Higher Slide 2 Set in the fictional Maycomb, Alabama in the
1930s Depression in the US Alabama was renowned for its racial
tensions The South had a historical legacy of slavery, lynch mobs,
the Ku Klux Klan and legal unfairness towards blacks known as Jim
Crow laws Slide 3 A worldwide economic downturn starting in America
with a major stock market crash on 29 th October 1929 which became
known as Black Tuesday. Many shares suddenly became worthless and
poverty swept the country. The public lost confidence in the
economy and spending levels decreased. This resulted in drastically
falling production levels and drastically rising unemployment.
Slide 4 Life During the 1930s The Great Depression sweeps the
nation Many families do not even have money for basic needs such as
food, clothing, and shelter. The per capita income for families in
Alabama (and Oklahoma) is $125 - $250 a year (750 in todays money)
Many southern blacks pick cotton for a living Franklin D. Roosevelt
is President Slide 5 No white female nurses in hospitals that treat
black men Separate passenger cars for whites and blacks Separate
waiting rooms for whites and blacks Separation of white and black
convicts Separate schools No interracial marriages Segregated water
fountains Segregated theatres All juries had to be white and male
Slide 6 Race Relations the deeply racist White South Nine black
teenagers are falsely charged with raping two white women in
Scottsboro, Alabama; eight are convicted and sentenced to death The
U.S. Supreme Court reverses their convictions because their
constitutional rights had been violated The teens are tried for a
second time, and are again found guilty The Supreme Court reverses
the convictions again Eventually, four of the defendants are freed;
the other five serve prison terms The last Scottsboro defendant was
paroled in 1950 It was virtually impossible for a black to receive
a fair trial Slide 7 Slide 8 Slide 9 Slide 10 Slide 11 Slide 12
Slide 13 Slide 14 Slide 15 Slide 16 Slide 17 Slide 18 Slide 19
Slide 20 Slide 21 Slide 22 Slide 23 Slide 24 Slide 25 Slide 26
Slide 27 Slide 28 Slide 29 Slide 30 Slide 31 Slide 32 Slide 33
Slide 34 Slide 35 Slide 36 Slide 37 Slide 38 Slide 39 Slide 40
Slide 41 Slide 42 Slide 43 Slide 44 Slide 45 Prejudice Loss of
childhood innocence Importance of education (esp.moral) Social
inequality Courage Slide 46 Complete the TKAM questions you started
at the beginning of the year for next week. Slide 47 Told by Scout
looking back on her childhood and the adult world of Maycomb and
the novel is shown through her eyes. Two narratives one following
the childrens relationship with Boo Radley and the other following
Atticus defence of Tom Robinson. These are brought together at the
end the story comes full circle and we understand how Jem breaks
his elbow. Slide 48 This is probably similar to how class structure
existed during the 1930s in the South. The wealthy, although fewest
in number, were most powerful. The blacks, although great in
number, were lowest on the class ladder, and thus, had the least
privileges. Examples of each social class: Wealthy - Finches
Country Folk - Cunninghams White Trash Ewells Black Community Tom
Robinson Slide 49 Maycomb functions as a microcosm of American
society. Lee spends the first part of the novel detailing the world
of the novel and its social milieu without which the reader would
not understand the context of the trial which dominates the second
part of the novel. Slide 50 In groups discuss your first day at
primary school what similarities are there with TKAM? Scout
Cunninghams are poor Scout encounters hypocrisy and racism Scout
fighter lynch mob + Jem Atticus advice Chap 9 Grows up changing
attitudes to Boo Radley after encountering the real evil of Bob
Ewell Slide 51 The storys narrator intelligent and thoughtful
Although now an adult, Scout looks back at her childhood and tells
of the momentous events and influential people of those years.
Tomboy this sets her up as an unusual character in the prim world
on Maycomb where women are expected to be ladylike Aunt Alexandra
shows her the value of this without compromising her values. She is
a product of her unconventional upbringing by Atticus. The novel
follows the development of her conscience and understanding of good
and evil - unlike Tom Robinson and Boo Radley, she is not destroyed
by her encounters with evil. Her parallel character is Dill and her
education and her moral courage set her up as a sharp contrast to
Mayella Ewell Mayella is a a foil to Scout. Slide 52 Choose a
character from To Kill a Mockingbird and explain what their role is
and what they learn over the course of the novel. Focus on chapters
1-11! Slide 53 Constant, principled and decent figure like Mr
Cunningham but his education sets him apart. Single parent in his
50s Would have seemed very modern to a 1960s readership A man of
courage fights prejudice. Embodies themes of the novel. Flaw? An
idealist? Beliefs in not harming a mockingbird and walking in the
shoes of others are central to the novel. Foil = Bob Ewell Slide 54
Atticus is scorned in Maycomb for defending Tom Robinson a sign of
the times but his moral courage makes him admired following this.
Recognises good and evil in people and teaches sympathy for others
to his children. Able to reconcile his honesty and principles with
a love for the people of Maycomb. The children view him as old and
feeble but the incident with the mad dog shows Atticus strength
under pressure. Slide 55 "Thank you from the bottom of my heart,
but I don't want my boy starting out with something like this over
his head. Best way to clear the air is to have it all out in the
open. Let the county come and bring sandwiches. I don't want him
growing up with a whisper about him, I don't want anybody saying,
'Jem Finch... his daddy paid a mint to get him out of that.' Sooner
we get this over with the better." (30.34) Slide 56 Examine the
ways in which Atticus Finch is the hero of To Kill A Mockingbird -
To his children To Tom Robinson and the black community To wider
society (what values does he have we can all admire?) Slide 57 The
Mockingbird: Symbolizes Everything That is Good and innocent but
attacked by evil The mockingbird only sings to please others and
therefore it is considered a sin to shoot a mockingbird. They are
considered harmless creatures who give joy with their song.
Mockingbirds dont do one thing but... sing their hearts out for us.
Thats why its a sin to kill a mockingbird. - Miss Maudie - Chap 10
Slide 58 After Tom Robinson is shot, Mr. Underwood compares his
death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds, - Chap 25 At the end
of the book Scout thinks that hurting Boo Radley would be like
shootin a mockingbird. - Chap 30 That Jem and Scouts last name is
Finch (another type of small bird) indicates that they are
particularly vulnerable in the racist world of Maycomb, which often
treats the fragile innocence of childhood harshly. Atticus said to
Jem one day, "I'd rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but
I know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if
you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."
Slide 59 Isolated from its community and the neighbourhood Atticus
was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you
stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the
Radley porch was enough. Chap 31 In many ways symbolises the
prejudice of the community. Until Scout stands on the porch and
puts herself literally in Boos line of vision, she cannot truly
understand him. Slide 60 The dog can be seen to represent evil and
lawlessness. Atticus shoots the dog dead, as he stops the lynch
mob, calmly and coolly. Scout expects the same thing to happen when
watching the jury return to give their verdict. Slide 61 The
feeling grew until the atmosphere in the courtroom was exactly the
same as a cold February morning, when the mockingbirds were still,
and the carpenters had stopped hammering on Miss Maudie's new
house, and every wood door in the neighborhood was shut as tight as
the doors of the Radley Place. A deserted, waiting, empty street,
and the courtroom was packed with people. A steaming summer night
was no different from a winter morning. []. I expected Mr. Tate to
say any minute, "Take him, Mr. Finch...." Chap 21 Slide 62
Bildungsroman coming of age story Social stratification rigid class
structure Aphorism pithy one liner such as Cunninghams always pay
their debts Epiphany moment of realisation (such as when Scout is
standing on the Radleys porch) Incongruous not in harmony, out of
place Slide 63 Part of Harper Lees style is her use of humour when
dealing with the serious subject matter of TKMB. This fits in with
the narrative style as the story is told through Scouts eyes,
giving a childlike playfulness to the story. Satire = when human
vices are held up to be scorned in a humorous or ironic way.
Perhaps a link to the title? Lee is mocking education, small-town
America and racists. Slide 64 In Chapters 23-25, the author is
attacking and ridiculing the mindset of a group of people. However,
Harper Lee doesnt have Scout say that these individuals are stupid,
prejudiced or hypocritical; Scout simply repeats what they say,
and, from the context of the whole story, the reader knows that the
narrator is speaking with an ironic tone. Slide 65 Scout and Miss
Caroline Scout is chastised for being too educated: "We don't write
in the first grade, we print. You won't learn to write until you're
in the third grade" Aunt Alexandra and class - she is the contrast
to Atticus - she is unable to look past family traits and see the
positive traits in families such as the Cunninghams consider her
horror at Scout and Jem bringing home Walter Cunningham her clashes
with Scout over the need to be a lady bring humour to the novel -
Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could
not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I
could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn't supposed to be doing
things that required pants. Aunt Alexandra's vision of my
deportment involved playing with small stoves, tea sets, and
wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace she gave me when I was born;
furthermore, I should be a ray of sunshine in my father's lonely
life. Chap 9 Slide 66 The missionary circle the concern for the
poverty of the Mrunas yet ignore the poverty in their own town.
Miss Merriweathers lack of insight about her black servants and how
reliant she is on them. Plus she congratulates herself on her
religious values, despite her apparent lack of Christian ethics "I
tell you, Gertrude, you never ought to let an opportunity go by to
witness for the Lord." Miss Gates and Hitler (Chap 26) We are a
democracy and Germany is a dictatorship. Dictator-ship, she said.
Over here we dont believe in persecuting anybody. compared to her
comments on black people following Toms trial - its time somebody
taught em a lesson, they were gettin way above themselves, an the
next thing they think they can do is marry us. Slide 67 Used by Lee
to build suspense, and to emphasise Scouts childlike innocence.
E.g. When the reader knows, unlike Scout and Jem, what the lynch
mobs true intentions are and these appear more sinister as a result
of the dramatic irony. Atticus being unaware that Jem and Scout are
watching the trial. Scout being unaware of the implications of the
conversation between Heck Tate and Atticus following Bob Ewells
death. Slide 68 Think about the story of the snowman in TKAM, Jem
and Mrs Duboses flowers and the incident with the mad dog. What do
you think it represents? Allegory is a story which also functions
on a symbolic level. Slide 69 Jems broken arm Burris Ewell The
snowman The fire which melts the snowman The mad dog Presents in
the tree/Boo puts a blanket around Scout It was Miss Stephanies
pleasure to tell us: this morning Bob Ewell stopped Atticus on the
post office corner, spat in his face, and told him hed get him if
it took the rest of his life Bob Ewell makes his intentions clear.
Thus began our longest journey together /This was the stillness
before a thunderstormas Scout and Jem walk home before being
attacked by Bob Ewell. The mockingbird also sings. Slide 70 This
will change depending on where we are in the novel but some good
words to use to describe the tone are:
Nostalgic/ironic/naive/remiscient/child- like. The tone will become
more suspenseful/tense towards the climax(the verdict of Tom
Robinsons trial). Slide 71 Characterisation (protagonist and
antagonist) Plot (and subplot) Structure Themes Setting Symbolism
Use of language/dialogue (characters accents etc) Climax Denouement
Narrative style Humour Irony Satire Tone Allegory Conflict
Foreshadowing Foil Slide 72
