There is so much information about To Kill a Mockingbird, with a plethora of on-line notes about hypocracy, symbolism, contrasting characters and "foil pairs" (and the meaning of their names) - even the Symbolism of the Tree and Boo as Christ (Yahoo voices):
- the use of language ,
-growing up,
-conditioning/conforming to be accepted/becoming independent,/who belongs where
-fear and courage etc.
-hypocracy (Is Dolphus Raymond a hypocrite?- he protects his children by sending them North)
:it has been really difficult to find a few to the point articles that really does justice to the complexity, delicacy and power of the book. Set in time in 1935 but published in 1960 , it was published when the Civil Rights movement was gaining momentum (Rosa Parks was 1955) and Kennedy's Presidential Commission into the Status of Women was 1961. It is described as a Bildungsroman (growing up) and Southern Gothic in that it incorporates the grotesque, describes derelict settings and sinister events in order to explore social events and uses suspense (eg Jem and Scout being followed by Bob Ewell at the end) - so Harper Lee is using a traditional format (the book was originally submitted as short stories to the publisher).
The moral growth of children in To Kill a Mockingbird
Themes, motifs and symbols - the book begins with the ending
Symbols and symbolism - flowers /Tim Johnson
Background to 'jim crow' laws - circumstances in which the book was set
Calpurnia's double life
Stereotypes, assumption of guilt prior to trial
