...THE GLENCOE LITERATURE LIBRARY Study Guide for To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee i Meet Harper Lee at the same university. In 1949, however, she withdrew and moved to New York City with the goal of becoming a writer. While working at other jobs, Lee submitted stories and essays to publishers. All were rejected. An agent, however, took an interest in one of her short stories and suggested she expand it into a novel. By 1957 she had finished a draft of To Kill a Mockingbird. A publisher to whom she sent the novel saw its potential but thought it needed reworking. With her editor, Lee spent two and a half more years revising the manuscript. By 1960 the novel was published. In a 1961 interview with Newsweek magazine, Lee commented: Writing is the hardest thing in the world, . . . but writing is the only thing that has made me completely happy. To Kill a Mockingbird was an immediate and widespread success. Within a year, the novel sold half a million copies and received the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Within two years, it was turned into a highly acclaimed film. Readers admire the novel’s sensitive and probing treatment of race relations. But, equally, they enjoy its vivid account of childhood in a small rural town. Summing up the novel’s enduring impact in a 1974 review, R. A. Dave called To Kill a Mockingbird . . . a movingly human drama of the jostling worlds—of children and adults, of innocence and experience, of kindness and cruelty, of love and hatred, of humor...
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...The highly praised novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is a story about racism and stereotypes in the deep south told from the perspective of a little girl named Scout. Harper Lee, the author of the novel, uses symbolism to show a character's personality or to relate to an event in the story. Some symbols used in the story include a roly-poly, a rabid dog, and a mockingbird. These things, if looked into deeply, give the novel depth and meaning. Harper Lee uses a roly-poly as a symbol in her novel. The roly-poly is understood to symbolize letting your guard down ,as we see in the story: “ I lay on my stomach, reached down and poked him. He rolled up. Then, feeling safe ,I suppose, slowly unrolled” (Lee 272). Another piece of evidence that explains this symbol is near the same area of the story: “When you touch them, they roll themselves into a tight gray ball” (Lee 272), which means that ,at first, it is...
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...and unity… TEXT COMPARISON Are we always champions of tolerance, courage and receptiveness to others? By the very definition of humanity, we must be. Humanity: benevolence, understanding and kindness towards other people. It is, arguably, our very human nature to feel compassion, courage, understanding, unity and empathy towards our fellow man. Unfortunately, prejudice and judgement also cling to the human condition like tumorous stains – traits which society still finds hard to surmount. Despite the efforts of governments, groups and individuals, humankind still finds it difficult to trust based on the soul of a person; we are more comfortable making judgements based on skin colour. Nelle Harper Lee through her 1960 novel, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ and Boaz Yakin through his 2000 film, ‘Remember the Titans,’ are text composers who tackle the ill-defined paradigms of ‘prejudice, courage and unity’ by painting a picture of the confronting face of racism. Prejudice, courage and unity are notions that are dealt with differently by both composers and, through their use of structural and linguistic features, each composer presents this concept in a manner which connects (or weakens a connection)...
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...Change is both a vital and inevitable part of our lives, and has a powerful effect on people, their perspectives, and the world around them. Through their experiences, many characters in texts such as Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, and the film, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, directed by Mark Herman, undergo various changes and transformations, not only physically, emotionally and intellectually, but also in their understanding and perspectives of the world around them. Studying texts such as these provides the audience with valuable insight into the aspects of changing worlds, perspectives, relationships and selves, which they are then able to relate to their own lives. Characters in both To Kill A Mockingbird and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (hereafter referred to as Mockingbird and Pyjamas respectively) change their attitude to society’s notions of the superiority of certain races and religions over others, creating a valuable moral imperative through the historical nature of the texts. Harper Lee’s Mockingbird is set in the small American town of Maycomb amidst the 1930s civil rights movement, and is centred on Scout’s moral struggle when questioning the racism and discrimination present. At the start of the novel, Scout blindly follows the discriminatory beliefs of society, although as she experiences more of the world for herself, she begins to question the hypocrisy of society, “How can you hate Hitler so bad an’ then turn around and be ugly about folks...
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...stream of consciousness to portray how different people react to corruption and disillusionment through Benji, Quentin, and Jason; The Sound and the Fury takes on a unique approach to these common themes and contrast with other similar literary works like To Kill a Mockingbird. Caddy is the reason why several of the characters become disillusioned. Benji feels a foreboding sense of loss because his sister and caretaker has abandoned him. Quentin used to idealize Caddy, yet after her promiscuous escapades, Quentin turns to depression and eventually...
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...In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird there are various key themes that Harper Lee includes, ranging from the importance of family all the way to innocence. One of the most recurring themes in the book is moral development.In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee conveys the theme that self control reveals a person’s higher moral development when Scout refuses to fight the boy that is bullying her, when Atticus compliments the woman that was screaming insults at his children, and when Atticus walks away after Robert Ewell spit in his face. One scene in To Kill A Mockingbird where Harper Lee displays the integrity needed to execute self control is when Scout is being antagonized by a boy at her school about how her father is defending Tom Robinson, and when asked to fight, she decides, instead, to walk away. She was tempted to attain revenge, but then she, “drew a bead on him, remembered what Atticus had said, then dropped [her] fists and walked away” (Lee 102). She was mentally strong, and instead of listening to the angry voices inside of her, she followed the advice of her elders. It was a major milestone for her, as it was, “...first time [she] had ever walked away from a fight” (Lee 102)....
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...To Kill a Mockingbird indeed has many different themes that one can interpret from the extraordinary storytelling written by Harper Lee, but there is one that sticks out in particular. One of many themes that can be portrayed is that of empathy and perspective. Empathy is an act of kindness that can be seen in practically everyone, there is no one who is so emotionally jaded that they have never felt for another and felt empathy towards them. In the story of To Kill a Mockingbird, you can go from feeling your heart warming up from the sweet and kind spirit of Scout, to the heart wrenching feeling when held witness to the sickening inhumane acts played out by many of the adults in Maycomb County. Throughout the story, numerous times you see acts of kindness, from both the children and adults, but all the meanwhile...
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...answer responses to Jasper Jones 1. Speaking and Listening 3. Reading 2. Viewing 4. Writing Completed in Class – Two Periods 10% of unit total Assessment Task 1 For this task, you will write short responses (Maximum of 200 words) for each of the following questions on Jasper Jones: You may use the text as a resource in completing this task. 1. Discuss the use of imagery in the novel. 2. Discuss the theme of ‘growing up’ as it is developed in the novel? 3. Having considered the representation of gender in other texts, discuss how gender is represented in Jasper Jones. Choose at least two characters to focus on in your discussion. 4. Discuss the notion of ‘the other’ as it relates to the novel, Jasper Jones? Consider specific characters in your answer. 5. Explain how the film, To Kill a Mockingbird and/or Mississippi Burning, has contributed to your understanding of Jasper Jones Process o Read the novel carefully. o Plan your answer to each question. o Answer each question in paragraph form (Maximum length 200 words). Note: some questions may require answers more than one paragraph in length. o Check your answers for accuracy, spelling errors and grammatical errors. What needs to be included in your portfolio? Due dates £ £ Any notes you have made Final copy (typed or written and completed at home) /100 Thursday Week 3, Term 3 Final Mark: Teacher’s Comment: There are a number of points that you just attend to in regard to improving your written responses. Take...
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...Teacher and Author: Teaching Middle and High School Using Literature Sandra Coleman Grand Canyon University RGD 545 Professor Karen Foster February 27, 2008 Teaching Middle and High School Student Using Literature Outline: I. Short Stories a) Activating Prior Knowledge b) Responding to the Selection c) Short Story Selections 1. Suggested Activities to use with Various Groups II. Oral Tradition Literature – Tall Tales and Folktales a) Analyze characteristics and plots of Folktales and Tall Tales b) Understanding Hyperbole c) Writing a Tall Tale d) Selections of Oral Tradition Literature III. Novel Studies a) Previewing the novel b) Defining and Understanding Elements of c) Character Analysis d) Problems and Solutions of the story IV. Historical Fiction a) Activating background/prior knowledge b) Setting a purpose for reading c) Writing about historical fiction V. Realistic Fiction a) Evaluating Realistic Fiction b) Responding to the selection c) Distinguishing between Fact and Opinion d) Summarizing the Story Chapter 1 – Short Stories: A short story is, like the name...
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...TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD Analysis of Atticus’ Closing Argument Using the Rhetorical Devices The purpose of this writing assignment is to analyze Atticus’ closing statement and identify the three approaches – ethos, logos, pathos—he uses to persuade the jury. This approach to rhetorical analysis will help you question a text, explore your responses to it, and prepare an analysis on the thoughts and ideas of the novel. INTRODUCTION: Paragraph 1: Introduction Catchy beginning – usually a quote from the reading Title of novel, Name of author 2-3 sentence summarizing what the trial is about Thesis statement based on the reading prompt and including the three points the prompt suggests—ethos, logos, and pathos. BODY PARAGRAPHS: Paragraph 1: Discuss...
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...Analysis Q’s 1. What is the comparison between Boo and a Mockingbird and why hurting both considered a sin by Scout, Heck Tate, and Atticus When Jem and Scout received air rifles as presents, Atticus told them to only shoot cans. If they must shoot birds, only shoot Bluejays and never Mockingbirds as that would be a sin. It is the only time he ever said anything was a sin. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird,” (Page 119, Chapter 11, Miss Maudie). Heck Tate, though he knew that Boo killed Bob Ewell with a kitchen knife, thought it would be a sin...
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...All people face moments that demand courage, but deciding what that courage will look like can be difficult. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch uses an important moment in his son’s life to offer advice about what it really means to be courageous. Though this book tells a fictional story based on a time period more than 80 years in the past, Atticus’s explanation of courage is still relevant. This is especially true when looking at the story of Malala Yousafzai in Biography.com article “Women Leaders: Malala Yousafzai.” Malala Yousafzai exemplifies all parts of Atticus Finch’s definition of courage. Atticus Finch helps his young son Jem understand courage by first explaining what it is not and then what it is. At the...
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...Maycomb County is an oxymoron. It is connected by racist views but divided because some people did not believe in racism. In the movie, “To Kill a Mockingbird’, the absence of important scenes, key characters and subtle details that were found in the book minimize the extreme views of the racists in Maycomb County Society. The missing elements minimize racism, conceal sexism, and suppress the importance of the Southern aristocracy. In “TKAM”, the absence of the Finch Landing Christmas scene eliminates a significant aspect to the racism displayed in Maycomb County. A moviegoer is shortchanged because “TKAM” does not show the intensity of the racism during that time. In TKAM, Aunt Alexandra, Atticus’s sister, is hosting everyone for Christmas including her grandson Francis. During the gathering, Francis shouts at Scout, “He’s nothin’ but a...
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...English H. Period 8 Scout’s Personality Essay There are many components to literature, however, one of the most important are the characters. Throughout a story, readers become submerged in a characters’ life and learn about what type of person they are and watch as the characters develop overtime. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout is one of the main characters that readers become familiar with, since the story is told from her perspective. Everything, from her actions to her speech, shows us a fragment of who she really is. Each fragment eventually pieced together to form Scout’s personality. In part one, readers get a good grasp on what kind of person Scout is; her character traits are illustrated on countless occasions. There are numerous traits that Scout demonstrates and within the story, certain traits are more strongly exposed than others. In particular, Scout is portrayed as very innocent and also reveals to be protective in the first part of the book. Scout is depicted as innocent throughout the first part of the book because she doesn’t understand certain consequences for her actions. For instance, when Scout revealed she is able to read “most of My First Reader and the stock-market quotations from The Mobile Register” (17), her teacher “looked at [Scout] with more than faint distaste” (17). Her teacher, Miss Caroline, then proceeded to order Scout to tell her father to stop teaching her, but Scout denies the claim that Atticus’s teaches her and tries...
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...In “The Courthouse Ring: Atticus Finch and the Limits of Southern Liberalism,” Malcolm Gladwell criticizes former governor of Alabama, James “Big Jim” Folsom. He compares him to literary hero Atticus Finch from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Most people believe that both were noble people for taking the stance against racism that they did, but Gladwell presents them both in a different, less heroic image. Though I do not personally agree with Gladwell, I do understand why he believes the way that he does. In the article, Gladwell introduces the reader to “Big Jim” Folsom by providing a brief description of the man himself. He notes that Folsom was a charismatic man who believed in racial equality in time where Jim Crow laws were in full effect. Also, most politicians would not have dared to venture into the deep-south on such a platform, but Folsom made “a proud and lonely stand for racial justice” in many ways such as not segregating the audience who attended his speeches. In Alabama, politics generally had a “friends and neighbors” effect, meaning that people generally voted based on personality rather than political issues and the state was divided into smaller island communities that were each run by a “courthouse ring.” Though he was considered something of a radical for his stance on racism, Folsom was not actually looking for a drastic change—he simply wanted privileged whites to be more amiable to black people. In spite of public disapproval, Folsom invited black...
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