To Kill a Mockingbird Web Exploration
To Kill a Mockingbird Web Exploration
Introduction: One reason this novel has become a classic is because it is rich in cultural history. To fully appreciate the novel, one must understand the context in which it was written. This activity will help you to explore the historical context. Happy surfing!
Directions: Use the hyperlink that is attached to this assignment on schoology. Each category has several webpages listed below it on the webpage. For each webpage, you will be type your response, using schoology’s drop box. This assignment is due on Monday, November 12 at 8:20 a.m. in the schoology drop box. Neither printed, paper copies nor handwritten copies will be accepted.
· Category: The Great Depression
o Link: PBS—The Great Depression
1) What triggered the Great Depression?
2) The Great Depression lasted from the year _____until____.
3) What percentage of the American workplace became unemployed?
4) What percentage of African Americans were unemployed in the 1930s?
o Link: The Great Depression Overview
5) Under the section “Unemployment,” what did CCC stand for?
6) Under the section “Unemployment,” what age group could join the CCC?
7) Under the section “Agriculture,” why did farm income increase by more than 50%?
o Link: Great Depression Photo Essay
8) When the stock market crashed on Oct. 29, how much money “vanished into thin air?”
9) Why do you think “Vote Communist” posters like this one in the photo essay became popular during the 1930’s? (Hint: think about the platform of the communist party)
10) Which photograph do you think is the most powerful? Why?
· Category: Jim Crow
o Link: The History of Jim Crow.
11) Where did we get the term “Jim Crow?”
o Link: What was Jim Crow?
§ Find the paragraph that begins “Under Jim Crow any and all”
12) Why was interracial marriage (marriage between two races) and/or dating considered such a horrible crime in the Jim Crow South?
§ Read the Jim Crow etiquette norms and rules for African-Americans living under Jim Crow (they are the bulleted lists; a-f and 1-7.)
13) What stands out?
14) Over time, how would these cultural expectations affect one’s self image?
o Link: Growing Up Black in the 1930’s
15) List one change that she says happened during the Great Depression.
16) List two jobs an African-American woman could do according to Mrs. Barge.
17) List two jobs an African-American man could do.
18) What were the legal battles that African-Americans faced?
19) Read Mrs. Barge’s last statement. What conclusion about humanity does she make?
· Category: Lynching
o Link: About Lynching
20. Why didn’t it matter if the person lynched was guilty or not?
21. What is the original of the word “lynching?”
22. From the 1880’s onward, what did mob violence reflect?
23. How many people were lynched between 1882 and 1968, according to the site?
24. What percentage of those lynched was African-American? (take the total African-Americans lynched and divide it by the total of all)
25. Why is this probably not an accurate statistic? Should the actual total be higher or lower?
· Category: Southern Belle
o Link: Qualities of a Lady
26. What type of personality is expected of a lady?
27. What quality of a lady did you find the most amusing?
· Category: Harper Lee (author)
o Link: NNDB: Harper Lee Bio
28. When was Harper Lee born and raised?
29. Who is the real life model for Atticus Finch?
30. Is Harper Lee a descendent of Confederate General Robert E. Lee?
31. When was To Kill a Mockingbird published?
32. Who is the real life model for Dill?
33. How many other novels had Lee written?