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To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
No, it is not a “how to” book
How is the South different than the rest of the country?
- Race Relations
- Background info on Harper Lee:
- Born in 1926.
- Raised in Monroeville, AL.
- Her father was a lawyer.
- His name was Francis Finch.
Lee and Capote
- Capote and Lee:
- Grew up with Truman Capote.
- Based character Dill on Capote.
- Capote dedicated his most famous book, In Cold Blood to Harper Lee.
- Lee Later in life:
- The novel won Pulitzer Prize in 1961
- Awarded honorary degrees.
- Only published essays following TKAM.
- Currently splits her time between New York City and Monroeville.
Where did she get the idea?
- Where did Harper Lee get the idea for her novel?
- A case in Scottsboro, AL
- 2 white women accused an African American man of raping them.
- Only received lawyer the day of the trial.
Scottsboro Case Cont…
- No physical evidence of a rape.
- Medical testimony said no rape.
- All white jury still convicted them.
- Setting: In Maycomb, AL
- In 1930s
- During the Great Depression
- Novel is set during the time of complete segregation.
- Class System:
- Land class
- Educated class
- The townspeople
- The farmers
- The poor white trash
- The African Americans
- African American Nannies:
- Took care of children
- Handled most of the discipline.
- Southern Ladies: look pretty,
- Participate in ladies groups,
- Supervise the running of the household.
- Small Towns: everyone knows you,
- church is the center of the social scene,
- not much entertainment,
- everybody knows everybody’s business,
- You are judged by your family.
- Sub Plot: A small plot within a novel/play that helps to support or build the main plot.
- Main plot: The trial of Tom Robinson
- Sub Plot: Mrs. Dubose, the fire, the kids and Boo, etc…
- Jean Louise “Scout” Finch: six years old, tomboy
- Jeremy Atticus “Jem” Finch: 10 years old
- Atticus Finch: Dad, widower, Lawyer
- Dill: Friend who visit in the summer
- Arthur “Boo” Radley: Scary guy who lives next door
- Character Development Paper: How does Jem/Scout mature throughout the novel?
- Body1: immature beginning of the book
- Body 2: beginning to mature-middle
- Body 3: mature-end
- POV: First Person-Scout tells the story
- Main Characters:
- Jem: Ten years old at the start of the novel
- Scout: Six years old at the start of the novel
- Atticus: Lawyer, widower, nearly fifty
- Main Characters cont…:
- Calpurnia: The children’s nanny, African American, worked for the family for years
- Dill: Staying w/ his Aunt Stephanie for the summer, single parent home
- Main characters cont…
- Boo Radley (according to Jem):
- Seven feet tall
- Eats raw squirrels and cats
- Has fangs
- Is a peeping Tom
- Boo Radley, the real story:
- Got in w/ the wrong crowd
- Got arrested for being wild
- Family would not send him to the reform school
- Boo’s story cont…
- Put in the courthouse basement
- Almost died from the mildew
- Went and was home-never seen again
- Stabbed his father in the leg w/ scissors
- Dill gets the idea of trying to get Boo to come out
- To prove his bravery, Jem runs up and slaps the house—not very mature!
- 1st grade: filled with kids of all ages,
- Town kids go straight through school.
- Farming kids keep working at home and are never able to advance
- It is Scout’s and Miss Caroline’s first day of school
- Miss Caroline’s Mistakes:
- Was mad at Scout for being able to read and write.
- Points out student w/ no lunch,
- Pat with ruler
- Sticks children in corner
- She Doesn’t understand her kids:
- most of them are farm kids
- they just don’t get the cat story
- the Cunningham's don’t take charity
- Scout takes her frustration out on Walter Cunningham
- Jem invites him over for supper
- Scout, again, gets in trouble because of her big mouth
- Miss Caroline does not understand Burris!
- The Ewells:
- Mother is dead
- Dad is a drunk
- Kids are filthy
- They live in the dump
- The kids don’t go to school
- The town looks the other way
- Who is leaving things in the knothole? Why?
- Jem gets Scout back for making fun of him (mature?)
- What does Scout hear in the house?
- Playing Boo Radley in the front yard (mature?).
- Miss Maudie:
- Treats the kids with respect
- Loves her garden
- Rents a room to Mr. Avery
- Lives across the street from the Finches
- Scout is having problems with her fiancé. How does she try to solve them? (mature?)
- Miss Maudie explains a bit more about the Radley’s
- Atticus catches the kids playing “Boo Radley”
- Jem’s response was very mature!
- What do the kids wait to see Mr. Avery do?
- The kids decide to look in Boo’s window
- Mr. Nathan fires a gun at the kids
- Jem gets stuck in the fence
- Dill is able to think on his feet
- Jem goes back at night to get his pants
- More things found in the tree
- The kids decide to write a thank you note
- What happened the night Jem went back to get his pants?
- Mr. Nathan fills up the knothole
- Why is Jem so upset?
- It snows!
- Jem builds a snowman. What does show about Jem?
- What is an absolute morphodite?
- Miss Maudie’s house catches fire
- What does Atticus think to save?
- Scout gets a blanket from who?
- Why doesn’t Jem want to return it?
- How does this show maturity?
- Why is the town so mad at Atticus?
- Scout is told to stop fighting and she has some success
- Uncle Jack comes for Christmas
- Scout is still trying to get out of going to school (mature?)
- What is the rule about the air rifles?
- Aunt Alexandra:
- Atticus’ older sister
- Believes Scout should behave like a “proper lady”
- Not a “kid“ person
- She is a cold person
- Uncle Jimmy:
- Married to Aunt Alexandra
- “Buys cotton” (does nothing)
- Has spoken to Scout once in her whole life
- Aunt Alexandra’s grandson
- Francis calls Atticus a hateful name
- Scout responds by calling Francis a whorelady and beating him up
- Uncle Jack sides with Francis until he hears the whole story.
- Uncle Jack and Atticus have a talk at the end of the chapter:
- Why does Atticus want Scout to hear the whole thing?
- What is in store for the kids?
- The kids think Atticus is just too old
- There is a mad dog
- What do the kids learn about Atticus?
- Why doesn’t Jem want tell everyone?
- How does this show maturity?
- Mrs. Dubose:
- Really old
- Really mean
- Supposedly has a confederate pistol in her lap
- Hates Atticus for defending Tom Robinson
- Jem Snaps. What does he do?
- How does he have to make amends?
- Atticus tells Jem that Mrs. Dubose teaches an important lesson: The meaning of courage.
- “I wanted you to see something about her-I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand.”
- “It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety eight pounds of her” (Lee 112)
- Calpurnia’s Church: Scout learns:
- Calpurnia has another life,
- Most African Americans in Maycomb can’t read.
- Church is strong and caring,
- No white people will hire Helen Robinson,
- Atticus is well respected w/in the African American community
- Aunt Alexandra’s definition of a proper Lady and Gentleman:
- Dress nicely
- Come from a land owning family,
- Hire people to work your land,
- Own land on the river
- Have good manners,
- It’s about how you look not who you are
- What do you think Atticus’ definition would be?
- Why does Atticus tell Scout that it is not time to worry yet?
- How has Jem separated himself from the younger kids?
- What is under Scout’s bed?
- Why doesn’t Boo run away?
- Atticus as a parent:
- Gives his children attention.
- Makes them feel needed and important.
- Mob Scene:
- Violent tradition of lynching African Amer. Without a trial.
- Who is in the mob?
- Why does a mob operate differently from individuals?
- How does Scout stop them?
- Is Jem mature in this chapter?
- Maycomb county values conformity: be like everyone else, follow the social norms.
- Dolphus Raymond
- His white fiancé killed herself
- Lives with African Americans
- Drinks out of a paper sack
- Has “mixed children”
- Is wealthy
- Why does Jem think the Raymond kids are sad?
- Where do the Jem, Scout and Dill sit to watch the trial?
- What does this tell us about them and Atticus?
- Important Testimony from Heck Tate (the sheriff)
- No doctor was called
- Mayella was beaten on the right side of her face
- She had hand marks all the way around her neck
- There were no other witnesses besides Mayella, her father and Tom
- Bob’s Testimony:
- He starts by insulting his dead wife.
- He refers to his daughter as a farm animal.
- He is disrespectful to the judge and to Atticus
- Who plants the flowers at the Ewell House? Who does this remind you of?
- Why did Atticus have Bob sign his name?
- Why does Bob get so mad?
- Mayella’s testimony:
- Tom raped her.
- Asked Tom to fix door
- Tom beat her with both hands
- Dad said Tom ran out door
- Claims Tom has been over 1 or 2 times
- What Atticus shows us about Mayella
- She doesn’t even know what a friend is
- She doesn’t even understand how a child could love her parent
- Her father beats her
- No one has ever addressed and “Miss”
- Mayella Cont…
- Only two of the family members can read
- Mayella refuses to change her story
- Why does she yell at the end?
- What we know about Tom:
- He is a family man
- He is a religious man
- His left hand does not work
- He had helped Mayella before
- Tom’s testimony:
- Mayella kissed him
- Tom said nothing was wrong with the door
- Tom can only use his right hand
- Said he jumped out the window
- Says he helps Mayella often
- Tom’s story cont…
- The kids went to get ice cream-Mayella saved the money
- Mayella wanted to kiss a man because what her father does to her doesn’t count
Who do you believe?
Why would Mayella lie?
- Why does Dill become so upset?
- Dolphus Raymond offers him a drink
- Dolphus really drinks Coca Cola, not alcohol.
- Why does Dolphus pretend?
- What mistake does Tom make?
- Atticus’ final statement forces the town to look at itself
- Calpurnia comes to court
- The kids are in trouble
- Why does Atticus let them go back?
- Jem believes Atticus will win
- The jury finds Tom guilty
- Why do all the African Americans Stand when Atticus passes?
- Jem is crushed by the verdict
- He learns that life isn’t fair
- How does the African American Community thank Atticus?
- What did Bob Ewell do to Atticus?
- How does Atticus respond to Bob Ewell’s action?
- Miss Maudie tries to comfort Jem—he gets a piece of the big cake
- Jem tries to understand why the jury did what it did.
- Who was the holdout on the jury?
- Why can’t Scout invite Walter Cunningham over?
- Why does Jem think Boo stays inside?
- Aunt Alexandra has a missionary tea:
- Mrs. Merriweather makes rude comments about Atticus
- Miss Maudie puts her in her place
- Scout joins the party
- It is ironic that the woman want to help Africans in Africa but are so cruel to African Americans in their own town.
- Tom Robinson is dead—shot 17 times
- Atticus asks Cal to go with him to tell Helen
- Scout gains new respect for Aunt Alexandra
- Why doesn’t Jem let Scout kill the roly poly?
- How does Dill describe Helen when she learned of Tom’s death?
- What is Bob Ewell’s reaction?
- Scout feels remorse for how they treated Boo (mature)
- It is ironic that Mrs. Gates hates Hitler for how he treats the Jews but treats the African Americans in her own town terribly.
- What is Jem so upset about?
- What is Jem trying to forget?
- It’s Halloween
- Because of the incident with Miss Tutti and Miss Frutti, there will be a pageant!
- Mrs. Merriweather is in charge (yuk!)
- What happened at Judge Taylor’s house?
- What does that say about Bob Ewell?
- What did Bob say about the loss of his job?
- What does Bob do to Helen Robinson?
- What part does Scout play?
- How was her costume constructed?
- Who is taking her to the pageant?
- Why does Lee end the chapter the way she does?
- Jem and Scout take a short cut to get to school
- Cecil Jacobs scares them
- Poor Scout misses her cue during the pageant
- They wait until everyone is gone to leave.
- Scout is still wearing her costume
- They are attacked
- Who attacked them?
- Who saved them?
- What is Jem’s injury?
- How was Bob killed?
- Who do we meet for the first time?
- What saved Scout’s life?
- What outfit does Aunt Alexandra give Scout to wear?
- Scout treats Boo like a proper lady should treat a visitor in her home
- Who killed Bob Ewell?
- Why does Heck Tate say Bob fell on his knife?
- Why would it be like killing a mockingbird to tell the town what happened?
- What does Scout do when it is time for Boo to go home?
- What is her mature realization?
- How is the lesson of The Grey Ghost connected to the theme of the novel?
- Why is the last image of the novel so powerful?
- Tom Robinson is the mockingbird. All he does is help others and create “beautiful music”
- Then he was killed which makes it a sin.
- The roly-poly = mockingbird also.
- Symbols Cont’d:
- Boo represents the mockingbird. He has done no wrong and saves the kids from Bob Ewell.
- The Journey:
- Growing up
- The journey Scout and Jem took to school that night
- The journey from innocence to experience
- In Harper Lee’s novel TKAM, she illustrates it is a sin to destroy those who seek only to do good in the world
- … it is a painful and difficult process growing up in this world.
- …we live in a world which is often unjust.
- Hook Examples:
- Immaturity, we’ve all experienced it.
- When did you start maturing?
- What in the Same Hill are you doing?
- Transition: Scout struggles in her effort to grow up.
- Jem matures dramatically through one painful summer.
- In her effort to get out of going to school by cussing, Scout shows her immaturity.
- My experience mirrors Scout’s painful experience to mature.
- Thesis: Scout is a character who painfully and humorously demonstrates that maturing is no easy task. Harper Lee illustrates this in To Kill A Mockingbird.
- Transition: At the beginning of the novel, Scout is incredibly immature.
- Conclusion: Trans: Scout/Jem has been on an incredible journey. Thesis: In an unjust and unfair world, growing up is never an easy process. Clincher: With her new found maturity, the dinner table will clearly be a safer and more appropriate place to be.
- Framing: Connecting the hook and the clincher together.