Harper Lee
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Theme-central,
dominant idea behind
the story.
the most important
aspect that emerges
from how the book
treats its subject
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Symbol-an object,
person, or place that
has a meaning in itself
and that also stands
for something larger
than itself, usually an
idea or concept; some
concrete thing which
represents an
abstraction.
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Offers insight about life and gives meaning to
the story
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Reveals the writer’s philosophy of life
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Must be a statement about the story’s subject
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Avoids teaching a lesson
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Examine how the protagonist changes
You must be able to understand the story’s
events
Stating the theme helps the reader better
understand the story
Ex: Someone’s greatest weakness may actually
become a strength
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One cannot fully understand another person
until he or she walks in that person’s shoes.
Ignorance and racism lead to injustice and the
destruction of innocence.
Good and evil coexist in all people; no one is
purely one or the other.
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Knowledge and maturity are accompanied by
the loss of innocence and, sometimes, one’s
ideals
Despite its capacity for evil, humanity also has
a tremendous capacity for good
Moral Education-how are children educated
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Round-Complex
three-dimensional
Flat-Have only one or
two key personality
traits
Dynamic-undergoes
an important change
as a result of a conflict
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Stock-drawn from
widely known
cultural types
(stereotype); quickly
recognized from
frequent recurrences
in literature
Static-undergoes little
or no change
throughout a story
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Characterization-process by which the writer
reveals the personality of a character
Effective characterization creates believable
characters
Indirect Characterization- shows things that
reveal the personality of a character through
things like speech, thought, actions, looks
Direct Characterization-tells the audience
what the personality of the character is. “The
patient boy”
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Indirect characterization allows the reader to
draw their own conclusions about a character
Character motivation is successful when the
audience understands why a character does
something
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the destruction of innocence
the evils of racism and classism
the journey from childhood to adulthood
people’s unwillingness to let go of the past
hypocrisy
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Scout-narrator
Jem-scouts brother,
typical American boy
Atticus-Scout and
Jem’s father
Boo Radley-never
leaves his house
Nathan Radley-Boo’s
brother
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Miss Maudie
Atkinson-Finches’
neighbor, old family
friend
Tom Robinson-black
field hand accused of
rape
Heck Tate-Sheriff of
Maycomb
Dill-Jem and Scout’s
summer neighbor
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Maycomb, Alabama during the Great
Depression