Table of Contents
• Harper Lee’s early years• The 1930s “Deep South”• Harper Lee’s adult years• Civil Rights movement• Writing To Kill A Mockingbird
Harper Lee’s Early YearsHarper Lee’s Early Years
• Born Nelle Harper Lee, spring 1926
• Grew up in Monroeville, Alabama
• Youngest of four
children
Monroeville, Alabama MapMonroeville, Alabama Map
ParentsParents
• Father: Amasa Coleman Lee
• Mother: Frances Finch Lee
• Father: practiced law in Monroeville
• Father: editor of The Monroe Journal
Childhood Childhood
• Personality: tomboy, fought,
talked back to teachers
• Bored with school but loved to read
• Childhood friend: Truman Capote
Dill
CapoteCapote
Father and DaughterFather and Daughter
“It was my plan for her to become a member of our law firm – but it just wasn’t meant to be. She went to New York to be a writer.” —Amasa Lee, 1961
PeckPeckSingle click speaker to hear audio clip >>>>
Harper Lee’s Adult YearsHarper Lee’s Adult Years
• Attended Huntingdon College-all female school
• Attended the University of Alabama to study law but she “loathed it”
• Worked for student publications
• Editor of Rammer- Jammer-humor magazine
• Attended Oxford University
•Moved to New York to be a writer
University YearsUniversity Years
1950-19571950-1957
• Worked for Eastern Airlines in NYC
• Pursued writing career full time in NYC
• Wrote and submitted To Kill a Mockingbird
1957-19591957-1959
• To Kill A Mockingbird manuscript rejected
• Research assistant for Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood
The Writer Emerges!The Writer Emerges!
• Published To Kill A Mockingbird
• Received Pulitzer Prize for novel
Novel Goes to the MoviesNovel Goes to the Movies
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• Did not initially attract producers
• Gregory Peck starred as Atticus Finch
• Peck won an Academy Award
Additional WritingAdditional Writing
• Wrote essay “Love…In Other Words” for Vogue
• Wrote essay “Christmas To Me” for McCall’s
• Wrote essay “When Children Discover America” for McCall’s
National Council of ArtsNational Council of Arts
• Named to the National Council on the Arts in 1966
JohnsonJohnson
1930s Statistics1930s Statistics
• Facts about the 1930s:
– Population: 123,188,000 in 48 states
– Life Expectancy: Male, 58:1; Female, 61:6
– Average annual salary: $1,368
– Unemployment rises to 25%
– Car Sales: 2,787,400
– Food Prices: Milk, 14 cents a qt.; Bread, 9 cents a loaf
– Round Steak, 42 cents a pound
– Lynchings: 21
Social OrderSocial Order
• Wealthy and educated
• Working-class whites
• Nonworking-class whites
• African Americans
Jim Crow LawsJim Crow Laws
• Rigid anti-black laws
•Racial caste system
•Perpetuated racism
The Deep South MapThe Deep South Map
African American Row HousesAfrican American Row Houses
Affluent White’s HomesAffluent White’s Homes
• On March 25, 1931, a freight train was stopped in Paint Rock, Alabama
• Nine young African American men arrested
• Two white women accused men of raping them on the train
Scottsboro TrialScottsboro Trial
Civil Rights MovementCivil Rights Movement
• Influenced Harper Lee
Influence on Harper LeeInfluence on Harper Lee
• The Law and Jim Crow
• Civil Rights Movement
• Events in Alabama
Bus boycottMontgomery, AL
Bus boycottMontgomery, AL
Martin Luther King’srise to leadership
Martin Luther King’srise to leadership
Autherine Lucytries to attend
graduate schoolUniv. of Alabama
Autherine Lucytries to attend
graduate schoolUniv. of Alabama
Writing To Kill A MockingbirdWriting To Kill A Mockingbird
• Themes
• Viewpoint
• Characters
• Major Conflicts
ThemesThemes
• Moral nature of man
• Innocence to experience
• How children learn morality
• Social inequality
• Vulnerability of innocent
Point of ViewPoint of View
• First person narrative through Scout
• “When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow. When it healed, and Jem’s fears of never being able to play football were assuaged, he was seldom self-conscious about his injury.”
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CharactersCharacters
Working-Class Whites
Cunningham Family
Working-Class Whites
Cunningham Family
Non-Working Whites
The Ewell Family
Non-Working Whites
The Ewell Family
African Americans
Tom Robinson, Calpurnia and Others
African Americans
Tom Robinson, Calpurnia and Others
Middle-Class Whites – The Finches
Jean Louise “Scout” Finch--The narrator and protagonist of the story
Arthur “Boo” Radley-- A recluse who never sets foot outside his house
Atticus Finch--Scout and Jem’s father, a lawyer in Maycomb
Bob Ewell--A drunken, mostly unemployed man
Calpurnia--The Finches’ black cook, Calpurnia is a stern disciplinarian
Jeremy Atticus “Jem” Finch--Scout’s brother and constant playmate
Charles Baker “Dill” Harris--Jem and Scout’s summer neighbor and friend
Aunt Alexandra-- Atticus’ sister, a strong-willed woman with a fierce devotion to her family. Alexandra is the perfect Southern lady Mayella Ewell--Bob
Ewell’s abused, lonely, unhappy daughter
Tom Robinson--The black field hand accused of rape
Major CharactersMajor Characters
Link Deas--Tom Robinson’s employer
Mr. Dolphus Raymond--A wealthy white man who lives with his black mistress and mulatto children
Mr. Underwood--The publisher of Maycomb’s newspaper
Mr. Walter Cunningham--A poor farmer
Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose--An elderly, ill-tempered, racist woman who lives near the Finches
Minor CharactersMinor Characters
Walter Cunningham--Son of Mr. Walter Cunningham and classmate of Scout
Miss Maudie Atkinson--The Finches’ neighbor, a sharp-tongued widow, and an old friend of the family
Harper Lee v. Scout Finch
• She grew up in the 1930s in a rural Southern Alabama town.
• Her father, Amasa Lee, is an attorney who served in the state legislature in Alabama.
• Her older brother and young neighbor (Truman Capote) are playmates.
• Harper Lee is an avid reader as a child.
• She is six years old when the Scottsboro trials are widely covered in national, state and local newspapers.
• She grew up in the 1930s in a rural Southern Alabama town.
• Her father, Atticus Finch, is an attorney who served in the state legislature in Alabama.
• Her older brother (Jem) and young neighbor (Dill) are playmates.
• Scout reads before she enters school and reads the Mobile Register newspaper in first grade.
• She is eight years old when the trial of Tom Robinson takes place.
ConflictsConflicts
• Person versus society
• Person versus person
• Person versus self
35th Anniversary of Novel35th Anniversary of Novel
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In Conclusion: Harper Lee’s LegacyIn Conclusion: Harper Lee’s Legacy
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Gives us new appreciation for our childhood experiences
• Shows us how one’s sense of right and wrong is learned
• Allows us to experience destructiveness of hatred in society