Exploring Themes of Innocence and Prejudice in "To Kill a Mockingbird"

2. Key Facts • Title: To Kill a Mockingbird • Author: Harper Lee • Type: Novel • Genre: Coming of Age, social drama • Timeand 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

3. Nelle 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

4. 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

5. Character 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

6. Character 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!

7. Symbols • 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

8. Themes • 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

9. “People Fear What They Do Not 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

10. 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

11. 4. The Existence of Social Inequality

12. Words to KnowThese 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.

13. Summary • 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.