ENG2D Novel Study Unit • Name: ___________________________
Novel Study
Unit:
To Kill a
Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee • Biography
Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama; a city of about
7,000 people in Monroe County, which has about 24,000 people. Monroeville is in
southwest Alabama, about halfway between Montgomery and Mobile.
She is the youngest of four children, daughter of lawyer Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances
Finch Lee. Harper Lee, educated in the South, attended Huntingdon College 1944-45,
studied law at University of Alabama 1945-49, and studied one year at Oxford
University. In the 1950s she worked as a reservation clerk with Eastern Air Lines and
BOAC in New York City.
In order to concentrate on writing, Harper Lee’s friends saved up enough money for her to live without working
for a year. Lee gave up her position with the airline and moved into a cold-water apartment with makeshift
furniture. Her father's sudden illness forced her to divide her time between New York and Monroeville, a practice
she has continued.
In 1957 Miss Lee submitted the manuscript of her novel to the J. B. Lippincott Company. She was told that her
novel consisted of a series of short stories strung together, and she was urged to re-write it. For the next two and a
half years she re-worked the manuscript with the help of her editor, Tay Hohoff, and in 1960 To Kill a Mockingbird
was published. Her only published book, won a Pulitzer Prize, and is still admired, widely-taught, and beloved.
In June of 1966, Harper Lee was one of two persons named by President Johnson to the National Council of Arts.
In the same year, on November 28th, Truman Capote held his fabulous and flawless Black and White Dance in
honour of Katherine Graham. In Cold Blood had been published in January, with its dedication to Jack Dunphy
and Harper Lee. The 480 invitations included one to her.
Miss Lee has received a number of honorary doctorates, perhaps four. In 1990 she was one of five recipients at the
University of Alabama. She did not speak or give an interview.
Her novel tends to have very many similarities to her own life, such as her lawyer father, the similarities between
Jem and her eldest sister, and those of Dill to Truman Capote. However, she often denies allegations that her novel
is autobiographical in any way. She also has included modified, real life events, such as the “Scottsboro Trial.”
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To Kill a Mockingbird
Setting
The small, sleepy, Southern town of Maycomb is where the story takes place, during the Great Depression.
Maycomb is a fictional representation of Monroeville, Alabama. Monroeville gained the distinction of “Literary Capital of
Alabama” because of the literary greats who have called it home (Harper Lee, Truman Capote, Mark Childress). Monroe
County is located in southwest Alabama, about halfway between the major cities of Montgomery and Mobile. Monroeville
lies 25 miles off Interstate 65.
Courthouse
Now known as the Old Courthouse Museum in Monroeville, Alabama. Much of the action in Part 2 of the novel takes place
in this very courtroom. The trial in the novel echoes many similarities to the trial of “the Scottsboro Boys.”
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To Kill a Mockingbird Setting • Map of Maycomb
From SparkNotes To Kill A Mockingbird Study Guide
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To Kill a Mockingbird
Character Map
From CliffNotes To Kill A Mockingbird Summary and Study Guide
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To Kill a Mockingbird
Characters
Jean Louise “Scout” Finch
Tomboy narrator, aged 6-9, tells the story as an adult. She’d rather solve
problems with her fists than with her head.
Jeremy Atticus “Jem” Finch
Scout’s older brother, aged 10-13 during the story. He is Scout’s protector, and
one of her best friends.
Atticus Finch
Maycomb lawyer, widower and single parent to Jem and Scout. Assigned to
represent Tom Robinson in the trial.
Calpurnia
The Finches’ Negro housekeeper. One of the few Negroes in town who can read
and write. For Scout and Jem, she is the closest thing to a mother they have.
Charles Baker “Dill” Harris
From Mississippi, comes to visit relatives in Maycomb. Known for telling
fantastic lies and stories. Best friends with Scout and Jem.
Arthur “Boo” Radley
A mysterious recluse who the Finch children seek to bring out of his house.
Bob Ewell
Poor, uneducated, drunk widower who wants a better life for his family, but is
unwilling to earn it.
Mayella Ewell
19 year old daughter and surrogate wife of Bob Ewell, and acts as a mother to
her younger siblings. She accuses Tom Robinson of rape.
Tom Robinson
A kind and compassionate man who helps others. Accused of raping a white
woman, Mayella Ewell.
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To Kill a Mockingbird
Article on Racism
“I’m Not Racist But…”
by Neil Bissoondath
1. Someone recently said that racism is as Canadian as maple syrup. I have no argument with that. History provides us
with ample proof. But, for proper perspective, let us remember that it is also as American as apple pie, as French as
croissants, as Jamaican as ackee, as Indian as aloo, as Chinese as chow mein, as…Well, there’s an entire menu to be
written. This is not by way of excusing it. Murder and rape, too, are international, multicultural, as innate to the
darker side of the human experience. But we must be careful that the inevitable rage evoked does not blind us to the
larger context.
2. The word “racism” is a discomforting one: It is so vulnerable to manipulation. We can, if we so wish, apply it to any
incident involving people of different colour. And therein lies the danger. During the heat of altercation, we seize, as
terms of abuse, on whatever is most obvious about the other person. It is, often, a question of unfortunate
convenience. A woman, because of her sex, easily becomes a female dog or an intimate part of her anatomy. A large
person might be dubbed “a stupid ox,” a small person “a little” whatever. And so a black might become “a nigger,” a
white “a honky,” an Asian “a paki,” a Chinese “a chink,” an Italian “a wop,” a French Canadian “a frog.”
3. There is nothing pleasant about these terms; they assault every decent sensibility. Even so, I once met someone who,
in a stunning surge of naïveté, used them as simple descriptives and not as terms of racial abuse. He was horrified to
learn the truth. While this may have been an extreme case, the point is that the use of such patently abusive words
may not always indicate racial or cultural distaste. They may indicate ignorance or stupidity or insensitivity, but pure
racial hatred–such as the Nazis held for Jews, or the Ku Klux Klan for blacks–is thankfully rare commodity.
4. Ignorance, not the willful kind but that which comes from lack of experience, is often indicated by that wonderful
phrase, “I’m not racist but…” I think of the mover, a friendly man, who said, “I’m not racist, but the Chinese are the
worst drivers on the road.” He was convinced this was so because the shape of their eyes, as far as he could surmise,
denied them peripheral vision.
5. Or the oil company executive, an equally warm and friendly man, who, looking for an apartment in Toronto, rejected
buildings with East Indian tenants not because of their race–he was telling me this, after all–but because he was given
to understand that cockroaches were symbols of good luck in their culture and that, when they moved into a new
home, friends came by with gift-wrapped roaches.
6. Neither of these men thought of himself as racist, and I believe they were not, deep down. (The oil company
executive made it clear he would not hesitate to have me as a neighbour; my East Indian descent was of no
consequence to him, my horror of cockroaches was.) Yet their comments, so innocently delivered, would open them
to the accusation, justifiably so if this were all one knew about them. But it is a charge which would undoubtedly be
wounding to them. It is difficult to recognize one’s own misconceptions.
7. True racism is based, more often than not, on willful ignorance, and an acceptance of–and comfort with–stereotype.
We like to think, in this country, that our multicultural mosaic will help nudge us into a greater openness. But
multiculturalism as we know it indulges in stereotype, depends on it for a dash of colour and the flash of dance. It
fails to address the most basic questions people have about each other. Do those men doing the Dragon Dance really
all belong to the secret criminal societies? Do those women dressed in saris really coddle cockroaches for luck? Do
those people in dreadlocks all smoke marijuana and live on welfare? Such questions do not seem to be the concern
of the government’s multicultural programs, superficial and exhibitionistic as they have become.
8. So the struggle against stereotype, the basis of all racism, becomes a purely personal one. We must beware of the
impressions we create. A friend of mine once commented that, from talking to West Indians, he had the impression
that their one great cultural contribution to the world was the oft-repeated boast that “We (unlike everyone else)
know how to dance.”
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To Kill a Mockingbird
Article on Racism
9. There are dangers, too, in community response. We must beware of the self-appointed activists who seem to pop up
in the media at every opportunity spouting the rhetoric of retribution, mining distress for personal, political and
professional gain. We must be skeptical about those who depend on conflict for their sense of self, the non-whites
who need to feel themselves victims of racism, the whites who need to feel themselves purveyors of it. And we must
be sure that, in addressing the problem, we do not end up creating it. Does the Miss Black Canada Beauty Contest
still exist? I hope not. Not only do I find beauty contests offensive, but a racially segregated one even more so. What
would the public reaction be, I wonder, if every year CTV broadcast the Miss White Canada Beauty Pageant? We give
community-service awards only to blacks: Would we be comfortable with such awards only for whites? In Québec,
there are the Association of Black Nurses, The Association of Black Artists, The Congress of Black Jurists. Play tit for
tat: The Association of White Nurses, White Artists, White Jurists: visions of apartheid. Let us be frank, racism for one
is racism for others.
10. Finally, and perhaps most important, let us beware of abusing the word itself.
(1989)
The Writer’s Subject
1. What does Bissoondath mean by saying that the word “racism” is “so vulnerable to manipulation”? (para. 2)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What is the connection that the writer perceives between racism and the acceptance of stereotypes?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What, according to Bissoondath, are the possible dangers that lie in multiculturalism?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. What are the dangers that Bissoondath sees in community responses to racism? (para. 9)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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To Kill a Mockingbird
Paragraph Quiz • Name: ______________
** Find three examples, from three different chapters, that … in To Kill a Mockingbird . **
Students must identify the types of sentences in order to receive marks for types of sentences.
Content
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Structure (SeEeEeEC): proper paragraph structure is followed
0
1
2
3
4
5
Punctuation:
Capital letters are used correctly
Periods are used correctly
Commas follow TIPSAN rules
Apostrophes (possession) are used correctly
0
0
1
1
0
0
1
1
Syntax:
Simple sentences are used correctly and one sentence is highlighted and labelled “Simple”
0
1
Compound sentences are used correctly and one sentence is highlighted and labelled “Compound”
0
1
Complex sentences are used correctly and one sentence is highlighted and labelled “Complex”
0
1
Compound-complex sentences are used correctly and one sentence is highlighted and labelled “C-C”
0
1
Quotations are embedded properly
0
1
2
3
Quotations are introduced by explaining the speaker and context
0
1
2
3
/25
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To Kill a Mockingbird
Monologue • Name: ______________
Your task:
Select a scene from the novel and a character in that scene to portray. You will need to compose a one (1) minute
monologue of what that character is saying or thinking, in-role, as the character in that scene. If you select a scene
that another student in class has selected, you must select a different character in that scene than them. If you are
adding anything to the scene that is not indicated in the novel, please check with your teacher prior to the due
date. Your monologue must contain three (3) quotations from the novel. This monologue will be performed in
front of the class. You are encouraged to use costumes and props.
Submit the following:
• Typed monologue
• Typed one-page reflection on your choices in the monologue (scene, character, materials and accessories,
voice, body language may be your paragraphs)
• Rubric
Novel Scenes to Select
Atticus about empathy (ch. 3)! !
!
!
Scout about Mayella Ewell (ch. 18)
Jem’s pants on the fence (ch. 6)!!
!
!
Tom Robinson on the stand (ch. 19)
Jem and the end of gifts in tree knothole (ch. 7)! !
Dolphus Raymond about Maycomb (ch. 20)
Miss Maudie and the fire during snowstorm (ch. 8)!
Atticus’s summation (ch. 20)
Atticus about killing mockingbirds (ch. 10)!
!
Miss Maudie about the trial (ch. 22)
Atticus about real courage (ch. 10 dog & 11 Dubose)!
Atticus and the children discuss the trial (ch. 23)
Calpurnia about church language (ch. 12)!
!
Hypocritical class discussion of Hitler (ch. 26)
Scout to Cunningham Sr. and mob (ch. 15)!
!
Scout’s recognition of Boo (ch. 29-30)
Scout’s empathetic reflection about Boo (ch. 31)
My scene selection: ________________________________
My character: _________________________________
Points to keep in mind:
Understanding the selection:
• Who is speaking in this passage (i.e., age, gender, life experience, attitude) and what is the context?
• Find the meaning of words or phrases that you do not understand.
• Highlight words or phrases that should be emphasized.
Determining your purpose and audience:
• What effect do you want to have on the audience?
• What mood are you trying to create and convey?
Delivery:
• Determine where in the monologue you should speak loudly or softly, quickly or slowly, or pause.
• Determine the tone your body language will set, and what facial expressions should communicate.
Monologues are meant to create a vivid experience for the audience. The words themselves are an integral part,
but the intonation of the voice, variation of volume and pacing are also significant elements in the effective
presentation of a monologue. Body language is another important factor. We all use our body language and facial
expression to communicate and enhance our meaning. Reflecting emotions in your face will enhance your
presentation and enable the audience to more fully sympathize with your character.
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Rubric
Novel Monologue Name: ______________________________________
Character: ___________________________________
/16
Duration: _____________
Scene: ___________________________________
**Submit this sheet to your teacher prior to presenting.**
Criteria
Knowledge/
Understanding
Understanding of the
material/character
Thinking/Inquiry
Creativity and use of
audiovisuals/props/
costumes
Communication
Sense of audience
and purpose; body
language
Application
Voice clarity and
projection; accuracy,
punctuation;
duration
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
(50-59%)
(60-69%)
(70-79%)
(80-100%)
Expression and intonation
indicate limited
understanding of the
material and the character
Expression and intonation
indicate some understanding
of the material and the
character
Expression and intonation
indicate considerable
understanding of the
material and the character
Expression and intonation
indicate a thorough and
insightful understanding of
the material and the
character
Interpretation shows limited
creativity
Interpretation shows some
creativity
Interpretation shows
considerable creativity
Interpretation shows a high
degree of creativity
Use of materials and
accessories is inappropriate,
ineffective, or missing
Appropriate materials and
accessories are utilized in a
somewhat effective manner
Appropriate materials and
accessories are utilized in an
effective manner
Appropriate materials and
accessories are utilized
highly effectively
Shows limited awareness of
audience
Shows some awareness of
audience
Addresses audience with
considerable confidence
Addresses audience with a
high degree of confidence
Body language makes a
limited contribution to
characterization
Body language makes some
contributions to
characterization
Body language makes an
appropriate contribution to
characterization
Body language makes a
highly effective contribution
to characterization
Voice has limited clarity
and/or projection
Voice is moderately clear
and projected
Voice is clear and
appropriately projected
Voice is clear with highly
effective projection
Speaks with limited accuracy
and effectiveness
Speaks with some accuracy
and effectiveness
Speaks with considerable
accuracy and effectiveness
Speaks with a high degree of
accuracy and effectiveness
Monologue strays from oneminute restriction by more
than 30 seconds.
Monologue strays from oneminute restriction by 16-30
seconds.
Monologue strays from oneminute restriction by 10-15
seconds.
Monologue adheres to oneminute restriction.
Overall Expectations: Speaking to Communicate: use speaking skills and strategies appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes;
Reading for Meaning: read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literary, informational, and graphic texts, using a range of strategies to construct meaning;
Understanding Form and Style: recognize a variety of text forms, text features, and stylistic elements and demonstrate understanding of how they help communicate
meaning.
Comments:
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