To Kill a Mockingbird: Exploring Social Themes in Rural Alabama

1. To Kill a mockingbird

2. Background • Written by Harper Lee • Published in 1960 • Winner of Pulitzer Prize, instantly successful • Banned from many schools and school systems due to language and themes • Based on events that Harper Lee witnessed early in her life.

4. Types of Setting • Physical – The actual time and place of the story. • Historical –Historical events (important) that happen during the story, such as wars, economic turmoil, elections, etc.. • Cultural – The thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of the general public during the time of the story.

5. Setting • Physical • 1930’s • Small, fictional town in Alabama called “Maycomb” • Most of the story takes place in or around the finch household, and other locations in Maycomb • Historical • During the great depression • Post WWI, Pre WWII • Cultural • Segregated town, most of the characters that are seen are White

6. Great Depression • Period of economic turmoil during the 1930’s and early 1940’s • Difficult for many people (~25% of the population) to find or maintain jobs • Wages were low, often not enough to support a family • The areas that were hardest hit were rural areas that depended on farming

8. Main Characters • Scout Finch(female) – Main character/narrator, starts the story at 6yo, tom-boy • JemFinch(male) – Scout’s older brother, plays football, four years older than Scout • Dill – Jem and Scout’s Neighbor • Atticus Finch – Father of Scout and Jem, lawyer, upstanding citizen • Calpurnia – Maid/Cook for the Finch family, African-American woman

9. Secondary(But important) Characters • Tom Robinson – Man accused of raping and beating a white woman • The Ewells – A family that lives in a building set directly next to a dump. Bob Ewell, the patriarch, and Mayella, his oldest daughter, acuse Tom Robinson of rape and battery. • The Cunninghams – A family, or tribe according to the book, that lives in the country. Known for never borrowing or taking anything they can’t pay back

11. Format of the novel • How is it told? • The story is told by an adult scout, looking back on her childhood • In other words we could call it a ………… ? • 2 main plot lines: • Seeing “Boo” Radley, which highlights a theme of tolerance • Atticus and the case of Tom Robinson, which highlights the theme of injustice

12. Bildungsroman • a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character • In other words, a bildungsroman is considered a “coming of age tale” • What might this mean for our main characters?

13. Plot Of part 1 • The story follows Scout during the first few years that she is in school. • We see her enter the first and second grade, and all of the tribulations that take place during that time. • Most of the early story takes place during the summer time, when she spends her time with Jem and Dill. • They get into a few misadventures and wonder about their reclusive neighbor Boo Radley

14. Plot of part 2 • The town is scandalized when Atticus decides to defend a black man in open court who is falsely accused of beating and raping a white woman • Scout is forced to come to terms with Racial Prejudice and segregation • Also chronicles what happens in the immediate aftermath of the trial

17. Themes and motifs • Good vs. Evil • Southern Life and Culture • The Importance of Morals • Social Injustice/Social Inequality • Small Town Life • Class (not like school) • Courage and Compassion • The Role of Gender • Race • Laws • Innocence vs. Experience