To Kill A Mockingbird Background Notes

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

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.

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/1 st 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

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To Kill A Mockingbird Background Notes

by Little Flower Catholic School on Oct 28, 2009

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