This powerpoint examines the story "To Kill A Mockingbird" and the underline meaning of the story dealing with its controversial topic of racism and hate.

1. TO KILL A
MOCKINGBIRD
By Harper Lee
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2. INTRODUCTION
• This story is about Tom Robinson,
who was a black man was being
accused of raping Mayella Ewell,
which she is a white woman.
• The book contains a lot of racism,
prejudices and integrity.
• This book was published in 1960.
• The setting of this story takes place
in the Deep South (Alabama)
during the 1930’s when slavery
was very common.
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3. INTRODUCTION (CON’T)
• This case and book showed how racism was judged in the south
and how the judicial system was judging people by color not by
true facts. Some of the controversial issues about the book was
the racial insults, blasphemy, discrimination and talking about
rape.
• The adults seemed to be more racist and prejudice than some of
the children were.
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4. REVIEW OF THIS STORY
•
Tom Robinson was over to the Ewell’s house
because Mayella needed some work done since
her father, Bob Ewell, wasn’t at home to do it.
Mayella kissed Tom on the cheek and then her
father had returned back home and started
making accusations against Tom Robinson.
•
Atticus Finch, who was a white middle-aged
lawyer, was asked to defend Tom Robinson. At
first, Atticus was hesitant about being Tom’s
lawyer because it was putting him and his family’s
life in jeopardy and a lot of criticism from the town
and from their family as well. Atticus was a good
man and had a kind heart so; he had agreed to
take his case because it was on his conscience.
Atticus only wanted to do what was right believing
that Tom was an innocent man and that he
deserved a fair trial and justice.
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5. THE NIGHT BEFORE THE TRIAL
OF TOM ROBINSON
• Tom Robinson was afraid when they moved him to the county jail the night
before the trial.
• Atticus stayed at the county jail with Tom, guarding his cell because he was
afraid that something bad would happen to Tom overnight on the count of
the accusations that were made against him. Atticus’ children were worried
about their father so, they went in town to look for him.
• Trouble did find its way to the town jail like Atticus had thought and the
violence and the threats were made by the men to Atticus and to Tom.
• Atticus’ children were in town when this was transpiring but because Scout
sees the father of one of her classmates that attends school with her, she
began to reason with them and the men leave the area.
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6. THE TRIAL… THE TESTIMONIES
• The story that the Bob and Mayella Ewell told in court was that Tom was called to the
house to do some work for Mayella because her father wasn’t home, and he raped her
and when her father returned home, Bob saw the two and Tom got scared and ran.
• Tom’s version was that Mayella called him into the house and she was seducing him
and he was resisting her, but her father came back home and saw what was going on
and he beat Mayella but Tom ran away because he was scared.
• The sheriff testifies that there were bruises on the right side of Mayella’s face, so that
would mean that a left handed person had hit her. Tom Robinson didn’t have much
usage of his left arm because of an injury from an accident some time ago so that
didn’t seem possible that he had committed the crime but her father is left handed.
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7. THE VERDICT…
• With all of the evidence that was presented, this should have been an
open and shut case and Tom Robinson should be a free man.
• The jurors really wanted to convict Tom of the crime because he was a
black man and she was a white woman, so they did because they
deliberated for a while although the verdict was that Tom Robinson was
guilty so he was sent to prison.
• Atticus is hoping to be able to get an appeal later.
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8. AFTER THE TRIAL…
• Tom Robinson is shot to death because he tried to escape prison.
• Bob Ewell was very upset with Atticus and with the people who supported
Atticus in this trial and he felt disgraced by them but he was feeling guilty of
his own lies that he told. Bob was so bothered by Atticus and his supporters
that he went as far getting revenge on Atticus’ children. He tries to kill them
with a kitchen knife. This attack took place after a Halloween play at the
children’s school and they were walking home in the dark when Bob
appeared.
• The neighborhood man called Boo Radley, who never comes out of his
house, was the one who helped the children by stabbing Bob Ewell. The
sheriff comes to the scene but he didn’t arrest Boo for stabbing Bob, the
sheriff was saying that Bob fell on the knife.
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9. THE
MOCKINGBIRD
SYMBOL
•
Mockingbird is a symbol of being a
copycat, just do whatever they see
or hear (good or bad)
•
People would say that Tom
Robinson was a Mockingbird
because he was an innocent black
man who was falsely accused.
•
Bob Ewell really was the one who
started the accusations because he
saw Mayella Ewell kiss Tom
Robinson on the cheek.
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10. SOME PERSONAL NOTES
• This case and book showed how racism was judged in the south
and how the judicial system was judging people by color not by
true facts.
• Some of the controversial issues about the book was the racial
insults, blasphemy, discrimination and talking about rape.
• We should not judge people because of the color of their skin,
gender, or ethnicity because it is wrong.
• There is a saying that says, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”.
Everybody has good in them.
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11. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
• Nelle Harper Lee was born on April
28, 1926. Grew up in Monroeville,
Ala.
• As a child, Lee was a tomboy and a
precocious reader, and she enjoyed
the friendship of her schoolmate and
neighbor, the young Truman Capote,
who provided the basis of the
character of Dill in her novel To Kill a
Mockingbird.
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12. MORE ABOUT HARPER LEE
• Lee was only five years old in when, in April 1931 in the small Alabama town of
Scottsboro, the first trials began with regard to the purported rapes of two white
women by nine young black men. The defendants, who were nearly lynched
before being brought to court, were not provided with the services of a lawyer
until the first day of trial. Despite medical testimony that the women had not been
raped, the all-white jury found the men guilty of the crime and sentenced all but
the youngest, a twelve-year-old boy, to death.
• Studied first at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama (1944-45), and then
pursued a law degree at the University of Alabama (1945-49), spending one year
abroad at Oxford University, England.
• worked as a reservation clerk for Eastern Airlines in New York City until the late
1950s, when she resolved to devote herself to writing.
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13. LAST NOTES ON LEE
• To Kill a Mockingbird won the 1961
Pulitzer Prize despite mixed critical
reviews. The novel was highly
popular, selling more than fifteen
million copies. This was her ONLY
novel.
• President Johnson named Lee to the
National Council of Arts in June 1966,
and since then she has received
numerous honorary doctorates.
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14. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD… THE
MOVIE
• The book was made into a
successful movie in 1962,
starring Gregory Peck as
Atticus.
• The movie won 3 Oscars,
among other awards.
• Lead Actor Gregory Peck
• Writing
• Art Direction
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15. REFERENCES
http://neabigread.org
www.brighthubeducation.com
www.tmc.com
www.wset.com
http://tecfaetu.unige.ch/etu-maltt/R2D2/dacostj7/stic-2/ex14/epub/ex14.pdf
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