Key Facts

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.

• At the bottom of your notes, please write a 3-4 sentence summary covering the author, characters, and themes from the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.