Maudie• Tom Robinson• **There are 19 characters in all!
SymbolsSymbols• Mockingbird
– Represents the idea of innocence– To kill a mockingbird would be to destroy______
• Boo Radley– Children’s changing attitude toward him
shows transition from childhood to grown-up– Beginning:– Middle:– End:– He is a symbol of good that exists in people
ThemesThemes• 1. The Coexistence
of Good and Evil=– Ask and answer
whether people are good or evil, from a child’s perspective
– Jem and Scout’s transition from childhood innocence to an adulthood perspective of WHAT good and evil is
““People Fear What They Do Not People Fear What They Do Not Understand”Understand”
• 2. Threat of hatred, prejudice, and ignorance toward the innocent– The moral voice in the novel is Atticus– Unique- he has experience and understood
evil without losing faith in the human capacity for goodness
– Atticus understands that most people have both good and bad qualities
– Important to appreciate the good qualities and understand the bad
– Atticus tries to teach this moral lesson to his kids
• 3. The Importance of Moral Education=– The plot charts Scout’s moral
development, and shows how children are educated
– Education is how they are taught to move from innocence to adulthood
– Atticus devotes himself to instilling a social conscience in Jem and Scout
– A sympathetic and understanding approach is the best way to teach the moral lessons
4. The Existence of Social 4. The Existence of Social InequalityInequality
Well Off=Finches
Ignorant Farmers=Cunninghams
White Trash=Ewells
Black Community
Townspeople
Words to KnowWords to KnowThese belong in your notes!These belong in your notes!
• 1. Prejudice: a judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts.– Irrational attitude of hostility and suspicion
or hatred of a particular group, race, or religion.
• 2. Racism: the belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.– Discrimination or prejudice based on race.
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