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Atticus Finch

Father of Jem and Scout, Atticus Finch sits on the Alabama State Legislature and acts as Maycomb's leading attorney. The epitome of moral character, Atticus teaches his children and his community how to stand up for one's beliefs in the face of prejudice and ignorance by defending a black man, Tom Robinson, wrongfully accused of raping a white woman. The voice of reason in the town of Maycomb and in the novel, Atticus dispels the wisdom and logic that is the core of the novel. He is a man that goes beyond the word tolerance; tolerance is merely to put up with something. Atticus looks at everyone and tries to understand who they are and where they are coming from and he quietly and subtly passes on wisdom to his children about taboo subjects like racism.

Having lost his wife when Scout was two years old, Atticus devotes himself to his children despite criticism from family and neighbours who think his children lack discipline and proper guidance.

He is looked up to by his family and his friends who "trust him to do right". Atticus Finch sets a standard of morality that no other character in the book comes close to matching. Atticus is a studious man whose behaviour is governed by reason. Once he decides that a given course of action is right, he perseveres regardless of threats or criticisms. But Atticus is not a crusader. He does not go looking for causes to champion. The Tom Robinson case was not one he volunteered to handle- the judge assigned him the case because he felt Atticus would do his best to win. Atticus's desire to avoid conflict when possible is another quality that the author obviously wants us to admire. Atticus stands as one of literature's strongest and most positive father figures.

Although Atticus seems mellow and even old-fashioned, many of his beliefs are quite revolutionary. He allows Calpurnia to truly be a member of his family. He gives her full respect and fair treatment at all times. When Cal takes his children to her church, he seems unaffected. It is all part of his consistent code of conduct.

At times, Atticus may almost seem a caricature of goodness. Never once does he falter or think ill of people. But in Harper Lee's capable hands, Atticus seems believable and true.

Activities

1. In Scout's account of her childhood, her father Atticus reigns supreme.

(a) How would you characterise his abilities as a single parent? __________________________________________________________________________________

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(b) How would you describe his treatment of Calpurnia and Tom Robinson vis a vis his treatment of his white neighbours and colleagues? __________________________________________________________________________________

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(c) How would you typify his views on race and class in the larger context of his community and his peers?

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2. Describe Atticus's relationship with his children.

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3. Did Atticus make an error of judgement in regard to the safety of his client and his children? Could he have kept his own children, and his client Tom, safer?

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4. In failing to arrest Boo Radley at the end, Sheriff Tate is breaking the law, as is Atticus, who knows the truth of Ewell's murder. Do you agree with some critics that Atticus' actions are "wrong" as well as illegal?

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5. When Scout complains about her teacher, Atticus tells her that "if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. 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" (p. 33).

(a) Where in the novel does Atticus himself demonstrate this kind of empathy? __________________________________________________________________________________

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(b) How does he regard those who criticize, ridicule, or threaten him? __________________________________________________________________________________

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(c) How would this ability to empathize with others help solve the problems that arise from racism and prejudice? __________________________________________________________________________________

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Scout Finch

Before you make up your mind about Scout, you should remember that the voice we hear narrating the story is actually that of the grownup Scout - Jean Louise Finch - looking back on events that

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happened years earlier. Some of the opinions and ideas expressed in the novel are really those of the older Jean Louise. You should judge Scout by her actions and quoted words in the story, keeping these separate from the opinions of the narrator.

Originally named Jean Louise Finch, Scout is the narrator. In the story she is looking back as an adult to the two years of her life when she learned about courage and kindness and the importance of doing what is right. She learned from her father and her neighbours that doing what is right isn't always rewarded, but it's the right thing to do and that protecting innocence is a large part of that.

Jean Louise Finch, whose nickname is Scout, is only five-and-a-half years old when the novel begins, but she is already a complex and interesting personality. Her habit of speaking her mind in the presence of grownups makes Scout often seem older than her years. In recalling her first day in the first grade, Scout thinks of herself and her schoolmates as little adults, who must take care of the confused first-year teachers. Later, when she is unjustly punished for getting into a fight with a cousin, Scout takes it upon herself to explain to her uncle why his methods of handling children are wrong. After these incidents we are only mildly surprised when Scout is able to find the right words to turn away a lynch mob that has come to kill Tom Robinson.

Scout is also something of an outsider. A tomboy, she is still not completely accepted by her brother Jem and their friend Dill. We never hear of her having any close friends her own age, either boys or girls. And in contrast to Jem, who is constantly disappointed by the shortcomings of human nature, Scout seems to take bad news in stride.

Activities

1. How important is it to the novel that the narrator, Scout Finch, is a child at the time the events of the story take place?

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2. How is Scout able to maintain her positive outlook on life after the terrible events she witnesses in Maycomb?

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3. What are the conflicting messages Scout receives about "being a lady" from the female characters in the novel?

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Jem Finch

Scout's older brother, Jem Finch changes considerably over the course of the novel. At first you see him as Scout's playmate and equal. Once the children start school, however, Jem becomes more aware of the difference in age between himself and his sister. He doesn't want her to embarrass him in front of his fifth-grade friends. And later he and Dill develop a friendship from which Scout is partly excluded because she is a girl. In this part of the story you see Jem as the wiser older brother. He is the first to figure out that Boo Radley has been trying to communicate with them, and he does his best to explain unfamiliar words to Scout, even though he often gets their meanings wrong.

Jem is also the more thoughtful and introverted of the Finch children. Unlike Scout, who is a fighter by temperament, Jem seems determined to obey his father's request to avoid fighting. He lets his anger build inside, until one day in a fit of temper he destroys Mrs. Dubose's garden. Later, at the time of the trial, Jem's optimistic view of human nature becomes apparent. He is probably the only person in town who really believes that justice will be done and Tom Robinson found innocent. When this does not happen, his disillusionment is so great that for a time he can't stand even to talk about the incident.

By the end of the story Jem is almost grownup. On the surface, he seems quicker than Scout to put the trial behind, but inwardly, he has been more disturbed than Scout by the events of the trial. It is worth considering that Jem's broken arm at the end of the story is a deliberate sign that he will be wounded forever by what he has observed.

Activities

1. Jem Finch is one of the most important and complex characters in the novel.

(a) How does his relationship with Scout change over the course of the story? __________________________________________________________________________________

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(b) Who do you think resembles Atticus the most - Jem or Scout? __________________________________________________________________________________

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2. Jem is in the process of understanding the adult world and its attitudes.

(a) What does he learn from his experience with Mrs Dubose? __________________________________________________________________________________

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(b) What does he learn about the nature of Boo Radley? __________________________________________________________________________________

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(c) Why was he so shocked by the verdict returned by the jury at the trial of Tom Robinson?

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3. As Jem grows older, why does he find it difficult to deal with the hypocrisy and cruelty of people?

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4. How is Jem shown to be Scout's protector throughout the novel? __________________________________________________________________________________

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"Boo" Arthur Radley

Boo Radley (Arthur) is the object of fascination for Jem, Scout, and Dill. He is a recluse who has remained in the house down the street from the Finch house for years. Myths and rumours about Boo and his family abound. According to town gossip, Boo stabbed his father in the leg when he was a boy and has since been confined to his house. The children imagine Boo as a ghoulish figure who eats cats and stalks about the neighbourhood under the cover of night. In fact, Boo stands as a figure of innocence that befriends and protects the children in his own way.

The theories that various people in the neighbourhood put forth to explain Boo tell you more about the theorizers than about Boo himself. Miss Crawford, who loves gossip, spreads the tale that Boo Radley roams the neighbourhood at night peeping into people's windows- especially hers. Scout and Jem, early on in the story, imagine Boo as over six feet tall and horrendously ugly, a monster who strangles cats with his bare hands and then eats them. Miss Maudie, an optimistic woman who believes in enjoying nature and the good things in life, is sure that Boo is the victim of his father's overstrict and gloomy moral code.

Oddly enough, even as you learn that Boo actually is the killer of Bob Ewell, he seems less frightening now than he did before. Face to face with the neighbourhood hermit for the first time, Scout sees that he is really a shy, pale, harmless man- a middle-aged child.

Activities

How do Scout, Jem, and Dill characterize Boo Radley at the beginning of the book?

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Why are Jem and Scout and Dill so fascinated by him?

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What hints are there that Boo is not a monster?

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Examine what Boo does for Scout and Jem in the novel.

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In what way does Boo's past history of violence foreshadow his method of protecting Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell? Does this repetition of aggression make him more or less of a sympathetic character?

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"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - till you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it". Analyse what Scout and Jem eventually come to understand about Boo personally, and about the general issue of prejudice, as a result of their experiences. Consider the change in the children's attitude to Boo, and what this change in attitude means.

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Why is Boo Radley, a man who is hidden away for nearly the entire novel, such an important figure in To Kill a Mockingbird?

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In what ways is it both ironic and appropriate that the man Jem and Scout most fear is the one who saves them?

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Good and Evil

Like many other classic books To Kill a Mockingbird is an exploration of the moral nature of human beings: whether people are essentially good or essentially evil. The novel approaches this question by dramatizing Scout and Jem's transition from a perspective of childhood innocence, in which they assume that people are good because they have never seen evil, to a more adult perspective, in which they have confronted evil and must incorporate it into their understanding of the world. As a result of this portrayal of the transition from innocence to experience, one of the book's important sub-themes involves the threat that hatred, prejudice, and ignorance pose to the innocent: people such as Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are not prepared for the evil that they encounter, and as a result, they are destroyed. Even Jem is victimized to an extent by his discovery of the evil of racism during and after the trial. Where Scout is able to maintain her basic faith in human nature despite Tom's conviction, Jem's faith in justice and in humanity is badly damaged, and he retreats into a state of disillusionment.

The moral North Star of To Kill a Mockingbird is Atticus Finch, who is virtually unique in the novel in that he has experienced and understood evil without losing his faith in the human capacity for goodness. Atticus understands that, rather than being simply creatures of good or creatures of evil, most people have both good and bad qualities. The important thing is to appreciate the good qualities and understand the bad qualities by treating others with sympathy and trying to see life from their perspective. He tries to teach this ultimate moral lesson to Jem and Scout to show them that it is possible to live with conscience without losing hope or becoming cynical. In this way, Atticus is able to admire Mrs. Dubose's courage even while deploring her racism. Scout's progress as a character in the novel is defined by her gradual development toward understanding Atticus's lessons, a development that culminates in the final chapters when Scout is at last able to see Boo Radley as a human being. Her newfound ability to view the world from his perspective ensures that Scout will not become jaded as she loses her innocence.

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Activities

Harper Lee does not ignore the existence of evil in society, but does she suggest that human beings are born with a desire to do the right thing? In your answer give specific examples to support your viewpoint.__________________________________________________________________________________

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Do you think To Kill a Mockingbird is ultimately a pessimistic novel or does Lee leave the reader with cause for hope. In your answer give specific examples to support your viewpoint.

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Inhumanity

Much of To Kill a Mockingbird is concerned with what the poet Robert Burns called, "man's inhumanity to man" and what Mr. Dolphus Raymond calls, "the simple hell people give other people." We witness Bob Ewell's inhumanity towards his daughter; the inhumanity shown by the Radleys towards their son; the inhumanity shown by white people towards Blacks. On another level we see how artificial barriers between people are created by vague conceptions like "breeding" and "background" and "our kind of folks". The children find all this difficult to understand. Jem has a theory that, "there's four kinds of folks in, the world" (Chapter 23), but Scout thinks there is just one kind of folks. But if there is, asks Jem, why can't, they get along with each other? "If they're all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise I each other?" Understanding adults and their world is difficult. Scout is often confused and rebellious; Dill is at first disillusioned and then cynical; Jem finds it a sad business and at one point he thinks he understands why Boo Radley never comes out of the house "it's because he wants to stay inside".

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Activities

1. Examine three examples from the book which illustrate people's inhumanity to each other. Discuss the reasons for this and also the consequences.

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2. In the following table show five characters who are harmed in some way and describe their responses.

Characters How they are harmed Response

Boo Radley

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Prejudice and Bigotry

A dominant theme in the novel is the cruelty that people inflict upon others by the holding of preformed ideas, 'the simple hell people give other people', as Dolphus Raymond puts it. It is not just the matter of the deep racial prejudice which is present in Maycomb but the intolerant, narrow, rigid codes of behaviour that most townspeople wish to impose on others. This bigotry is made all the more menacing by being depicted as 'normal' behaviour by many characters in the book. Against the background of this small town such people as Boo Radley, Dolphus Raymond and, to some extent, Maudie Atkinson, are persecuted because they do not conform. Tom Robinson is found guilty, in the face of very strong suspicion that his accusers are lying, because he went against the accepted position of a Negro and dared to feel sorry for a white person.

The bigotry of some fundamentalist religious sects is touched on in the introduction of the foot washing Baptists who criticize Miss Maudie Atkinson. Her conversation with Scout on this subject leads Scout to think about what is implied by a good and a reasonable life.

Scout also ponders over the lip service paid to the ideal of democracy ('equal rights for all, special privileges for none') when contrasted with the realities of intolerance and prejudice: for example, the horror expressed by Miss Gates at Hitler's persecution of the Jews and her own intolerance of Blacks. This is one of many instances in the novel of the contrast between reason (represented by the character of Atticus) and prejudice, which is born of ignorance and fear.

At different points in the story we find many characters who are misunderstood through ignorance and fear; often this has been the result of gossip. Subsequently, these characters are not what they truly seem to be. Most would write off Boo Radley as a reclusive madman, Miss Dubose as a mean spirited old woman, and Dolphous Raymond as a social deviant. These people are reviled by most, but these are not fair judgments. Once we get beyond the gossip surrounding these people, we get a clear view of some very strong human beings. The major problem with gossip, Lee is saying, is that people rarely stop to check whether they've got their facts right. They often pass on false, misleading and potentially hurtful information that can harm a person's reputation and character.

Activities Tasks

1. How is prejudice and bigotry inculcated in Maycomb society? __________________________________________________________________________________

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2. Who are the obvious symbols of tolerance and bigotry in the novel and how are they portrayed in the novel? __________________________________________________________________________________

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3. Which characters are referred to as "white trash" and what does this expression mean?

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4. Consider those characters who are the subject of gossip and as a result are not truly who they seem to be. What is the 'truth' that we, like the children, eventually learn about them?

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6. How does the use of the First Purchase by the African-Americans and the whites reflect group attitudes? __________________________________________________________________________________

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7. The following is an excerpt from the United Nations declaration of the Year of Tolerance (1995): "It is essential to understand that while all are equal in dignity, all are different in terms of their talents, convictions and beliefs, and these differences are a factor of enrichment for every individual and for civilisation as a whole." Write a short reflection on your thoughts and opinions on reading this statement. Link your response to events and attitudes in the novel. __________________________________________________________________________________

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Racism

In To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee touches on many social questions. Foremost among these is the problem of racism in the southern states of America in the mid 1930s. The focus for this is the charge brought by Bob Ewell against Tom Robinson and the way in which the anti African-American feeling in Maycomb is the cause of animosity towards Atticus and his family because of his defence of Tom. It is manifested in the Cunninghams' attempt to lynch Tom and Mr Gilmer's contemptuous cross examination in the courtroom. It is also evident in Aunt Alexandra's disapproval of Calpurnia and in the hypocritical attitudes of Miss Gates and the ladies of the Missionary Circle.

The "rigid and time honoured code" of society was that, while, white people could employ and even exploit African-Americans, there could be no personal relationship between African-Americans and whites and no recognition that African-Americans had the same reactions and feelings as white people. Further, there was an evil assumption "that all Blacks lie, that all Blacks are basically immoral beings". They certainly did not have the benefit of the supposed impartiality of the law. The Reverend Sykes says, "I ain't ever seen any jury decide in favour of a coloured man over a white man". Atticus does not understand, "why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up" and he calls this emotional attitude, "Maycomb's usual disease". Mr Dolphus Raymond talks about, "the hell white people give coloured folks, without even stopping to

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think that they're people too." Atticus fears that, "one of these days we're going to pay the bill for it".

Activities Tasks

1. Which characters in the novel are the symbols of white racial prejudice? How do these characters cope with being victims of the racial prejudice of the whites? __________________________________________________________________________________

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2. The town of Maycomb as a whole is the symbol of group racial prejudice. How is this illustrated in the novel? __________________________________________________________________________________

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3. Not everyone in Maycomb is prejudiced towards African-Americans. Who isn't? Do they have different reasons for their tolerance? What are they? What evidence do we have of this? Which characters in the story are not racist? __________________________________________________________________________________

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4. Tom Robinson makes a huge mistake when, during the prosecutor's cross-examination, he says that he "felt right sorry" for Mayella. Why would the whites in the courtroom find this statement so disturbing? __________________________________________________________________________________

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5. Could you defend the town of Maycomb for its attitude towards African-Americans? Give your reasons. __________________________________________________________________________________

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6. Who is responsible for Tom Robinson's death? What answers do various characters in the novel give to this question? What answer do you think best represents the author's point of view? What do you think? __________________________________________________________________________________

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The novel is set in the 1930s but was written in the late 1950s. The dialogue is marked by frequent use of the word "nigger". This is a convenient way to indicate to the reader the racist attitudes of various characters. When she wishes to refer to African-Americans, Harper Lee uses the term "coloured". It is not only racist whites who say use the term "nigger", however - at First Purchase church, Calpurnia addresses Lula as "nigger".

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Since the novel was published, attitudes have changed about what is acceptable to speak and write. In the trial of O.J. Simpson, the word "nigger" was considered too offensive to repeat in court, and was described as the "N-word".

Q. How is the term "nigger" is used by various characters in the novel?

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Justice / Law and Order

Harper Lee portrays the legal system realistically. She shows that is not always fair and it is not always just. It is through Atticus that we learn that the legal system is only as just as the community it serves.

Activities

1. Skim and scan through the novel to find any statements that Atticus makes about law and justice. Write out each quote and record the page number and some details about the situation in which Atticus makes each of these statements.

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2. In failing to arrest Boo Radley at the end, Sheriff Tate is breaking the law, as is Atticus, who knows the truth of Ewell's murder. Do you agree with some critics that Atticus' actions are "wrong" as well as illegal? __________________________________________________________________________________

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Related to the theme of innocence and experience is the novel's suggestion that innocent children can often see large moral issues more dearly than adults. Scout, Jem and Dill never waver in their horror at the injustice done to Tom Robinson. The adults in the story, however, see all the complexities of the situation to the point of being blinded to the central issue of and wrong. However much Scout may grow through her experiences, one hopes that she will never lose her childlike undertaking of justice. Harper Lee emphasises that justice is a concept not always inherent in the machinery of legal process. To recognize the difference between justice and injustice does not take any special degree of wisdom or sophistication. The novel supports the belief that justice is easy to recognise and define.

Activities

1. What examples of justice and injustice are depicted in the novel? For each example give an explanation of your choice.

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2. Why does Mr. Underwood come to the aid of Atticus in defending Tom Robinson from the mob? Contrast Mr. Underwood's behaviour with the decision of Heck Tate to file a false police report about Bob Ewell's death. How do the two men's ideas about justice differ?

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3. What if Tom Robinson was an Indigenous-Australian man and the events of To Kill a Mockingbird occurred in Australia? Explain what you think would happen and the outcome of Tom Robinson's case considering the change in setting.

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5. Atticus also insists to the jury that "there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal-there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal of an Einstein, and the ignorant man the equal of any college president. That institution, gentlemen, is a court" [p. 234].

(a) Does the jury's guilty verdict invalidate Atticus's claims? __________________________________________________________________________________

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(b) Are the courts today "the great levellers," making us all equal, as Atticus believes, or do wealth and race play an inordinate role in the way justice is distributed in Australia? __________________________________________________________________________________

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Symbols

Certain objects take on symbolic value in To Kill A Mockingbird. That is, an object is used by the author as apart of the setting or narrative, yet that object points to or represents something outside itself. Of course, a central symbol is the mockingbird, described by Miss Maudie as a creature that should never be killed because it is harmless and even provides song for the enjoyment of others. Both Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are basically blameless individuals who are at the mercy of society, yet society is cruel to Boo, and ultimately Tom is murdered. The symbol of the mockingbird also points to Scout, both as an innocent child and as the grown-up narrator, who "sings a song" in telling the story.

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Activities

Symbolism of objects

Explain the ways in which the following function as symbols in To Kill A Mockingbird:

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Symbolism of names

Atticus's name is a reference to the district (Attica) of ancient Greece in which Athens was located. As an ancient civilisation, Athens was renowned for its wisdom, rational approach to life, and its belief in justice. In some ways Atticus' rational approach to life is similar to that of ancient philosophers. You might look up the views of the Stoics; their philosophy has a certain resemblance to Atticus' type of southern gentleman.

(a) Throughout the novel, there are many examples where Atticus illustrates the qualities or values of wisdom, rational approach to life, and belief in justice. Find at least ONE example for each (remember to include page references.)

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(b) Now, work out what the following names symbolise and provide at least one example for each character:

• Finch (the characters' surname)

• Scout

• Jem

• Dill

• Tom Robinson

• Boo Radley