To Kill a Mockingbird

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An adult man, whose father has “sentenced” him to a lifetime confinement to their house because of some mischief he got into when he was a teenager.

Has a reputation of being a lunatic

Basically a harmless, well-meaning person

Sometimes childlike in behavior

Starving for love and affection

Saves Jem and Scout from certain danger

Slide 11

Tom Robinson

A young, harmless, innocent, hardworking black man

Has a crippled left hand

Married with three children. Works on a farm belonging to Mr. Link Deas, a white man

Will be falsely accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell

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Dill

A close friend of Jem and Scout

Usually lives in Maycomb only during the summer (stays with a relative)

Tells “big stories”

Has been deprived of love and affection

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Two Poor White Families:

The Cunninghams The Ewells

Poor white family

Hard-working

Honest

Proud

Survive on very little

Always pay back their debts – even if it is with hickory nuts, turnips, or holly.

Poor white trash

Dirty

Lazy

Good-for-nothing

Never done a day’s work

Foul-mouthed

Dishonest

Immoral

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The Black Community

Simple

Honest

Clean

Hard-working

God fearing

Proud

Would never take anything with paying it back

Respectful

Had stronger character than most of the whites

Oppressed

Uneducated

Discriminated against

Talked about badly

Deserve better than what is dished out to them by society

Slide 15

Language

Sometimes the language of Scout will be that of her as a child; other times, she will be speaking in the voice of an adult

Atticus uses formal speech

Calpurnia uses “white language” in the Finch house and switches to “black jargon” when amidst blacks

The Ewells use foul words and obscenities

Jem, Scout, and Dill will use slang words, typical of their age

Tom Robinson uses language typical of the southern black such as “suh” for “sir” and “chillun” for “children”

Various derogatory terms for blacks will be used such as “nigger,” “darky,” “Negroes,” and “colored folk” – Lee uses such language to keep her novel naturally in sync with common language of the times

Slide 16

Tone

Somber

Serious

Humorous (at times)

Slide 17

Harper Lee