To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee By

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee By: Mrs. Balanda

Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama. Monroeville is in southwest Alabama, about halfway between Montgomery and Mobile. She is the youngest of four children of Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Finch Lee. Like so many other authors, Harper Lee based her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird on events and experiences from her life.

The Author… Harper Lee *Harper Lee grew up in the 1930 s in a rural southern Alabama t *Her father, Amasa Lee, was an attorney who served in state legislature in Alabama *Her older brother and young neighbor (Truman Capote) were playmates *Harper Lee was an avid reader *She was six years old when the Scottsboro trials were meticulo covered in state and local papers

Background of To Kill a Mockingbird The basic time setting is Maycomb County, Alabama in the south during the early twentieth century (1930 s). Due to the Great Depression, poverty is a subject that affects many. Instead of using this as a binding theme, the people in the town use it as an element of separation. Prejudice of every sort runs rampant throughout the town

Main characters Jean Louise Finch (Scout)-Scout is the main protagonist of the novel. The story takes place during her years of growing up and maturing. As it begins, she is six years old. She is very curious about school, her frightening neighbor, Boo Radley, and all of the townspeople. She is quite the tomboy, and loves to read.

Jeremy Finch (Jem) Jem is Scout’s older brother; he is 10 when the story begins, and 13 at its end. He is very wise for his age, and also very emotional. He takes after his father Atticus a lot. He is easy going and not as adventurous as Scout.

Atticus Finch Atticus is the town’s most respected lawyer. He is not wealthy, however he is well off in the community. He is assigned to a case defending an African American man accused of raping a white woman. Now he is revered and reviled by the townspeople.

Arthur (Boo) Radley Boo Radley is a recluse who lives near the Finch household. All of the children of Maycomb are afraid of him. He is the subject of various rumors that he is a ghost or a murderer.

Calpurnia is the African American maid and cool of the Finch household. She acts like a mother figure toward Scout.

The Civil Rights Era Lee wrote the novel during the beginning of the Civil Rights era (about 1955 to 1958) *Alabama was very much in the news at this time with the Montgomery bus boycott *Martin Luther King’s rise to leadership *Autherine Lucy’s attempt to enter the University of Alabama graduate school.

The Scottsboro Trials was On March 25 th, 1931, a freight stopped in Paint Rock, a tiny community in Northern Alabama, and nine young African American men who had been riding rails were arrested. Two white women, one underage, accused the men of raping them on the train. Within one month the first man was found guilty

Continued… There followed a series of trials condemning the other men solely on the testimony of the older woman, a known prostitute, who was trying to avoid prosecution for bringing The underage girl with her across State lines for immoral purposes. Although none of the nine men were executed, many remained on death row for years. The case was not settled until 1976.

The parallels between the Scottsboro and Tom Robinson Trials… *Took place in the 1930 s *Took place in northern Alabama *Began with a charge of rape made by a white woman against African American men *The poor white status of the accusers was a critical issue *Occurs in the 1930 s *Takes place in southern Alabama *Begins with a charge of rape made by a white woman against an African American man *The poor white status of Mayella is a critical issue