passages from the novel support this claim.
First, when Atticus gave air rifles to his children he
reminded them: "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if
you can hit 'em, but remember it is a sin to kill a
mockingbird."
Another when Ms. Maudie, a neighbor to the Finch
family, spoke to Scout, "Mockingbirds don't do one
thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a
sin to kill a mockingbird."
Throughout the book, a number of characters (Scout,
Jem, Dill, Tom Robinson, Boo Radley) can be
identified as mockingbirds - innocents who have been
injured or destroyed through contact with evil. That
was proven when Tom Robinson was killed and his
death was compared to the "senseless slaughters of
songbirds". The other was when Scout thinks that
persecuting Boo Radley for the crime of killing Bob
Ewell " would be like shootin' a mockingbird."
C. Abstraction
Alright Class, we have already identified and
examined the novel's elements like the characters,
themes and symbolism. Now, I would like you to
determine the various social, moral and economic
issues discussed in the text.
So think about it for 2 minutes and then I will call you
later to give your answers.
(Teacher give time for students to think)
Before we go on to your answers, let us first have a
short background information about the author of the
novel.
Harper Lee
Born in 1926, Harper Lee grew up in
depression-era Monroeville, Alabama.
The youngest of four children, Lee
followed her attorney father into law.
Lee attended the University of Alabama law school
and spent the 1950's working for Eastern Airlines and
writing short stories. On the suggestion of her editor,
Lee developed one of her short stories into her only
novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, published in 1960.
The novel won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize and spent 80
weeks on the bestseller list. It has been translated into
40 languages and there are over 30 million copies in
print.
Mockingbird's success also inspired the box office
smash, To Kill a Mockingbird, starring Gregory Peck.
Lee published several essays in the early 1960s but, as
a true literary recluse, has published nothing since then
(Students will think of answers)