To%20Kill%20a%20Mockingbird

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To Kill a Mockingbird

• By Harper Lee

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OVERVIEW OF THE NOVEL

• AUTHOR Harper Lee
• PUBLICATION DATE 1960
• SETTING Maycomb, Alabama
  1933-1935
• POINT OF VIEW First person
  narrative
• THEMES Lack of and need for human
  compassion
  Need for individual conscience

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HARPER LEE

• (Nellie) Harper Lee
• BORN April 28, 1926
• PLACE OF BIRTH Monroe, Alabama
• PARENTS Amasa C. and Frances (Finch)
  Lee Related to
  Robert E. Lee

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AWARDS

• 1960 Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Fiction by
  an American author
• National Conference of Christian and Jews
  Brotherhood Award
• Paperback of the Year Award
• Book-of-the-Month Club

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EDUCATION

• Monroe, Alabama Public School
• Huntington College in Montgomery, Alabama
  (1944)
• attended Oxford College one year as a Fullbright
  scholar

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AUTHORS LINKS TO THE NOVELS PLOT AND CHARACTERS

• Harper Lees father was a Southern lawyer. He
  served as the prototype for Atticus Finch.
• Harper Lees age (6 to 8) correlates with Scouts
  age during 1933-1935, the time period of the
  book.
• The courtroom in Maycomb is patterned after the
  one in Monroeville where Harper Lee observed her
  father in courtroom proceedings.
• Tom Robinsons trial appears to be a composite of
  many trials in the South, specifically the
  Scottsboro trials.
• Some of the novels characters are composites of
  people Harper Lee knew personally for example,
  the author Truman Capote as Dill.

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CHARACTERS

• ATTICUS FINCH lawyer, father of Scout and Jem
  widower
• JEAN LOUISE SCOUT FINCH adult narrator as
  story begins narrates story in retrospect
  relates events that begin when she is 6 years
  old.
• JEM FINCH Scouts brother, who is 4 years
  older than she.
• CHARLES BAKER DILL HARRIS 7- year-old visitor
  to Maycomb acts as a catalyst

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MORE CHARACTERS

• ARTHUR BOO RADLEY neighborhood recluse
• CALPURNIA the black housekeeper for the Finch
  family
• AUNT ALEXANDRA Scout Jems aunt
• MAUDE ATKINSON friend of Finch family

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MORE CHARACTERS

• TOM ROBINSON black man accused of raping a
  white girl
• MAYELLA EWELL the girl who accuses Tom of rape
• BOB EWELL Mayellas father
• HECK TATE sheriff of Maycomb

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Justice
ATTICUS
BOB EWELL
Innocence
Bigotry Or Prejudice
JEM SCOUT DILL
CHARACTERS AS SYMBOLS
CALPURNIA MAUDIE
TOM ROBINSON BOO
Helpfulness
Helplessness
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QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

1. What was America like during the time of this
   book?
2. What is the significance of the title with
   regards to the plot and symbolism?
3. What experiences and people did Harper Lee rely
   on in order to develop her plot and characters?
4. Is there still prejudice in America today?