Post on 06-May-2015
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee
Background Information• Author: Nelle Harper Lee (She
is still alive and lives in Monroeville, AL.)
• Time: Written in the mid-1950s during the height of the Civil Rights Movement; Published in 1960.
• Setting: 1933-1935 in the fictional town of Maycomb, AL (based on Monroeville, AL); takes place during the Depression
Background Information
• The character of Atticus Finch is based on Harper Lee’s father.
• The character of Dill is based on famous author Truman Capote, Lee’s childhood friend.
• The character of Scout is loosely based on Harper Lee herself.
Background Information
• To Kill a Mockingbird has been named the #1 most teachable novel.
• Harper Lee won the Pulitzer Prize for this book.
• The book was once banned in schools and is often challenged today for its language and themes.
Literary Terms • Genre- a category of literary
composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content.
* Coming-of-age drama, Southern drama, courtroom drama
• Narrator- the character in literature who tells the story from her/his point of view
* Scout/1st person narration Scout is looking back on her childhood.
Literary Terms
• Tone- the attitude the author takes toward a subject or character
* Child-like and innocent in the beginning; dark and critical of society toward the middle
• Imagery- descriptive details in writing that create an image in the reader’s mind
Literary Terms
• Protagonist- the principal character in a story who brings about change
* Scout Finch• Antagonist- the character
who opposes change as well as the protagonist
* Bob Ewell
Literary Terms
• Motif- recurring element in a story, usually relates to a theme in the story
* Gothic details, small-town life
• Symbol- an object or action that means something more than its literal meaning
* mockingbird, Boo Radley
Literary Terms• Theme- the insight about life
that an author wishes to express in a story
* prejudice (good vs. evil), courage (morality vs. society), growing up (innocence vs. ignorance ; child vs. adult)
• Foreshadowing- the use of hints or clues to suggest what will happen later in the story
* the fire, the mad dog, presents in the knothole, Tom’s trial
Ms. Ratliff as Scout