Historical Context

Start with a broad context map

The Historical Context section gathers resources about the background to To Kill a Mockingbird. A useful starting point is the mind map on Harper Lee’s life and times. Its branches include her writing, American slavery, segregation and injustice, and the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression. Follow a branch, then make a short note of how it might help you think about the novel.

The resources were made by GoConqr users, so they present and organize material in different ways. Look at more than one map when you want another route through a topic.

Explore a particular connection

After the broad map, choose a resource that focuses on an area you want to explore. The Great Depression Compared to TKAM offers a route into that comparison. The map called Scottsboro Boys gives you another starting point. There are also maps on growing up and on connections between Harper Lee’s contexts and the novel’s themes, characters and setting.

For a different format, open the historical context note or the slide set on background and context. You can use these alongside a map to organize points you want to return to.

Use maps for self-testing

There are no quizzes listed on this page, but you can still practice recalling what you have studied. Turn a map branch into a question, cover the details and try to explain the connection in your own words. Then check the map and add anything you missed.

A free GoConqr account lets you make your own quizzes, mind maps, flashcards and notes, and saves your quiz scores. You can use a quiz you make alongside a map to return to the same material in a different format.

Keep the unit in view

Historical Context is one section of the To Kill a Mockingbird unit in Literature. As you move through the resources, keep a note of the connections each one makes to the novel. Choose a map or the note and explore a connection that you want to understand better.