To Kill a Mockingbird By Harper Lee. Setting Story takes place during the Great Depression: 10/29/1929 – Black Tuesday– stock market crashed; worst economic

To Kill a MockingbirdTo Kill a MockingbirdBy Harper LeeBy Harper Lee

SettingSetting

Story takes place during the Great Depression: 10/29/1929 – Black Tuesday– stock market

crashed; worst economic disaster in U.S. history; banks failed, money lost value, businesses closed

15 million unemployed – 30 billion dollars lost

President Herbert Hoover underestimated seriousness; said crisis would last 60 days; ridiculed by Americans: “Hooverville” “Hoover cart” “Hoover flag”

SettingSetting

Franklin Delano Roosevelt offers Americans a New Deal & wins Presidency in a landslide victory in 1932

New Deal 4 day bank holiday – helped stabilize banking

system Created legislation to assist those in poverty,

those unemployed, and minorities Brought government involvement into caring for

the needy and regulating the economy “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

FDR Speech

1930s Maycomb, 1930s Maycomb, AlabamaAlabama

1930s Maycomb, 1930s Maycomb, AlabamaAlabama

Virtually landlocked – slow to respond to change

So isolated that population’s beliefs and traditions are slow to change

Rural area – poor and undeveloped

Whites – mostly poor farmers; Blacks – mostly field workers and house servants

Segregation – enforced separation of blacks separation of blacks and whites in all aspects of lifeand whites in all aspects of life

Jim Crow LawsJim Crow Laws

Refers to any of the laws that enforced racial segregation in the U.S. South; named after “Jim Crow,” a minstrel routine – it became a derogatory term for blacks and their segregated lives

Jim Crow

Jim Crow LawsJim Crow Laws

Examples of Jim Crow Laws-separate waiting rooms at trains and

bus stations-separate toilet facilities-separate schools for children-interracial marriage illegal and not

recognized-separate dining areas-separate entrances at hospitals-no interchanging of books-separate seating in all public arenas

Jim Crow Jim Crow LawsLaws

To Kill a MockingbirdTo Kill a Mockingbird ReleasedReleased

Published and released in 1960 at the height of the Civil Rights Movement:

refers to the reform movements in the United States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans

Civil Rights MovementCivil Rights Movement

1954 – Brown vs. Board of Education – outlawed racial segregation in schools – overturned “separate but equal” laws

1955 – Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat at the front of a bus – her arrest results in a year-long bus boycott, led by Martin Luther King, Jr.


1957 – Nine black students prevented

from integrating Central High School in

Little Rock, AK per the governor’s orders

– President Eisenhower orders the

National Guard to intervene on behalf of

the students who become known as The

Little Rock Nine.


1963 – Martin Luther King arrested for protests in Birmingham, Alabama. He writes his famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail” here – argues that individuals have a moral obligation to disobey unjust laws

1963 – King delivers his “I Have a Dream Speech” to more than 200,000 in Washington, D.C. :

MLK Speech


1963 – 4 young girls killed at Sunday school when a bomb explodes at their Baptist Church in Alabama, a popular gathering place for civil rights meetings

1964 – President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act, most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction - prohibits discrimination of all kinds based on race, color, religion, or national origin. The law also provides the federal government with the powers to enforce desegregation.


April 4, 1968 - Martin Luther King, at age 39, is shot as he stands on the balcony outside his hotel room. Escaped convict and committed racist James Earl Ray is convicted of the crime.

MLK Tribute

Question:Question:

Considering the time period that this book was published and the time that the story is set, why do you think this book was both a critical and popular success?

Harper Lee vs. Scout Harper Lee vs. Scout FinchFinch

Harper Lee Scout Finch

1930s - Monroeville, AL 1930s – Maycomb, AL

Both fathers were small town lawyers

Both were avid readers – too smart for their own good

Both young girls at time of controversial rape trials involving black men

SymbolismSymbolism

Mockingbird – mainly found in the South, this pale gray and white bird is known for its beautiful song characterized by repeated notes and phrases. Its gift for imitation is how it got its name.

Atticus – from the Greek, meaning Athenian…responsible for instituting democratic laws in Athens

Calpurnia – 3rd wife of Julius Caesar – noted for her faithfulness but had no children of her own

AccoladesAccolades

Won the Pulitzer Prize and sold over 15 million copies

1962 – Film of the novel won Oscar for Best Picture, and Gregory Peck won Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Atticus Finch

Harper Lee never published another novel and became very reclusive, rarely granting interviews. She claims to have told her story.

Was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her cultural contribution to the U.S.

Hey, Boo

Hoover HotelHoover Hotel

HoovervilleHooverville

Hoover FlagHoover Flag

Hoover CartHoover Cart

Hoover ChildHoover Child

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To Kill a Mockingbird By Harper Lee. Setting Story takes place during the Great Depression: 10/29/1929 – Black Tuesday– stock market crashed; worst economic