The Civil Rights Movement

a) When did the civil rights movement begin?

Ans: Approximately 1950

b) What was the civil rights movement about?

Ans: A worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring

c) State some of the significant incidents that took place in the civil rights movements (choose 2-3 incidents and state them briefly not in great details)

Ans:

· November 22, 1991: Civil Rights Act of 1991 signed by President Bush.

· April 29, 1992: Race riots occur after police who beat Rodney King are acquitted.

d) Which American President supported the civil rights movement?

Ans: President John F. Kennedy

e) What was the outcome of this movement?

Ans: As a result to the civil rights movement African - Americans are now as equal as whites.

In what way is the civil rights movement related to the novel?

Ans: Lee wrote the novel during the beginning of the Civil Rights era. Lee's book was published in 1960 - a time of tumultuous events and racial strife as the struggle in the Civil Rights movement grew violent and spread into cities across the nation, and into the American consciousness on TV screens and the nightly news.

Montgomery Bus Boycott and Scottsboro trials

a) State the specifics of each trial and why they were significant.

Ans: Montgomery Bus Boycott - Started in 1955, intended to oppose the city's policy of racial segregation on its public transit system

Scottsboro trials - nine black teenaged boys accused of rape in Alabama in 1931

b) How is the Scottsboro trials related to the trial in the novel?

c) In what way are these trials similar?

Ans for both b and c:

The Scottsboro Trials	Tom Robinson's Trial
Took place in the 1930s	Occurs in the 1930s
Took place in northern Alabama	Takes place in southern Alabama
Began with a charge of rape made by white women against African American men The poor white status of the accusers was a critical issue.	Begins with a charge of rape made by a white woman against an African American man
A central figure was a heroic judge, a member of the Alabama Bar who overturned a guilty jury verdict against African American men.	The poor white status of Mayella is a critical issue.
This judge went against public sentiment in trying to protect the rights of the African American defendants.	A central figure is Atticus, lawyer, legislator and member of the Alabama Bar, who defends an African American man.
The first juries failed to include any African Americans, a situation which caused the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the guilty verdict.	Atticus arouses anger in the communtiy in trying to defend Tom Robinson.
The jury ignored evidence, for example, that the women suffered no injuries.	The verdict is rendered by a jury of poor white residents of Old Sarum.
Attitudes about Southern women and poor whites complicated the trial.	The jury ignores evidence, for example, that Tom has a useless left arm.
	Attitudes about Southern women and poor whites complicate the trial of Tom Robinson.

Trials of a true Southern Belle and Southern Gentleman

a) What were the rules of etiquette for Southern gentlemen and ladies?

Ans: Girls were not allowed to wear pants, they were also not allowed to talk to non-white people. Girls were the main victims of the rules, most of the rules were only applicable for girls.

b) What did southern ladies do to pass their time (hobbies, etc)?

Ans: They like to read.

c) Pictures of Southern ladies and gentlemen

d) Identify characters in the novel that fit the mould of true southern belles and gentlemen and those who don’t? Explain why they fit the mould and why they don’t

Ans: Miss Maudie: Fits the mould of a true southern belle as she is kind and magnanimous in the sense that she bakes cakes for neighbours. Bob Ewell: Does not fit the mould of a true southern gentlemen as he is rude, has no manners nor self hygiene and shows no respect for people

Harper Lee

a) About the author

Ans: Nelle Harper Lee on April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama. Lee Harper is best known for writing the Pulitzer Prize-winning best-seller To Kill a Mockingbird (1960)—her one and only novel. The youngest of four children, she grew up as a tomboy in a small town. Her father was a lawyer, a member of the Alabama state legislature, and also owned part of the local newspaper. For most of Lee’s life, her mother suffered from mental illness, rarely leaving the house. It is believed that she may have had bipolar disorder.

b) Biodata

Ans: Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926, to Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee. Harper Lee grew up in the small southwestern Alabama town of Monroeville. Her father, a former newspaper editor and proprietor, was a lawyer who also served on the state legislature (1926-38). 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.

c) Novels written by her

Ans: To kill a mockingbird

d) Awards received

Ans: 1960 Pulitzer Prize winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird

e) Why was TKAM significant novel to her?

Ans: Her first and only book she published.