· Web viewTo Kill a Mockingbird. Study Guide. Name_ Pd._ Activity Ictivity I

To Kill a Mockingbird: Mrs. Brezinsky

To Kill a MockingbirdStudy Guide

Name_______________________________Pd.________

Activity IOnly rarely will an author directly state during what time period a story is taking place, but because the historical context of a story can be critical to the story, as in this case, the author does give us some clues. The following sentence contains an allusion that allows us to date this time period very accurately: “Maycomb County had recently been told that it had nothing to fear but fear itself.”The sentence alludes to a line in Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s First Inaugural Address, delivered to the United States on March 4, 1933. After reading the four enclosed paragraphs from this speech, state what you know about the conditions facing the country during the years this story took place.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt’sFirst Inaugural AddressWashington, D.C., March 4, 1933I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them witha candor and a decision, which the present situation of our nations impels. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself–nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves, which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.In such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties. They concern, thank God, only material things. Values have shrunken to fantastic levels; taxes have risen; our ability to pay has fallen; government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income; the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade; the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side; farmers find no markets for their produce; the savings of may years in thousands of families are gone.

More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment.Yet our distress comes from no failure of substance. We are stricken by no plague of locusts. Compared with the perils which our forefathers conquered because they believed and were not afraid, we have still much to be thankful for. Nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it. Plenty is at our doorstep, but a generous use of it languishes in the very sight of the supply. Primarily this is because the rulers of the exchange of mankind’s goods have failed, through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure, and abdicated. Practices of the unscrupulous moneychangers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men.

What is the goal of his speech? Outline his main points and what they mean!


Introductory Research ProjectIt will be your job to teach the class about your topic so that they fully understand it. YOU CANNOT WRITE DOWN EXACTLY WHAT YOU READ ON THE INTERNET. YOU CANNOT JUST CHANGE A WORD OR TWO! YOU MUT PUT IT IN YOUR OWN WORDS AND CREATE A WORKS CITED PAGE!

1. Authora. Find out the who, what, were when, why and how about Harper Lee’s life.b. How did her family influence this novel? (names) How did her upbringing influence TKAM?c. Why did she write this book? Where did the basis for this story come from?

2. Setting Information: Black Tuesday, The Great Depression & the New Deal (Find images for as many of these as possible – CITE your images)a. Where does the story take place? What real place does that represent?b. What was this place like during the 1930’s? What was the South like in the 1930’s?c. Define what each of the above events were during the 1930’s.d. Outline a 5 point time line of the Great Depressione. What was life like for those living during this time

3. Life in the 1930’s:White v. Black (For each of yours find text and image – CITE your images)a. What were living, eating, etc. conditions like for African Americans v. white people?b. What was education like?

4. Jim Crow Lawsa. What were they? Why were they created?b. What does Jim Crow mean?c. Read the laws and pick the ones that bother you the most to share out.d. Find pictures that demonstrate the laws in action. (at least 5)

5. Scottsboro Boys Informationa. What were the trials about?b. Who were they (name the boys/ages)? What happened to the boys? c. Who were the girls involved? What was wrong with their story?d. Who helped the boys out?e. Create a timeline of events

6. Ku Klux Klana. What happened to the KKK in the 1930’s?b. What had the KKK done previously (major events)? Where were they dominant?

Rubric:

Did you find credible research for your project that you cited correctly in a Works Cited? /5

Did you answer all of the research questions completely and thoroughly? /5

Did you appear to understand your content area? It should NOT be regurgitated! /5

Did you answer all of the research questions completely and thoroughly? /10

Did you cite your information correctly? /10


Map ActivityA. On the attached map, identify Alabama and shade in the other Southern states.B. From the narrative in Chapter 1 and a map, locate the real city of Mobile and the actual Alabama River.C. Mark the spot on the map where you think Finch’s Landing might be. Harper Lee sets it on the banks of the Alabama River, some forty miles northeast of Saint Stephens, which is located on the Tombigbee River.D. Locate where the fictional town of Maycomb would be. Lee places it some twenty miles neast of Finch’s Landing.E. Speculate how this specific geographic location might affect the plot of To Kill A Mockingbird.


Important QuotesFor each of the following quotes: locate the speaker; explain the importance/significance of the quote.

1. "I maintain that the Ewells started it all, but Jem, who was four years my senior, said it started long before that. He said it began the summer Dill came to us, when Dill first gave us the idea of making Boo Radley come out." (3)

2. “Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it.” (6)

3. “The Cunninghams never took anything they can’t pay back – no church baskets and no scrip stamps. They never took anything off of anybody, they get along on what they have. They don’t have much, but they get along on it.” (Chp. 2, p.26)

4. "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view--. . . --until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." (Chp. 3, p. 39)

5. “’Haven’t you ever walked along a lonesome road at night and passed by a hot place?’ ‘A Hot Steam’s somebody who can’t et to heaven, just wallows around on lonesome roads an’ if you walk through him, when you die you’ll be one too an’ you’ll go around at night suckin’ people’s breath –“ (Chp. 4 p.49)

6. “You are too young to understand it, ... but sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whiskey bottle in the hand of--oh, of your father." (Chp. 5, p. 45)

7. "There are just some kind of men who--who're so busy worrying about the next world they've never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results." (45)

8. “Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets.” (p.46)

‘ 9. “The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town. I couldn’t even represent this county in legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again” (Chp. 9, p. 75)


10. "Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not totry to win." (76)

11. "When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness' sake. But don't make a production of it. Children are children, but they can spot an evasion quicker than adults, and evasion simply muddles 'em." (Cp. 9, 87)

12. “Your father’s right, Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t’ eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Chp. 10, 90)

13. "You're lucky, you know. You and Jem have the benefit of your father's age. If your father was thirty you'd find life quite different." (90)

14. Maybe I can tell you. If your father’s anything, he’s civilized in his heart. Marksmanship’s a gift of God, a talent – oh, you have to practice to make it perfect, but shootin’s different from playing the piano or the like. I think maybe he put his gun down when he realized that God had given him an unfair advantage over most living things. I guess he decided he wouldn’t shoot till he had to, and he had to today. . . . People in their right minds never take pride in their talents” (98)

15. "The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience." (Chp. 11, 105)

16. "I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do." (112)

17. "It's not necessary to tell all you know. It's not lady-like--in the second place, folks don't like to have somebody around knowin' more than they do. It aggravates 'em." (Cp. 12, 126)


18. “I know now what he was trying to do, but Atticus was only a man. It takes a woman to do that kind of work.” (Chp. 13, p. 134)

19. "I'll tell him you said hey, little lady." (Mr. Cunningham to Scout) (Chp. 15, p. 154)

20. “In Maycomb, grown men stand outside in the front yard for only two reasons: death & politics” (p. 193)

21. “A mob is always made up of people no matter what.” (210)

22. “People generally see what they look for and hear what they listen for, and they have a right to subject their children to it.” (233)

23. "I try to give 'em a reason, you see. It helps folks if they can latch onto a reason." (Chp. 19, p. 200)

24. "Cry about what, Mr. Raymond?" "Cry about the simple hell people give other people--without even thinking." (Chp. 19, p. 201)

25. "I don't know, but they did it. They've done it before and they did it tonight and they'll do it again and when they do it-- seems that only children weep. Good night." (Chp. 22, p. 213)

26. "It's like bein' a caterpillar in a cocoon, that's what it is," he said. "Like somethin' asleep wrapped up in a warm place." (Jem about being a child in Maycomb) (p. 215)

27. There ain't one thing in this world I can do about folks except laugh, so I'm gonna join the circus and laugh my head off." "You got it backwards, Dill," said Jem. "Clowns are sad, it's folks that laugh at them." "Well, I'm gonna be a new kind of clown. I'm gonna stand in the middle of the ring and laugh at the folks. Just looks yonder," he pointed. "Every one of 'em oughta be ridin' broomsticks." (p. 216)


28. "Serving on a jury forces a man to make up his mind and declare himself about something. Men don't like to do that. Sometimes it's unpleasant."

29. "I guess Tom was tired of a white men’s chances and preferred to take his own.” (236)

30. "They’re perfectly willing to let him do what they’re too afraid to do themselves – it might lose ‘em a nick. They’re perfectly willing to lethim wreck his health doing what they’re afraid to do, they’re . . .” (236)

31. "Jem how can you hate Hitler so bad an' then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home--" (Chp. 26, p. 247)

32. "Let the dead bury the dead this time, Mr. Finch." (Chp. 30, p. 276)

33. “Well, it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mocking bird, wouldn’t it?” (276)

34. “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough.” (Chp. 31, 279)

35. “Atticus, he was real nice.” “Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them.” (281)


Year Time of Year Chapter What Happens: Part 1

1933 Early summer 1 Introduction. Arrival of Dill. Children try to get Boo to come out.September 2 Scout starts school: Miss Caroline Fisher. Description of Cunningham family.

September 3 Burris Ewell upsets Miss Caroline. Ewells described.

1934 Late spring/early summer

4 Boo leaves gifts in tree. Dill comes back to Maycomb.

Late spring/early summer

5 Children attempt to send Boo a letter.

Late summer 6 Children try to spy on Boo.

October/November 7 Boo leaves more gifts. Hole is filled with cement. Tom arrested for alleged rape

Winter 8 Cold winter. Snow in Maycomb. Miss Maudie's house burnt.

Christmas 9 Atticus agrees to defend Tom Robinson. Scout fights Cousin Francis.

1935 February 10 Atticus shoots Tim Johnson (a rabid dog).

Spring 11 Jem beheads Mrs. Dubose's camellias and has to read to her. She overcomes her morphine addiction and dies.

Part 2

Summer 12 Children go to First Purchase church with Calpurnia. Aunt Alexandra arrives.

Summer 13 Aunt Alexandra entertains Maycomb's ladies.

Summer 14 Dill returns to Maycomb.

Summer 15 The Old Sarum mob tries to lynch Tom. Scout intervenes and saves him.

Summer 16 The trial begins. The children sit in the black people's balcony.

Summer 17 Heck Tate (sheriff) testifies, followed by Bob Ewell.

Summer 18 Mayella Ewell testifies.

Summer 19 Tom Robinson testifies. Dill cries at the cross-examination of Tom.

Summer 20 Scout and Dill meet Dolphus Raymond outside. Atticus sums up for the defense. The children are found to be in the court.

Summer 21 The jury returns a verdict of guilty on Tom..

Summer 22 Jem cries at the verdict. Atticus receives presents from black community. Bob Ewell spits at Atticus and vows revenge.

Summer 23 Atticus is not frightened by Bob's threat.

August 24 The missionary circle meets for tea. News comes of Tom's death.

September 25 School starts again. Miss Gates teaches about Hitler and the Jews.

September 26 B.B. Underwood writes an editorial on Tom's death.

October 27 Bob Ewell attempts revenge on Judge Taylor and Helen Robinson. Atticus is not worried. A pageant is planned.

October 28 Jem and Scout go to the pageant. Bob attacks them but is found dead.

October 29 Scout describes the attack - Boo is revealed as the children's savior.

October 30 Atticus thinks Jem has killed Bob Ewell. Heck Tate proves that it was Boo.

October 31 Boo and Scout go to see Jem. Scout takes Boo home.

Chapter 1 Activity


In small groups, discuss what you notice about the town of Maycomb, specifically; what is apparent about the different families, the pace of the town, and the racial divisions? List what you notice, making references to the text. Next, discuss how each item on your list may influence the story and add an element of verisimilitude. Write your comments beside each item. Be prepared to present your list and commentary to the class.Come up with a list of 5 things:1)

2)

3)

4)

5)


Part II: Mood A. In addition to providing information about time and place, physical descriptions of a place can create a feeling in the reader by setting a mood for the story. How would you describe the feeling or mood set by Harper Lee in the beginning of the book? What specific words contribute to the mood?“Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square. Somehow, it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer’s day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square. Men’s stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o’-clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum.People moved slowly then. They ambled across the square, shuffled in and out of the stores around it, took their time about everything. A day was twenty-four hours long but seemed longer. There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb County. But it was a time of vague optimism for some of the people: Maycomb County had recently been told that it had nothing to fear but fear itself.”

B. Think of a neighborhood with which you are very familiar. Describe that neighborhood and, in your description, try to set a mood. The mood you strive to create could be one of boredom, excitement, or any other emotional feeling.


Chapter 11. Who is the narrator of this novel?

2. How do we know that the narrator is an older person looking back to her youth?

3. What other information do we get in the first two paragraphs?

4. What is the setting of the novel?

5. What is the mood of Maycomb?

6. What do you learn in this chapter about Maycomb, Atticus Finch and his family?

7. Describe Calpurnia.

8. What do you learn about Dill's character?

9. What began the misery of the Radley house?

10. What has happened to Arthur “Boo” Radley?

11. Why does the Radley place fascinate Scout, Jem, and Dill?

Chapter 21. Why is Scout so looking forward to starting school?

2. Why does Jem not want anything to do with Scout at school? Is his behavior typical of an older child?

3. What do we learn about the Cunningham clan?

4. What do you think of Miss Caroline Fisher as a teacher? Can you find qualities which would make her good or not so good at her job?


5. What picture of Atticus, as a father, do we get in this chapter?

Chapter 31. Who are the Ewells, and why are they allowed special privileges?

2. What compromise does Atticus make with Scout?

3. Who is Calpurnia? What is her place in the Finch household?

4. What is Walter Cunningham like? What does his behavior during lunch suggest about his home life?

5. What do you think of the way Atticus treats Walter?

6. Does Scout learn anything from Walter's visit? What do you think this is?

7. Atticus says that you never really understand a person “until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”. What does this mean? Is it an easy thing for Scout to learn? (In the last chapter of the novel, Scout repeats this, but she changes “skin” to “shoes” - this is probably not a mistake: Harper Lee suggests that Scout cannot clearly recall exactly what Atticus said.)

8. What do you learn in this chapter about the Ewells?

Comparison/Contrast Chart: Complete the Comparison/Contrast Chart for the Ewells and Cunninghams.Burris Ewell and Family Walter Cunningham

Similar

Different


Chapter 41. What does Scout think of current fashions in education?

2. What game do the children make up in this chapter? Do you think the game is an accurate version of what happens in the Radley’s home?

3. What information does Scout give us at the end of this chapter? Who do you suppose was inside the house and what did Scout hear?

4. What might be the cause of the laughter from inside the house?

Chapter 51. Describe Miss Maudie Atkinson? How typical is she of Maycomb's women? What do the children think of

her?

2. When Miss Maudie says, “but sometimes the Bible in the hands of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hands of—oh, of your father.” What person is she criticizing, and what is the point of her criticism?

3. The children view Boo Radley as a strange and frightening figure. How do Miss Maudie and Atticus view Arthur Radley?

4. What does Miss Maudie tell Scout about Boo? How does this compare with what Scout already believes?

5. Scout claims that “Dill could tell the biggest ones ” (lies) she ever heard. Why might Dill have told such lies?

6. What reasons does Atticus give for the children not to play the Boo Radley game? Do you think he is right? Why?

Chapter 61. Describe what the children were doing in the Radley yard and what they saw that made them run away?


2. Why is it important to Jem that he go back and get his pants before morning?

3. What line indicates that Jem decided what they did was wrong?

5. What might account for Jem’s change of heart?

Coming of Age Activity In American literature, stories about young people frequently have “coming of age” as a major theme. Of the three young people in this story, which one do you suppose is going to be the major character who begins to understand the world? On the accompanying chart, list the reasons one might argue for or against each character being the protagonist.

Identifying the Protagonist through Coming of Age

Reasons For Reasons Against______________________________________________________________________________Dill

______________________________________________________________________________Scout

______________________________________________________________________________Jem

______________________________________________________________________________


Chapter 71. Jem has been acting odd since he went to get his pants that night. What surprised him that night?

2. Who do you suppose was responsible for the gifts in the knothole and Jem’s pants? Why does he do this?

3. Why is Jem so upset the knothole is plugged?

4. Why is Jem crying at the end of this chapter?

Chapter 8

1. Why does Atticus make the children leave the house and stand in front of the Radley house?

2. Who put the blanket around Scout’s shoulders and what does Jem realize?

3. What does Atticus mean when he says, “looks like all of Maycomb was out tonight, in one way or another”?

4. Why does Scout quiz Atticus about his visit to the Radley house? How much does Atticus tell her?

5. What is the “near libel” which Jem puts in the front yard? How do Miss Maudie and Atticus react to it?

6. Why does Atticus save Miss Maudie's oak rocking chair?

7. Explain what Atticus means by telling Jem not to let his discovery “inspire” him to “further glory?”

8. Is there any reason why Jem might now do as his father says?


Mood ActivityDescriptive writing uses words to create visual images. Notice in the following paragraph that we are able to see Miss Maudie and Scout sitting on the porch, as well as the sky and birds they observe. Through the use of specific details, the writer conveys a mood, an image, and imagery. “In summertime, twilights are long and peaceful. Often as not, Miss Maudie and I would sit silently on her porch, watching the sky go from yellow to pink as the sun went down, watching flights of martins sweep low over the neighborhood and disappear behind the schoolhouse rooftops.”

As you read, record any passages from the text that you feel are rich in both visualizing an image and mood. On the right side of the chart, identify the mood or feeling the excerpt conveys to the reader.

ChartDescriptive Images that Convey Mood

______________________________________________________________________________Description Identify Mood/Feeling/Sense Emphasized______________________________________________________________________________

“Summer was our best season: it was sleeping onthe back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep inthe treehouse; summer was everything good to eat;it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape; butmost of all summer was Dill.”______________________________________________________________________________

“Ground, sky and houses melted into a madpalette, my ears throbbed, I was suffocating.could not put out my hands to stop, they werewedged between my chest and knees.”______________________________________________________________________________

“Every night sound I heard from my cot on theback porch was magnified three-fold; every scratch offeet on gravel was Boo Radley seeking revenge, everypassing Negro laughing in the night was Boo Radleyloose and after us; insects splashing against the screenwere Boo Radley’s insane fingers picking the wire topieces; the chinaberry trees were malignant, hovering,alive. I lingered between sleep and wakefulness until Iheard Jem murmur.”______________________________________________________________________________

“The moon was setting and the lattice-work shadowswere fading into fuzzy nothingness. Jem’s whiteshirt-tail dipped and bobbed like a small ghostdancing away to escape the coming morning. Afaint breeze stirred and cooled the sweat runningdown my sides.”


Chapter 91. How well does Atticus feel he should defend Tom Robinson? Is it usual for (white) lawyers to do their best

for black clients in Alabama at this time?

2. Why does Atticus think that he can’t win Tom Robinson’s case?

3. Who calls Scout a coward; why does she walk away?

4. Why is Atticus worried about Scout learning to “keep her head” in the next few months?

5. In the last sentence of this chapter, what does Scout mean?

Chapter 101. Why is it a sin to kill a mockingbird?

2. Why are the children a little disappointed and a little ashamed when they compare Atticus to other fathers?

3. What does Atticus do that surprises the children and makes them feel proud?

4. Why does Jem say that they should not tell anyone at school about the incident?

5. Near the end of this chapter Atticus cuts off Heck Tate as he is speaking to Jem. What might Heck have been about to say, and why would Atticus want to stop him from saying it?

Chapter 111. Describe Mrs. Dubose.

2. Why does Jem knock the top off her flowers?

3. What does Atticus mean when he says, “The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a man’s conscience”?


4. What is Jem’s punishment for knocking the tops off of Mrs. Dubose flowers? Why is the time period extended each day?

5. What does Atticus say real courage is? Why, in Atticus's view, was Mrs. Dubose “a great lady”?

6. Chapters ten and eleven are the last two chapters in the first part of the book. Explain why Harper Lee chooses to end the first part here.

Chapter 121. At the beginning it is apparent that this is novel which deals with the passage of a youth from innocence to maturity. In what sense is Jem “coming of age”?

2. Why does Cal speak differently in the Finch household, and among her neighbors at church?

3. The mature narrator (Scout) seems to be upset by the way both the African-American and white churches regard women. What is it specifically that upsets her about what the churches teach?

4. What is “linin’” and why is it done?

Chapter 131. Why does Aunt Alexandra come to visit?

2. How does Aunt Alexandra involve herself in Maycomb?

3. What are her ides on family and breeding? How does Atticus feel?

Chapter 141. How does Atticus explain rape to Scout?


2. What does Jem tell Scout she should do when dealing with Aunt Alexandra and how does she react to his suggestion?

3. Why does Dill run away from home?

4. What does Jem do that shocks Dill and Scout?

Chapter 151. What is the mood in Maycomb as the trial approached; what is Jem worried about?

2. Why does Jem think that something is wrong when Atticus leaves?

3. Why do the men come to the jail? What group are they part of?

4. How does Scout stop them?

Chapter 161. What does Atticus say about mobs and men over the breakfast table?

2. What is significant about Mr. Dolphus Raymond?

3. What news does Scout get from the “Idlers’ Club”? What is it that confuses her?

Chapter 171. Who is the first person to take the stand and testify?


2. What does Atticus spend much of his time asking Mr. Tate?

3. Where do the Ewells live, and what does this say about their social position in Maycomb county?

4. How does Mr. Ewell act when he first takes the stand, and how does Judge Taylor react to him?

5. What is Mr. Ewell’s version of what happened?

6. Why does Atticus want Ewell to write his name?

Chapter 181. What is Mayella’s version of what happened?

2. Why does Mayella think that Atticus is mocking her?

3. What is Atticus’ strategy in questioning Mayella?

4. What is wrong with Tom Robinson’s arm?

5. What question is the key to Tom’s defense?

Chapter 191. What did Mayella do to get the other children out of the house?

2. What did Tom’s running away from the Ewell’s house suggest? What else could he have done?


4. Why does Dill begin to cry?

4. What is Tom actually guilty of?

Chapter 201. Why does Dolphus Raymond drink Coca-Cola and pretend it is liquor?

2. How does Dolphus Raymond explain Dill’s crying?

3. How is Atticus’ closing statement in defense of Tom Robinson also an attack upon racism?

Chapter 211. Why is Jem certain that Tom Robinson would be acquitted?

2. What is unusual about how long it takes the jury to reach a verdict? Is the verdict predictable or not?

3. As Scout waits for the verdict, she thinks of earlier events. What are these and how do they remind us of the novel’s central theme?

4. What does Reverend Sykes say about his experiences in court?

Chapter 221. What does Atticus mean when he says, it “seems that only children weep”? Why does he think it’s good for the kids to know what goes on?

2. Why do the African-American folks in town bring food to Atticus and how does Atticus react?

3. Why does Dill want to be a clown when he grows up?


3. What does Miss Maudie mean when she says, “…we’re making a step–it’s just a babystep, but it’s a step”?

5. How does Jem use a metaphor of a cocoon to describe himself?

6. Do you think Bob’s threat is real?

Chapter 231. How does Atticus take the threat that Bob Ewell makes?

2. If Tom is found guilty on appeal, what will his punishment be? Why?

3. Atticus says, “…it’s all adding up and one of these days we’re going to pay the bill for it.” What is he referring to?

4. At the end of this chapter, what conclusion does Jem draw about Boo? What led him to this conclusion?

Chapter 241. Who are the Mrunas and who is J. Grimes Everett?

2. What are some of the popular opinions among the missionary circle concerning blacks?

3. Why does Aunt Alexandra thank Miss Maudie with her eyes?

4. What is ironic about the concern the ladies of the Missionary Society have for the living conditions of the Mrunas?


5. Why did Tom run for the fence?

Chapter 251. Why does Scout say that Jem is getting more like a girl?

2. To what did Mr. Underwood’s editorial compare Tom’s conviction and death?

3. What remark does Mr. Ewell make on hearing of Tom’s death and what seems to be the significance of the remark? Why does Jem not want to tell Atticus? Do you agree?

Chapter 261. How does Scout feel about the way they once treated Boo Radley?

2. What do the children talk about in current events?

3. Why is Scout surprised that her teacher hates Hitler?

4. Why does Jem react so violently when Scout asks him this question?

Chapter 271. What are some of the things Bob Ewell starts doing?

2. What is different about Halloween this year? Why?

3. What is Scout’s role in the pageant; of what is her costume made?

Chapter 281. Comment on the way this chapters reminds the reader of earlier events in the novel.

2. What is the night of the pageant like?

3. How does Scout feel about Jem in this chapter; what does she say about him?


4. On the walk home, how does Scout’s costume turn out to be a life-saver? What happens by the tree?

5. Who do you suppose the villain is? Who would you guess the hero to be?

6. What does Heck Tate find under the tree?

Chapter 291. When do you suppose Boo Radley came out of his house?

2. How does Scout describe Boo?

Chapter 301. Who does Atticus think killed Bob Ewell? Why doesn’t he want it covered up?

2. Who really did stab Ewell, and why did Heck decide not to tell anyone of this? Why does Heck insist that Bob Ewell’s death was self-inflicted? Is this true?

3. What does Scout compare Boo’s exposure to?

Chapter 311. How do the events of the final chapter explain the first sentence of the whole novel?

2. Comment on the way the writer summarizes earlier events to show their significance.

3. What are some of the words Scout uses in this chapter to describe Boo Radley?

4. What is going through her mind as she stands on the Radley’s front porch?

5. What is Atticus’ final statement about people?


6. At the end of the story, Atticus reads to Scout. Comment on his choice of story. Does it have any connection with themes earlier in the novel and in its ending.

Character Chart: In order to follow the intermingling of the characters in the small Maycomb community of To Kill aMockingbird, you will be creating a character flow chart (see example below) which illustrates the connections they share. Taking all of the characters from the novel, you will create a chart, detailing the description of each character, the major role they play in the story, and using color-coded lines, the ways in which they interconnect.

Follow the steps below when creating your chart:• On an 8 ½” x 11” sheet of paper write all of the characters in the story from the attached pages.• Spread them out so that you have plenty of room for drawing arrows and filling in the important details

of each relationship • Draw arrows connecting each character as they relate to other characters. Then, along each of the arrow

lines, fill in all the details of each particular relationship.• Write a brief description of each character.• Draw or find pictures from the Internet or from magazines that represent each character. There are

plenty of sites and magazines where you can find pictures of people to use.• Create a system of color-coding your chart lines to help in understanding the different relationships.

(How you do this is up to you to decide—example topics: family connections, friend connections, professional connections, enemy connections, etc.)

• Remember, as always, the key is to be as neat as possible.

To Kill a Mockingbird CharactersMiss Maudie Atkinson: Maudie Atkinson is a strong, supportive woman who lives across the street from the Finches. Mr. Avery: A good-natured if somewhat coarse neighbor of the Finches who helps fight the fire at Miss Maudie's house at risk to his own Life.Calpurnia: She has helped to raise Jem and Scout since their mother's death four years ago. Stephanie Crawford: The "neighborhood scold" who is always ready to gossip about anything or anyone.Walter Cunningham Jr.: A poor but proud classmate of Scout's.Walter Cunningham Sr.: He paid for legal service with goods such as firewood and hickory nuts; he has prideLink Deas: A local farmer who once employed Tom Robinson.Mrs. Gertrude Farrow: One of the hypocritical members of Aunt Alexandra's missionary circle.Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose: The mean neighbor who Jem and Scout have to read to.Bob Ewell: He is despised by Maycomb society as a shiftless drunkard. He provides little support to his large, motherless family, and is reputed to beat his children (and perhaps sexually abuse them too, as Mayella's testimony hints). Mayella Ewell: The eldest daughter of Bob Ewell, Mayella Ewell lives a lonely life keeping house for her father and seven siblings without assistance. Atticus Finch: Atticus Finch, Scout's widowed father, is a member of one of Maycomb County's oldest and most prominent families. Miss Caroline Fisher: Scout's first-grade teacher who is a newcomer to Maycomb. She misunderstands the social order of Maycomb and punishes Scout for trying to explain it. Miss Gates: Scout's hypocritical third-grade teacher who condemns Hitler's persecution of the Jews even as she discriminates against her own students and complains about blacks "getting above themselves."


Jack Finch (aka Uncle Jack or John Hale Finch): Atticus's younger brother, a doctor who left Maycomb to study in Boston.Aunt Alexandra (aka Alexandra Finch Hancock): Atticus's sister, Alexandra Finch Hancock, is a conservative woman concerned with social and class distinctions and bound to the traditions of the South. She tries to counteract her brother's liberal influence on his children by reminding them of their family's eminence and by trying to make Scout behave in a more ladylike manner. Scout Finch (aka Jean Louise Finch): The narrator of the novel, Jean Louise "Scout" Finch is almost six years old at the time her story begins. Jem Finch (aka Jeremy Finch): Four years older than his sister Scout, Jeremy "Jem" Finch seems to have a deeper understanding of the events during the three years of the novel, for his emotional reactions to them are stronger. Francis Hancock: Scout and Jem's cousin and Alexandra's grandson.Mr. Gilmer: The circuit prosecutor from Abbottsville who leads the case against Tom Robinson.Rachel Haverford: Dill Harris's sympathetic aunt, who lives next door to the Finches.Dill Harris (aka Charles Baker Harris): Small and devilish, Charles Baker "Dill" Harris is Scout and Jem's summer friend. Grace Merriweather: A member of Alexandra's missionary circle who has a reputation as the "most devout lady in Maycomb" even though she is a hypocritical bigot.Boo Radley (aka Arthur Radley): A local legend for several years, Boo is rumored to wander the neighborhood at night and dine on raw squirrels and cats. He has spent the last fifteen years secluded in his own house. Nathan Radley: Boo's hardhearted older brother who spoils Boo's secret game with the children by filling the empty treehole with cement.Dolphus Raymond: A local man from a good white family with property who has a black mistress and children. He fosters a reputation as a drunk to give townspeople a reason to excuse his flaunting of social taboos.Reverend Sykes: The minister of Maycomb's black church.Heck Tate:The sheriff of Maycomb who is sympathetic towards Atticus and who insists on keeping Boo Radley's role in the death of Bob Ewell a secret. Tom Robinson: Tom Robinson is a mild-mannered, conscientious black man whose kind acts earn him only trouble when Mayella Ewell accuses him of rape. Judge John Taylor: The deceivingly sleepy but fair judge whose sympathy for Tom Robinson can be seen in the fact that he appointed Atticus, whom he knew would do his best, as Robinson's public defender.B. B. Underwood (aka Braxton Bragg Underwood): The owner and editor of the local newspaper who was ready to defend Atticus and Tom Robinson from the lynch mob with a shotgun even though he is known to "despise" black people.


Theme Topics

JUSTICE

MALE ROLE MODEL

PARENTINGCOURAGECOMING OF AGEDISABILITIESTRUSTWORTHINESSRESPECT

RESPONSIBILITYFAIRNESS

CITIZENSHIP

Education:Bravery/Cowardice

Race Prejudice

Social Class Prejudice

Sex Prejudice

Respect of the Individual.


JUGGLE LETTERS 1 - To Kill A Mockingbird= 1. SAZLAAEMiss Maudie's flowers= 2. ECNEMTIt plugged up the tree hole.= 3. ILAJIt housed Tom Robinson while he waited for a trial.= 4. MARTom's left one had been cut off.= 5. KLINMr. Deas; He escorted Helen= 6. RIEFIt destroyed Miss Maudie's home.= 7. OUSTCNarrator= 8. RSGIEUFTwo of these carved from soap were in the tree.= 9. HBCDill's initials=10. WELLEBob or Mayella=11. LALUWoman at Cal's church who made Scout feel unwelcome.=12. RTLAIProcess by which innocence or guilt is determined=13. OIANDEUTCWhat one gets at school=14. OOBObject of the Radley Games=15. NCLYBOAPlace from which Scout watched the trial


JUGGLE LETTERS 2 - To Kill A Mockingbird= 1. SEKACMiss Maudie made little ones for the children.= 2. ACDRFORWGossipy neighbor= 3. BCHDill's initials= 4. AHMScout's pageant costume= 5. MBOMYACName of the town and county= 6. JEIPDRECUPreconceived idea= 7. AICDUTOENWhat one gets at school= 8. OBNSIRNOTom= 9. MUMESRTime of year when Dill visited usually=10. AILJIt housed Tom Robinson while he waited for a trial.=11. OT___ Kill A Mockingbird=12. ISKDScout, Jem and Dill, for example; children=13. LRUCIPANAFinch housekeeper, cook & nanny=14. IKLLTo end the life of something=15. BOOObject of the Radley Games


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