|
study guide
Study Guide
PART 1
Chapter 1 - "That was the summer Dill came to us."
Vocabulary
1. assuaged
2. taciturn
3. malevolent
4. imprudent
Questions
1. Where (town, state) does this story take place?
2. What does the children's father, Atticus Finch, do for a living?
3. From whose point of view is the story told?
4. What did Arthur (Boo) Radley do that landed him in jail at age
33? How long was he in jail, and how did he get released?
5. What are some of the things people in the town say about the
Radley's, in particular Boo?
6. According to Jem, what does Boo look like?
7. Atticus tells Scout that there are "other ways, besides chaining
them to beds, of making people into ghosts." What does he mean
by "ghosts", and what "ways" might he have in mind?
8. The narrator tells us, "It was a time of vague optimism for some
of the people: Maycomb County had recently been told it had
nothing to fear but fear itself." What do you think she means when
she says this? How does this relate to the town's perception of the
Radleys? Given what you know about Maycomb and the Radleys,
why don't they seem to fit in? How might Maycomb be responsible
for the Radleys' strangeness?
Chapter 2 - "We'll do like we always do at home," Jem said, "but you'll see -
school's different."
Vocabulary
1. condescend
2. indigenous
3. iniquity
Questions
1. What three things cause Scout to get in trouble with Miss
Caroline on the first day of school?
2. What are the Cunninghams like? Describe them with at least 4-5
sentences.
3. Why do you think Scout commits the "errors" she does on the
first day? What do the "errors" have in common? What does this
tell you about the first six years of her life?
Chapter 3 - "You never really understand a person until you
consider things from his point of view."
Vocabulary
1. contempt
2. contentious
3. approbation
Questions
1. Compare the way that Scout attempts to solve her problem with
Walter Cunningham and the way that Jem solves it. What does this
say about the characters of Jem and Scout?
2. Why can't Walter Cunningham pass the first grade?
3. When Scout questions Walter's table manners, you learn
something about Calpurnia and her place in the family. What do
you learn and why might this surprise some people in Maycomb?
4. What character traits have you noticed about Scout and her
interactions with others? How are these traits desirable, yet at the
same time undesirable?
5. Explain why Mr. Ewell's offenses of truancy and hunting out of
season are overlooked. What are the reasons for this
permissiveness, and do you agree with the citizens of Maycomb in
overlooking these things? Why or why not?
Chapter 4- "Grown folks don't have hiding places."
Vocabulary
1. auspicious
2. ethical
3. arbitrated
Questions
1. What is the first gift that appears in the tree? What other gifts do
the children find?
2. What do we learn about Dill's father?
3. How has the Boo Radley game changed?
4. When Scout rolls into the Radley front yard, what does she hear?
What is her reaction?
5. How is Jem changing? Give several specific examples.
Chapter 5 - "His name's Arthur, and he's alive."
Vocabulary
1. benevolence
2. pestilence
3. edification
Questions
1. What does Scout admire about Miss Maudie?
2. What do you learn about Uncle Jack?
3. What new plan do the boys devise to get Boo to come out? Why
doesn't it work?
4. What does Dill say that causes Scout to accuse him of lying?
5. What does Miss Maudie mean by the statement: "...sometimes
the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whiskey bottle in
the hand of - oh, of your father." In what instance do you think this
could be true?
6. In response to Scout's question about whether Boo is crazy,
Maudie says: "If he's not he should be by now. The things that
happen to people we never really know. What happens in houses
behind closed doors, what secrets..." What does she mean by this?
What is she suggesting has happened to Boo? Do you believe her
statement to be a general truth? Why or why not?
7. Explain what "lawyer's trick" Atticus uses to get Jem to confess to
the backyard Boo dramas.
Chapter 6 - "It was then, I suppose, that Jem and I first began to
part company."
Vocabulary
1. prowess
2. malignant
3. dismemberment
Questions
1. How do the children decide to spend Dill's last night in
Maycomb?
2. What goes wrong with their plans?
3. At whom does Nathan Radley think he has fired his gun?
4. How do the children claim to have spent the evening?
5. Why does Jem decide to return for his pants? What makes it a
potentially dangerous mission?
6. During the scene in which the neighbors gather to discuss the
gunshot and in which Jem and Dill tell their cover-story, many of
the assumptions of the adult community are revealed. Reread the
scene and list several assumptions that you find.
Chapter 7 - "As Atticus had once advised me to do, I tried to
climb into Jem's skin and walk around in it."
Vocabulary
1. perpetual
2. ascertaining
Questions
1. What does Jem reveal to Scout about the night he returned for his
pants?
2. What five new gifts do they find in the tree? What puts an end to
the gifts in the tree?
3. Why do you think that Nathan Radley fills in the hole in a
healthy tree?
4. Why do you think that Jem is crying at the end of the chapter?
What does he realize?
Chapter 8 - "...the coldest weather since 1855."
Vocabulary
1. aberrations
2. unfathomable
3. perplexity
4. caricature
Questions
1. Who dies this winter? What is the reaction of the town, in
particular Jem and Scout?
2. What is Scout's reaction to the white "aberration of nature?"
3. How do Scout and Jem build a snowman? Who does it resemble?
4. When Miss Maudie's house is burning, what else is the Finch
Family worried about?
5. Whom will Scout someday want to thank for keeping her warm
on the night of the fire?
6. When Scout comes home with the mysterious blanket wrapped
around her, "Jem seemed to have lost his mind. He began pouring
out our secrets right and left..." What is Jem trying to get Atticus to
understand and why?
7. Given what you know about Miss Maudie, explain her reaction
to the loss of her house.
chapters 1-8
chapters 19-31
Chapter 9 - "...the beginning of a rather thin time for Jem and me."
Vocabulary
1. inordinately
2. provocation
3. analogous
4. wary
5. innate
Questions
1. Who is Tom Robinson?
2. What gifts do Jem and Scout get?
3. What new habit has Scout acquired that Uncle Jack finds
bothersome?
4. Why does Scout fight Francis after Christmas dinner? Do you
think she had good reason to? Why or why not?
5. What is "Maycomb's usual disease?" Why do you think it is
referred to as a disease?
6. Look carefully at the reasons Atticus gives Scout for defending
Robinson (pgs. 76-77). Also look at the statement, "Every lawyer
gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally. This
one is mine I guess." What do you think it is about this case that
strikes so deeply at what Atticus believes?
7. What lesson does Scout teach Uncle Jack about children? What
wisdom does Atticus add to this lesson? What do the two lessons
have in common? Do you agree with either Atticus' lesson, Scout's
lesson, or both, why or why not?
Chapter 10 - "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em,
but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."
Vocabulary
1. inconspicuous
2. contemporaries
3. rudiments
Questions
1. In Scout's eyes, what is Atticus' chief fault? What makes him
different from other fathers?
2. What reason does Uncle Jack give for Atticus' unwillingness to
teach the children to shoot?
3. What crisis shows the children a surprising skill their father
possess, and what is that skill?
4. Who are Heck, Tate, Zeebo, and Tim Johnson?
5. What was Atticus' nickname many years ago?
6. Why do you think it is a sin to kill a mockingbird? What is the
larger principle, theme or moral at work here?
7. List several things that the children learn in this chapter.
8. Miss Maudie says, "I think maybe he (Atticus) put down his gun
when he realized that God had given him an unfair advantage over
most living things. I guess he decided he wouldn't shoot until he
had to, and he had to today." What does Maudie mean by this
statement? Why do you think he put down his gun many years
ago? What does this tell us about Atticus' character?
9. Miss Maudie also states, "People in their right minds never take
pride in their talents." Do you think this is a generally true
statement? Explain why you think the way you do.
Chapter 11 - "I wanted you to see what 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, and you see it
through no matter what."
Vocabulary
1. interrogate
2. cantankerous
3. rectitude
4. propensity
Questions
1. What makes the children hate and fear Mrs. DuBose?
2. What 2 comments specifically infuriate Jem to the point that he
loses his temper?
3. What does Jem do in revenge, and what is his punishment?
4. What was wrong with Mrs. DuBose?
5. What effect did receiving the flower have on Jem following Mrs.
DuBose's death? Why do you think Mrs. DuBose wanted Jem to
have it?
6. Atticus claims that the term "nigger-lover" means nothing. Why
do you think it is then that the people of Maycomb finds it to be
such a sin? (Remember the historical time and place)
7. Why and for what does Mrs. DuBose use the alarm clock?
8. What type of courage do the children learn as a result of their
time with Mrs. DuBose? What other events in the novel can you
compare and/or contrast to this act of courage?
PART 2
Chapter 12- "It's not necessary to tell all you know...you're not
gonna change any of them by talkin' right, they've got to want to
learn themselves..."
Vocabulary
1. altercation
2. austere
Questions
1. Find and describe at least three clues that indicate Jem is
growing up.
2. What national events have drawn Atticus out of town and why
does Scout say these events were remote from the world of her and
Jem?
3. How does Lula respond to Calpurnia arriving at church with Jem
and Scout? How does everyone else react?
4. What is the offering being collected for at Calpurnia's church,
and how does it relate to Jem and Scout?
5. Why do you think Jem and Scout put in their own dimes for the
second collection?
6. What "double life" does Calpurnia lead? Explain what is meant
by a double life.
Chapter 13- "Don't you worry about anything," he said. "It's not
time to worry."
Vocabulary
1. formidable
2. prerogative
3. caste system
Questions
1. How is Aunt Alexandra received by Jem and Scout?
2. Why has she come to live with the Finches, and whose idea was
it?
3. How is Aunt Alexandra received by the rest of Maycomb?
4. What does Aunt Alexandra have a habit of doing with most of
the people in Maycomb? Why might it be considered a bad habit?
5. What sort of caste system is at work in Maycomb? How does this
lend to the atmosphere of the town?
6. How are Atticus and Alexandra different? Explain the
difference(s).
Chapter 14 - "From rape to riot to runaways."
Vocabulary
1. infallible
Questions
1. Why do you think Atticus allows Alexandra to get her way?
2. Why is Atticus so adamant about keeping Calpurnia around
despite Alexandra's wishes to let her go?
3. Why does Scout get into a brawl with Jem? Do you agree with
her reasons for fighting him? Why/why not?
4. What does the "snake" turn out to be under Scout's bed?
5. What reasons (give at least three) do Dill give for running away?
Chapter 15 - "We had a week of peace together. After that, little, it
seemed. A nightmare was upon us."
Vocabulary
1. placid
2. ominous
3. affliction
4. succinct
5. uncouth
Questions
1. What is Heck Tate concerned about in transporting the prisoner
Tom Robinson?
2. What do you think Link Deas means when he says, "...don't see
why you touched it in the first place,...You've got everything to
lose from this, Atticus. I mean everything."
3. What do you think Atticus is referring to when he says to Aunt
Alexandra, "...in favor of Southern womanhood as much as
anybody, but not for preserving polite fiction at the expense of
human life."?
4. Why is Atticus sitting in front of the jail?
5. Why does Atticus want the children to go home?
6. How does Scout, without realizing it, save the day?
Chapter 16 - "He just has blind spots along with the rest of us."
Vocabulary
1. affluent
2. resentful
Questions
1. What subtle change is coming over Atticus when he talks with
Aunt Alexandra about an issue?
2. Why is Mr. Dolphus Raymond sitting with the "Negroes?"
3. Look at the description of the Maycomb County Courthouse.
What does the old, rusty clock symbolize?
4. What do Jem and Scout find out about Atticus' decision to
defend Tom Robinson? Why is this a relief to them?
5. How do Jem and Scout get a seat in the courtroom?
6. Briefly describe Judge Taylor.
Chapter 17 - "Never, never, never, on cross-examination ask a
question ask a witness a question you don't already know the
answer to...Do it, and you'll often get an answer you don't want..."
Vocabulary
1. amiably
2. acrimonious
3. complacently
Questions
1. Which eye of Ms. Mayella Ewell's was hit according to Heck
Tate?
2. Describe Jem's and Scout's reactions to the trial and toward their
father after questioning Tate.
3. Describe where and how the Ewell's live. What does Scout mean
when she says, "Every town the size of Maycomb had families like
the Ewells."
4. Scout says, "I never heard my father raise his voice in my life,
except to a deaf witness." What does this tell us about Atticus?
5. What are Ewell's responses like, and what reactions does he get
from the judge, Atticus, and the people in the courtroom?
6. What is ironic about Ewell's comment that the Negro camp by
his house is "devaluin' my property?"
7. What information do we learn from Atticus' questioning of Bob
Ewell? What conclusions might you make based on this
information? What conclusion does Jem make?
8. Why do you think that no one called a doctor for Mayella on the
night of the incident?
Chapter 18 - "We've done business in this court for years and
years, and Mr. Finch is always courteous to everybody. He's not
trying to mock you, he's trying to be polite. That's just his way."
Vocabulary
1. strenuous
2. mollified
Questions
1. Why do you think that Mayella believes that Atticus is mocking
her? What reasons might she have for believing this?
2. Scout narrates, "Mayella's recital had given her confidence, but it
was not her father's brash kind: there was something stealthy about
hers..." What do you think Scout means by this?
3. Why do you think Mayella believes Atticus is mocking her again
when he asks her about her friends?
4. Why do you think Mayella struggles with the question about her
being beaten about the face?
5. What interesting revelation is made when Tom Robinson stands
up? What impact do you think this might have on the case?
6. Why do you think Mayella emotionally explodes at the end of
the questioning from Atticus, and why do you think she hates him?
7. Do you believe Mayella's testimony? Why or why not?
chapters 1-8
chapters 9-18
Chapter 19 - "It ain't right, somehow it ain't right to do 'em that
way...it just makes me sick."
Vocabulary
1. volition
2. expunge
3. candid
Questions
1. What was Atticus showing the jury with his opening questions to
Tom Robinson?
2. Find and write down an example of dialect.
3. Scout comes to the realization that Mayella Ewell "must have
been the loneliest person in the world." What knowledge about
Mayella has led Scout to come to this conclusion?
4. List the ways in which Tom's account of the incident differs from
Mayella's and Mr. Ewell's versions.
5. Why does Tom run, and do you think it was for a good reason?
What would have happened to him if he hadn't and why would
this have happened?
6. Why does everyone react so harshly to Tom's response that he
felt sorry for Mayella as the reason he helped her with the chores?
Do you believe his answer? Why or why not?
Chapter 20 - "I had never encountered a human being who
deliberately perpetrated fraud against himself."
Vocabulary
1. discreet
2. acquit
Questions
1. What perceptions about Mr. Dolphus Raymond are proven
incorrect. Why do you think Maycomb would have these
perceptions based on what you already know of this community?
2. Scout informs Mr. Raymond, "Atticus says cheatin' a colored man
is ten times worse than cheatin' a white man,...Says it's the worst
thing you can do." Why do you think Atticus says this? How does
this set him apart from most of the citizens of Maycomb? How does
Mr. Raymond respond to Scout's statement, and what else does he
tell us about Atticus and the town?
3. What assumptions about Negroes does Atticus address in his
closing argument, and what are his feelings about these
assumptions?
4. What institution does Atticus believe is the equalizer of all men?
Do you think he really believes this? Why or why not?
5. Predict whether Tom Robinson will be acquitted or not. Why do
you think the way you do?
Chapters 21 and 22 - "They've done it before and they did it
tonight and they'll do it again and when they do it -- seems that
only the children weep."
Vocabulary
1. cynical
2. ruefully
Questions
1. Why does Jem seem so confident that Tom will be acquitted?
What does Reverend Sykes say that gives some skepticism to Jem's
optimism?
2. In a few sentences, describe the courtroom before the verdict and
during the verdict. How do people act? How does Atticus respond
and why?
3. Why do Atticus' eyes fill with tears at all the food that was left at
his door by Tom's family and friends?
4. Scout asks, "Tellin' the truth's not cynical, is it?" How would you
respond to this question? Are there times in life when telling the
truth is cynical? Explain why you fell the way you do.
5. What is Miss Maudie's reaction to the verdict? Why is she not
surprised by the outcome? What does she say about Atticus that
allows us to like and admire him even more? Do you think Atticus
was surprised by the outcome?
6.What happens at the end of chapter 22 to build suspense?
Chapter 23 - "No, everybody's gotta learn, nobody's born knowin'
... Naw, Jem, I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks."
Vocabulary
1. obscure
2. furtive
3. adamant
4. sordid
Questions
1. Why does Atticus ask Jem to stand on Bob Ewell's shoes? Why
do you think Atticus is unfazed by his episode with Ewell?
2. What is Atticus' opinion on circumstantial evidence, reasonable
doubt, and the death penalty? Do you agree with him? Why or why
not?
3. What are Atticus' opinions on race relations? Do you agree with
his statement that when a white man cheats a black man the white
man is trash? Why or why not?
4. Atticus says that you can pick your friends, but you can't pick
your family. What does he mean by this? Is it basically a true
statement in your opinion?
5. Jem has divided people in Maycomb into four categories. What
are they, and why do you think that Scout disagrees with his
classification? Who do you agree with more, Jem or Scout, and
why?
Chapter 24 - "His food doesn't stick going down does it?"
Vocabulary
1. squalor
2. duress
Questions
1. List some of the attitudes and perceptions of the ladies at the tea.
How do these attitudes perpetuate Jem's reasoning that folks are
divided into four categories?
2. Why is Scout more comfortable in her father's world than her
Aunt's world?
3. Calpurnia says that the first thing you learn when you are part of
a lawin' family (a family involved with law) is that there ain't
definite answers to anything. Do you think this is a true statement
for anyone? Are there definite answers to anything? Why do you
feel this way?
4. What happens to Tom? Why do you think Atticus says, "I guess
Tom was tired of white men's chances and preferred to take his
own?"
5. How is Scout changing from when we first met her at the
beginning of the book? Respond with at least six sentences.
Chapters 25 and 26 - "Atticus had used every tool available to
free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men?s
hearts Atticus had no case."
Vocabulary
1. recluse
2. persecute
Questions
1. How does Tom's death act to feed the ill attitudes and prejudices
of the town?
2. What is Mr. Underwood's opinion of Tom's death, and what does
he liken it to and why?
3. After a long period of time, Scout again raises her desire to see
Boo Radley. Why do you think she wants to see him?
4. How does Miss Gates present herself as a hypocrite?
5. Why do you think Jem is still so upset about the Tom Robinson
case?
Chapters 27 and 28 - "Maycomb was itself again. Precisely the
same as last year and the year before that..."
Vocabulary
1. squandered
2. teeming
Questions
1. What three events occur that involve Bob Ewell at the beginning
of Chapter 27?
2. Why is there a Halloween pageant this year? What happened last
year that caused the pageant to occur this year? What is Scout's
costume to be for the pageant?
3. As Scout and Jem are walking to the pageant, they hear a
mockingbird at the Radley place. Why is this ironic?
4. Describe what happens on the way home from the pageant? Do
this with at least six sentences.
Chapters 29, 30 and 31 - "Mr. Finch, there's just some kind of
men you have to shoot before you can say hidy to 'em. Even
though they ain't worth the bullet it takes to shoot 'em."
Vocabulary
1. eluded
2. connived
3. amiable
4. shrewd
Questions
1. Why does Ewell go after Jem and Scout instead of Atticus? What
type of man is Ewell to do this, in your opinion?
2. How does Scout realize that the man standing in the corner of
Jem's room is Arthur (Boo) Radley?
3. What are Heck Tate and Atticus arguing about? Why is each man
so stubborn on his position? Who finally wins and how?
4. What does Mr. Tate mean by, "Let the dead bury the dead?" Do
you agree with him? Why or why not?
5. Why does Atticus say to Arthur (Boo), "Thank you for my
children." What role did Arthur have in the evening's events?
6. What does Scout see and realize when she looks down the street
from the Radley house? What is symbolic about standing on the
Radley porch?
7. What was your overall impression of the book and why?
chapters 1-8
chapters 9-18
chapters 19-31
THEMES TO THINK ABOUT:
1) education 2)superstition 3) prejudice 4) courage and cowardice
Motifs to consider:
1) The mockingbird 2) sympathy (standing in someone else's shoes)
3) race 4) socio-economic class 5) gender |
| |
|
|
|
|