by harper lee - spokane public schoolsswcontent.spokaneschools.org/cms/lib/wa01000970...tkm | 2 list...

TKM | 1

To Kill a Mockingbird

By Harper Lee

Study Guide Packet

9th Grade English

TKM | 2

List of Characters

__________________________________________ A lawyer in a small town who defends a black man.

___________________________________________ Atticus’ young daughter who functions as the narrator in this story.

___________________________________________ The narrator’s older brother.

__________________________________________ The black cook who has been responsible for raising the Finch children.

__________________________________________ The very proper aunt who comes to care for the children during the trial.

__________________________________________ The bachelor uncle who comes to visit every Christmas.

__________________________________________ Scout’s companion who lives in Mississippi, but comes every summer to Maycomb.

__________________________________________ Scout’s companion’s aunt who lives next door to the Finches.

__________________________________________ Another neighbor who is very open-minded.

__________________________________________ An old lady down the street who screams at the children as they pass her house.

__________________________________________ The mysterious neighbor whom the children have never seen.

__________________________________________ The stern, distant brother of the mysterious neighbor, who seldom speaks.

___________________________________________ The sheriff, who is also a good friend to the Finches.

___________________________________________ A hard working, young black man who is accused of a crime against a poor, white trash woman.

___________________________________________ The presiding judge at the trial of the accused.

___________________________________________ The irresponsible and disgraceful father of a brood of children who receives welfare checks and spends them on alcohol.

___________________________________________ This man’s white trash daughter, who accuses the poor black man of raping her.

___________________________________________ An upright farmer who refuses to accept charity.

TKM | 3

___________________________________________ A black minister who takes care of the children during the trial.

___________________________________________ A gossipy neighbor who knows the family histories of the entire

neighborhood.

____________________________________________ The narrator’s first grade teacher.

____________________________________________ A local lady who writes and directs the Halloween Pageant.

___________________________________________ A white man who prefers to live with black people. Owner of town’s newspaper.

The boss of the accused and a store owner.

Chapter One (pages 3-15)

Questions: On your own paper, answer each question using a complete sentence.

1. The narrator starts by talking about her brother. What happened to Jim?

2. Describe the setting of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. Provide at least three details.

3. Who was the “meanest man in town”?

4. Describe Boo based on the imaginings of the children. Provide at least three details.

5. How did Jem prove his courage?

6. Who is telling this story?

7. Why would Harper Lee tell this story through Scout, who is just six when this story begins?

Vocabulary: On your own paper, write and define the underlined word in each sentence. Page numbers

are in parenthesis.

“Jem’s fears of never being able to play football were assuaged...” (3)

Assuaged: to lessen intensity of pain or fear

8.“The Haverford’s…were imprudent enough to do it in the presence of three witnesses” (5)

9.“…our repertoire was vapid from countless reproductions…” (8)

10. “Inside the house lived a malevolent phantom” (8)

Quotations: On your paper, explain the importance of each quote using a complete sentence.

11. “When enough years had gone by to enable us to look back on them, we sometimes discussed the

events leading to his accident” (3).

12. “He liked Maycomb, he was Maycomb County born and bred; he knew his people, they knew him,

and because of Simon Finch’s industry, Atticus related by blood or marriage to nearly every family

in town (5).

TKM | 4

13. “That was the summer Dill came to us” (6).

14. “Calpurnia was something else again” (6).

15. “It was then that Dill gave us the idea of making Boo Radley come out” (8).

16. “A tiny, almost invisible movement, and the house was still” (15).

Chapter Two (pages 15-22)


1. Chapter 2 introduces Scout’s first grade teacher, Miss Caroline. The reader learns about her and her

familiarity with her job as teacher r and with the Maycomb community and her students. Does Miss

Caroline understand her students? Support your answer with two details from the text.

2. On her first day of school, Scout gets in trouble. List two of her problems.

3. What do we learn about the Cunningham’s? List at least two details.


are in parenthesis.

4.“Jem condescended to take to school the first day…” (15).

5. “After a dreary conversation in our living room one night about his entailment…” (20)


6. “ ‘We’ll do like we always do at home,’ he said, ‘but you’ll see—school’s different’” (16).

7. “Now you tell your father not to teach you anymore. It’s best to begin reading with a fresh mind. You

tell him I’ll take over from here and try to undo the damage” (17).

8. “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” (20).

Chapter Three (pages 22-23)


1. What do you learn about Scout? List two details from the text.

2. What do you learn about Jem? List two details from the text.

3. Describe Burris Ewell.

4. Explain why ordering Scout back to school would not work. Provide two details concerning Scout’s

personality to support your answer.

TKM | 5


are in parenthesis.

5. “Staying behind to advise Atticus of Calpurnia’s iniquities was worth a solitary sprint past the Radley place” (25).

6. “There ain’t no need to fear a cootie, Ma’am” (26) 7. “…and their paw’s right contentious” (27). 8. “I’m afraid our activities would be received with considerable disapprobation by the more learned

authorities” (31).


9. “You folks might be better’n the Cunninghams, but it don’t count for nothin’ the way you’re

disgracin’ ‘em—if you can’t act fit to eat at the table, you can just set here and eat in the kitchen”

(25).

10. “Miss Caroline said desperately, ‘I was just walking by when it crawled out of his hair…just crawled

out of his hair” (26).

11. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you

climb into his skin and walk around it” (30).

12. “In your case, the law remains rigid. So to school you must go” (30).

Chapter Four (pages 32-41)


1. What is the first gift that appears in the hollow of the tree? What else do they find?

2. Describe the Boo Radley game.

3. When Scout rolled into the Radley yard, she realized “someone inside the house was laughing” (41).

What does this mean?


are in parenthesis.

4. “The remainder of my schooldays were no more auspicious than the first” (32).

5. “…helping ourselves to someone’s scuppernongs was part of our ethical culture…” (35).

6. “It was a melancholy little drama, woven from bits and scraps of gossip…” (39).

7.


8. “Grown folks don’t have hidin’ places. You reckon we ought to keep ‘em, Jem?” (35).

TKM | 6

9. “Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screen porch on cots, or trying to sleep in

the tree house; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched

landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill” (34).

10. “Mrs. Dubose lived two doors up the street from us; neighborhood opinion was unanimous that Mrs.

Dubose was the meanest old woman who ever lived. Jem wouldn’t go by her place without Atticus

beside him” (35).

11. “As summer progressed, so did our game. We polished and perfected it, added dialogue and plot

until we had manufactured a small play in which we rang changes every day” (39).

12. Jem was a born hero” (39).

Chapter Five (pages 41-50)


1. What does Scout admire about Miss Maudie? List three details from the text.

2. What new plan do the boys devise to get Boo Radley to come out? List three details.

3. Atticus discovers the Boo Radley game. What is his reaction? What does he say and what does he

do? List three details from the text.


are in parenthesis.

4. “…she was only another lady in the neighborhood, but a relatively benign presence” (42).

5. “What a morbid question. But I suppose it’s a morbid subject” (43).

6. “No…putting his life’s history on display for the edification of the neighborhood” (49).


7. “He had asked me earlier in the summer to marry him, then he promptly forgot about it. He staked

me out, marked as his property, said I was the only girl he would ever love, then neglected me” (41).

8. “ ‘Miss Maudie,’ I said one evening, ‘Do you think Boo Radley’s still alive?’ ‘His name is Arthur and

he’s still alive, ‘ she said” (43).

9. “Miss Maudie said: ‘Footwashers believe anything that’s a pleasure is a sin’” (44).

10. “There are some kind of men who—who are 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).

11. “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—“(46).

12. “Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he in no the public streets” (46).

TKM | 7

Chapter Six (pages 50-57)


1. What went wrong with Jem and Dill’s plot to peer in the Radley window?

2. Why does Jem return alone to the Radley yard to retrieve his pants? Provide one detail from the text

to support your answer.


are in parenthesis.

3. “Sometimes when we made a midnight pilgrimage to the bathroom, we would find him reading”

(57).

4. “…and the darkness was desolate with the barking of distant dogs” (57).


5. “Dill and Jem were simply going to peep in the window with the loose shutter to see if they could

get a look at Boo Radley, and if I didn’t want to go with them I could go straight home and keep my

fat flopping mouth shut, that was all” (51).

6. “I admired my brother. Matches were dangerous , but cards were fatal” (55).

7. “Atticus ain’t ever whipped me since I can remember. I wanna keep it that way” (56).

8. “It was then, I suppose, that Jem and I first began to part company. Sometimes I did not understand

him, but my periods of bewilderment were short-lived. This was beyond me” (56).

Chapter Seven (pages 57-63)


1. What does Jem tell Scout about “that night” at Boo Radley’s?

2. What does this reveal or imply about Boo?

3. List five items found in the knothole?

4. “Someone filled our knothole with cement” (62). What does this imply?


are in parenthesis.

5. “You reckon we oughta write a letter to whoever’s leaving us these things?” (61).


6. “As Atticus had once advised me to do, I tried to climb into Jem’s skin and walk around in it; if I had

gone alone to the Radley place at two in the morning, my funeral would have been held the next

afternoon. So I left Jem alone and tried not to bother him” (58).

TKM | 8

7. “When I went back, they were folded across the fence…like they were expectin’ me” (58).

8. When we went in the house, I saw he had been crying; his face was dirty in the right places; but I

thought it odd that I had not heard him” (63).

Chapter Eight (pages 63-74)


1. What method does Jem devise to make a snowman?

2. When Miss Maudie’s house burns, what are the Finches worried about?

3. What does the “blanket” incident reveal about Boo Radley?


are in parenthesis.

4. “Jem and I were burdened with the guilt of contributing to the aberrations of nature, thereby causing unhappiness to our neighbors and discomfort to ourselves” (63).

5. “You can’t go around making caricatures of the neighbors” (67). 6. “…erected an absolute morphodite in that yard” (68).


7. “ ‘See what you’ve done?’ he said. ‘Hasn’t snowed in Maycomb since Appomattox. It’s bad children

like you makes the seasons change’” (65).

8. “By then he did not have to tell me. Just as the birds know where to go when it rains, I knew when

there was trouble on our street. Soft taffeta-like sounds and muffled scurrying sounds filled me with

helpless dread” (69).

9. “ ‘Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when he put the blanket

around you’” (72).

10. “Miss Maudie puzzled me. With most of her possessions gone and her beloved yard a shambles, she

still took a lively and cordial interest in Jem’s and my affairs” (73).

Chapter Nine (pages 74-89)


1. Who is Tom Robinson? List three details from this chapter.

2. In this chapter, we learn about Atticus and his ethical standards. In your own words, summarize his

reasons for defending Tom Robinson.

3. Why does Scout stop fighting? Include a direct quotation from the story.

4. Where do Atticus, Jem, and Scout go for Christmas?

5. What is revealed about Francis Hancock’s personality? Include words and actions from the story.

TKM | 9

6. Describe Maycomb’s “unusual disease” (88).


are in parenthesis.

7. “I was debating whether to stand there or run, and tarried in indecision a moment too long…” (84). 8. “It was obstreperous, disorderly, and abusive—“ (85). 9. “Her use of bathroom invective leaves nothing to the imagination” (87).


10. “You might hear some ugly talk about it at school, but do one thing for me if you will; you just hold

your head high and keep those fists down” (76).

11. “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is not reason for us not to try to

win” (76).

12. “Francis called Atticus something’, and I wasn’t about to take it off him” (86).

13. “It couldn’t be worse, Jack. The only thing we’ve got is a black man’s word against the Ewells. The

evidence boils down to you-did-I-didn’t. The jury couldn’t possibly be expected to take Tom

Robinson’s word against the Ewells…” (88).

14. “…I hope and pray I can get Jem and Scout through it without bitterness, and most of all, without

catching Maycomb’s unusual disease. Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything

involving a Negro come up, is something I don’t pretend to understand…” (88).

Chapter Ten (pages 89-99)


1. Scout is ashamed of Atticus. List his faults as she sees them. Use at least three details from the text.

2. Why does Atticus say that it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird?

3. Now speculate why Harper Lee titled her book To Kill a Mockingbird.

4. What do Jem and Scout discover about their father in this chapter?

5. Jem tells Scout not to tell the other kids about the ‘mad dog’ incident. What does this reveal about

Jem?


are in parenthesis.

6. “Uncle Jack instructed us in the rudiments thereof” (90).


7. “Atticus was feeble; he was nearly fifty. When Jem and I asked him why he was so old, he said he got

started late, which we felt reflected upon his abilities and manliness” (89).

TKM | 10

8. “ ‘I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays

you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember, it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (90).

9. “This is Cal. I swear to God there’s a mad dog down the street a piece…’” (93).

10. “With movements so swift they seemed simultaneous, Atticus’s hand yanked a ball-tipped lever as

he brought the gun to his shoulder…the rifle cracked” (96).

11. “Forgot to tell you the other day that besides playing the Jew’s Harp, Atticus Finch was the deadliest

shot in Maycomb County in his time” (98).

Chapter Eleven (pages 99-112)


1. What makes the children hate and fear Mr. Dubose? List two details from the text.

2. Atticus punishes Jem by making him read to Mrs. Dubose. Why? What does he hope Jem will learn?

Provide two details from the text to support your answer.


are in parenthesis.

3. “Once she heard Jem refer to our father as ‘Atticus’ and her reaction was apoplectic” (100). 4. “…we were followed up the sidewalk by a philippic on our family’s moral degeneration…” (102). 5. “I wasn’t sure what Jem resented most, but I took umbrage at Mrs. Dubose’s assessment of the

family’s mental hygiene” (102).


6. “ ‘He did not begin to calm down until he had cut the tops of every camellia bush Mrs. Dubose

owned, until the ground was littered with green buds and leaves” (103).

7. “It’s hard to explain—ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody’s favoring Negroes

over and above themselves. It’s slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want

a common, ugly term to label somebody” (108).

8. “…I wanted 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 that you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you

see it through no matter what” (112).

Chapter Twelve (pages 115-126)


1. What changes does Scout notice in her brother? List two details from the text.

2. Calpurnia takes the children with her to attend church. That Sunday, Reverend Sykes takes up a

special collection from the members. What does this tell us about the church community?

TKM | 11

3. What do the children observe about Calpurnia’s behavior in her church community?

4. At the end of the chapter, who is waiting on the porch for the children?


are in parenthesis.

5. “…that morning it was covered with our Sunday habiliments” (117).


6. “ ‘If everyone give one more dime, we’ll have it’ Reverend Sykes waved his hand and called someone

in the back of the church. ‘Alec, shut the doors. Nobody leaves until we have ten dollars’” (122).

7. “Lula stopped, bus she said, ‘You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillum here—they got their

church, we got our’n’” (119).

8. “ ‘It’s not necessary to tell all you know. It’s not ladylike—in second place, folks don’t like to have

somebody around knowin’ more than they do. It aggravates them’” (126).

Chapter Thirteen (pages 126-134)


1. Aunt Alexandra comes to stay for the summer. Atticus says “Your aunt’s doing me a favor as well as

you all. I can’t stay here all day with you, and the summer’s going to be a hot one” (128). What are

his concerns?

2. Even though Atticus and Aunt Alexandra are brother and sister, they are very different. What are

two differences? Support them with details from the text.


are in parenthesis.

3. “…Sinkfield reduced his guests to myopic drunkenness one evening…” (130). 4. “His curtness stung me” (134).


5. “I never understood her preoccupation with heredity. Somewhere, I had received the impression

that Fine Folks were people who did the best they could with the sense they had, but Aunt

Alexandra was of the opinion, obliquely expressed, that the longer a family had been squatting on

one patch of land the finer it was” (130).

6. “That was not my father. My father never thought these thoughts. My father never spoke so. Aunt

Alexandra had put him up to this, somehow” (134).

7. I felt his hand on the back of my head. ‘Don’t you worry about anything,’ he said. ‘It’s not time to

worry.’ When I heard that, I knew he had come back to us” (134).

TKM | 12

Chapter Fourteen (pages 135-144)


1. When Aunt Alexandra finds out that Jem and Scout have attended Cal’s church, what does she want

Atticus to do about it?

2. Why does Scout attack Jem?

3. What does Dill reveal to Scout about his family? Include at least two details from the text.


are in parenthesis.

4. “…he was positively allergic to my presence when in public…” (135). 5. “Atticus’s remarks were still rankling…” (137).


6. “I felt the starched wall of a pink cotton penitentiary closing in on me, and the second time in my life

I thought of running away. Immediately” (136).

7. Then he rose and broke the remaining code of our childhood. He went out of the room and down the

hall. ‘Atticus,’ his voice was distant, ‘can you come here a minute, sir?’” (141).

8. “That wasn’t it, he—they just wasn’t interested in me” (143).

9. “ ‘Why do you reckon Boo Radley’s never run off?’ Dill sighed a long sigh and turned away from me.

‘Maybe he doesn’t have anywhere to run off to’” (144).

Chapter Fifteen (pages 144-155)


1. Why have neighbors gathered in the front yard?

2. What do the children discover downtown at ten o’ clock on Sunday night?

3. Scout talks to Mr. Cunningham. Why does her speech diffuse (break up) the mob?

4. At the end of the chapter, who do we hear for the first time?


are in parenthesis.

5. “ ‘Change of venue,’ said Mr. Tate. ‘Not much point in that, now is it?’” (145). 6. “The Maycomb jail was the most venerable and hideous of the county’s buildings” (150). 7. “ ‘Called ‘em off on a snipe hunt,’ was the succinct answer” (151).

TKM | 13


8. “The Ku Klux’s gone,’ said Atticus. “It’ll never come back’” (147).

9. I thought he would have a find surprise, but his face killed my joy. A flash of plain fear was going out

of his eyes, but returned when Dill and Jem wiggled into the light” (152).

10. “…I assumed that Atticus was giving him hell for not going home, but I was wrong. As they passed

under the street light, Atticus reached out and massaged Jem’s hair, his one gesture of affection”

(155).

Chapter Sixteen (pages 155-166)


1. In the eyes of the community, what is the Dolphus Raymond’s problem? List two details from the

text.

2. What two things does Scout learn from the Idlers’ Club before the trial?

3. Where do the children sit for the trial? What does this tell you?


are in parenthesis.

4. “She was now standing arms akimbo, her shoulders drooping a little…” (159). 5. “We asked Miss Maudie to elucidate...” (160).


6. “So it took an eight-year-old child to bring ‘em to their senses, didn’t it?’ said Atticus. ‘That proves

something—that a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they’re still human. Hmm,

maybe we need a police force of children…you children last night made Walter Cunningham stand in

my shoes for a minute. That was enough’” (157).

7. “Judge Taylor was on the bench, looking like a sleepy old shark, his pilot fish writing rapidly belong

in front of him” (164).

Chapter Seventeen (pages 166-178)


1. Atticus asks Mr. Ewell if he called for a doctor for Mayella. What point is he trying to make?

2. During the discussion of Mayella’s injuries, what key fact seems important to Atticus?

3. “Against the fence…were six chipped-enamel slop jars holding brilliant red geraniums, cared for as

tenderly as if they belonged to Miss Maudie” (171). What does this reveal about Mayella?

TKM | 14

4. Why does Atticus ask Mr. Ewell to write his name?


are in parenthesis.

5. “We could tell, however, when debate became more acrimonious than professional…” (171). 6. “About your writing with your left hand, are you ambidextrous, Mr. Ewell?” (178).


7. “With his infinite capacity for calming turbulent seas, he could make a rape case as dry as a sermon.

Gone was the terror in my mind of stale whiskey and barnyard smells, of sleepy-eyed sullen men, of

a husky voice calling in the night, ‘Mr. Finch? They gone?’ Our nightmare had gone with the daylight,

everything would come out all right” (178).

8. “Jem seemed to be having a quiet fit. He was pounding the balcony rail softly, and once he

whispered, ‘We’ve got him’” (178).

Chapter Eighteen (pages 178-189)


1. “Apparently Mayella’s recital had given her confidence, but it was not her father’s brash kind; there

was something stealthy about hers, like a steady-eyed cat with a twitchy tail” (181). What does

Scout’s observation suggest about Mayella?

2. Mayella is confused by Atticus’s attitude during the cross-examination. She thinks that he is trying to

“sass” her. What does this reveal about Mayella’s life?

3. When Tom Robinson stands up for identification, what is revealed?

4. At the end of her testimony, Mayella breaks down in tears and calls “the fine fancy gentlemen” of the

jury “yellow stinkin’ cowards” (188). What effect might this behavior have on the jury?


are in parenthesis.

5. “ ‘A chiffarobe, an old dresser full of drawers on one side’” (184).


6. “He looked oddly off balance, but it was not from the way he was standing. His arm was fully twelve

inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side. It ended in a small, shriveled hand, and from

as far away as the balcony I could see that it was no use to him” (186).

Chapter Nineteen (pages 190-199)


TKM | 15

1. On the day of Tom’s “crime”, where were the seven Ewell children? What does this imply?

2. How did Tom feel about Mayella’s situation? Why was this admission a mistake?

3. What two points does Mr. Gilmer try to make cross-examining Tom?


are in parenthesis.

4. “Judge Taylor told the reporter to expunge anything he happened to have written down” (196). 5. “ ‘Are you being imprudent to me, boy?’” (198).


6. “Tom Robinson was twenty-five years of age; he was married with three children; he had been in

trouble with the law before; he once received thirty days for disorderly conduct” (190).

7. “As Tom Robinson gave his testimony, it came to me that Mayella Ewell must have been the loneliest

person in the world. She was even lonelier than Boo Radley, who had not been out of the house in

twenty-five years” (191).

8. “ ‘Why did you run?’ ‘I was scared, suh.’ ‘Why were you scared?’ ‘Mr. Finch, if you was [black] like

me, you’d be scared, too’” (195).

9. “ ‘Yes, suh. I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more’n the rest of ‘em—‘” (197).

Chapter Twenty (pages 199-206)


1. What aspect of Mr. Raymond’s reputation do the children find to be false?

2. What is Mayella’s real crime?

3. What assumptions (beliefs) does Mr. Ewell have to that makes him believe that the jury will agree

with his version of the rape? List at least two assumptions from the text.


are in parenthesis.

4. “I had never encountered a being who had deliberately perpetrated fraud against himself” (201). 5. “…absence of any corroborative evidence…” (202).


6. “ ‘Atticus says cheatin’ a colored man is ten times worse than cheatin’ a white man,’ I muttered. ‘Says

it’s the worst thing you can do’” (201).

7. “ ‘To begin with, this case should have never come to trial. This case is as simple as black and

white…the defendant is not guilty, but somebody in this courtroom is’” (203).

8. “She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she

kissed a black man. Not an old Uncle, but a strong, young Negro man. No code mattered to her

before she broke it, but it came crashing down on her afterwards” (204).

TKM | 16

9. “Our courts have their faults, as does any human institution, but in this country our courts are great

levelers, and in our courts, all men are created equal” (205).

Chapter Twenty-One (pages 206-212)


1. Why did Calpurnia come to the courthouse?

2. How long was the jury out? What does this mean? What does it imply?

3. How does Scout know the verdict even before the jury reported?

4. What happens as Atticus leaves the courtroom? What does this imply?


are in parenthesis.

5. “I was exhilarated. So many things happened so fast…” (207).


6. “ ‘Now don’t be so confident, Mr. Jem. I ain’t ever seen a jury decide in favor of a colored man over a

white man’” (208).

7. “A jury never looks at a defendant it has convicted, and when this jury came in, not one of them

looked at Tom Robinson” (211).

8. “ I shut my eyes. Judge Taylor was polling the jury: ‘Guilty…guilty…guilty…guilty…’ I peeked at Jem;

his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each ‘guilty’ was

a separate stab between them’ (211).

9. “I looked around. They were standing. All around us and in the balcony on the opposite wall, the

Negroes were getting to their feet. Revered Sykes’s voice was as distant as Judge Taylor’s; ‘Miss Jean

Louise, stand up. Your father’s passin’’” (211).

Chapter Twenty-Two (pages 212-217)


1. What does Atticus find in the kitchen the next morning? What does it imply?

2. What does Miss Maudie tell the children? List three details from the text.

3. What is Bob Ewell’s reaction to Atticus after the trial?


are in parenthesis.

4. “ ‘Don’t talk like that, Dill’, said Aunt Alexandra. ‘It’s not becoming to a child. It’s cynical’” (214).


TKM | 17

5. “ ‘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’” (213).

6. “ ‘I simply want to tell you that there are some men in this world who were born to do our

unpleasant jobs for us. Your father’s one of them’” (215).

7. “ ‘…as I waited I thought, Atticus Finch won’t win, he can’t win, but he’s the only man in these parts

who can keep a jury out so long in a case like that. And I thought to myself, well, we’re making a

step—it’s just a baby step, but it’s a step’” (216).

8. “…this morning Mr. Bob Ewell stopped Atticus on the post office corner, spat in the face, and told

him he’d get him if it took the rest of his life’” (217).

Chapter Twenty-Three (pages 217-227)


1. How does Atticus react and what does he say about Bob Ewell’s threat? What does this reveal about

his character?

2. What is the children’s reaction to the threat?

3. What offers hope for Tom in the legal system?

4. What is Atticus’s concern when he says, “Don’t fool yourselves—it’s all adding up and one of these

days we’re going to pay the bill for it. I hope it’s not in you children’s time” (221)?

5. Why does Scout disagree with Aunt Alexandra about the types of “folks” in Maycomb? What is her

philosophy (belief)?


are in parenthesis.

6. “Mr. Ewell was a veteran of an obscure war” (217). 7. “ ‘Nobody has much chance to be furtive in Maycomb,’ Atticus answered” (218).


8. “ ‘…if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s

something I gladly take. He had to take it out on somebody and I’d rather it be me than that houseful

of children out there. You understand?’” (218).

9. “Atticus assured us that nothing would happen to Tom Robinson until the higher court reviewed his

case, and that Tom had a good chance of going free, or at least having a new trial” (219).

10. “ ‘There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads—they couldn’t be fair if they

tried. In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins.

They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life’” (220).

11. “ ‘You might like to know that there was one fellow who took considerable wearing down—in the

beginning he was rarin’ for an outright acquittal’” (222).

12. “ ‘Naw, Jem. I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks’” (227).

TKM | 18

13. “ ‘I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all this

time…it’s because he wants to stay inside” (227).

Chapter Twenty-Four (pages 227-237)


1. The ladies of the missionary circle discuss the trial and its effect on the community. What is the

irony of Mrs. Merriweather’s comment about hypocrites?

2. Who is J. Grimes Everett?

3. What news does Atticus bring to Aunt Alexandra, Maudie, and Scout?

4. What does Scout learn about being a lady?


are in parenthesis.

5. “Hypocrites, Mrs. Perkins, born hypocrites,’ Mrs. Merriweather was saying” (234).


6. “Miss Maudie’s hand closed tightly on mine, and I said nothing. Its warmth was enough” (230).

7. “ ‘...I tell you there are some misguided people in this town. Good, but misguided. Folks in this town

who think they are doing right…but all they did was stir ‘em up’” (232).

8. “There was no doubt about it, I must soon enter this world, where on its surface fragrant ladies

rocked slowly, fanned gently, and drank cool water” (223).

9. “ ‘We had such a good chance…I told him what I thought, but I couldn’t in truth say that we had

more than a good chance. I guess Tom was tired of white men’s chances and preferred to take his

own’” (235).

10. “After all, if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I” (237).

Chapter Twenty-Five (pages 238-241)


1. Describe Helen’s reaction to her husband’s death.

2. How does most of the town react to the news? Give two quotations from the text.

3. What was Mr. Underwood’s position in his editorial? List at least three details from the text?

4. How does Mr. Ewell react? What does he say?


are in parenthesis.

5. “…that Robinson boy was legally married, they say that he kept himself clean, went to church and all that, but when it comes down to the line the veneer’s might thin” (240).

TKM | 19


6. “Atticus has used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of

men’s hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth

and screamed” (241).

7. “…Mr. Ewell said it made one down and about two more to go. Jem told me not to be afraid, Mr.

Ewell was more hot gas than anything” (241).

Chapter Twenty-Six (pages 241-247)


1. How old are Jem and Scout now?

2. How does Atticus fare in the next state election? What does the result imply?

3. What is the irony of Miss Gates’ lecture on democracy when compared to her comments at trial?

4. What are some signs that Scout is growing up? List two details from the text.


are in parenthesis.

5. “The rural children who could, usually brought clippings from what they call “The Grit Paper,” a publication spurious in the eyes of Miss Gates, our teacher” (244).


6. “I sometimes felt a twinge of remorse, when passing by the old place at ever having taken part in

what must have been sheer torment to Arthur Radley” (242).

7. “So many things had happened to us, Boo Radley was the least of our fears. Atticus said he didn’t see

how anything else could happen, that things had a way of settling down, and after enough time

passed, people would forget that Tom Robinson’s existence was ever brought to their attention”

(243).

8. “Atticus said that Jem was trying hard to forget something, but what he was really doing was storing

it away for awhile, until enough time passed. Then he would be able to think about it and sort things

out. When he was able to think about it, Jem would be himself again” (247).

Chapter Twenty-Seven (pages 247-254)


1. What happened to Bob Ewell’s WPA job? Who did he blame?

2. What happened at Judge Taylor’s house? Who was the suspect?

3. What problems did Helen Robinson have with the Ewells? List two examples.

TKM | 20

4. Why is the town having a Halloween Pageant? Why did the town’s children wear their shoes while

the dogs were tracking the suspects of the Barber sisters’ missing furniture?


are in parenthesis.

5. “One Sunday night, lost in fruity metaphors and florid diction, Judge Taylor’s attention was wrenched from the page by an irritating scratching noise” (248).

6. “Our classmates mercifully let us forget our father’s eccentricities” (250).


7. “ ‘It might be because he knows in his heart that very few people really believed his and Mayella’s

yarns. He thought he’d be a hero, but all he got for his pain was…was, okay, we’ll convict this Negro

but get back to your dump’” (252).

8. “I soon learned, however, that my services would be required on stage that evening. Mrs. Grace

Merriweather had composed an original pageant…and I was to be a ham” (252).

9. “After that it didn’t matter whether they went or not. Jem said he would take me. Thus we began our

longest journey together” (254).

Chapter Twenty-Eight (pages 254-266)


1. Why does Cecil Jacobs do before the pageant which helps set up later events?

2. Why are Scout and Jem among the last to leave the auditorium?

3. What do the children hear when they are walking?

4. What happens under the big oak tree? List at least three details from the text.


are in parenthesis.

5. “…Colonel Maycomb set out on a purposeful journey to rout the enemy and entangled his troops so far northwest in the forest primeval that they were eventually rescued by settlers moving inland” (258).


6. “But I found it and looked down to the street light. A man was passing under it. The man was

walking with the staccato steps of someone carrying a load too heavy for him. He was going around

a corner. He was carrying Jem. Jem’s arm was dangling crazily in front of him” (263).

7. “ ‘Now I may be wrong , of course, but I think he’s very alive. Shows all the symptoms of it. Go have a

look at him, and when I come back we’ll get together and decide’” (265).

TKM | 21

8. “Mr. Tate found his neck and rubbed it. ‘Bob Ewell’s lyin’ on the ground under that tree down

yonder with a kitchen knife stuck up under his ribs. He’s dead, Mr. Finch’” (266).

Chapter Twenty-Nine (pages 267-270)


1. Who attacked the children and why?

2. Who rescued Scout and Jem? How did he get involved?

3. Describe Boo. List three details from the text.


are in parenthesis.

4. “ ‘And don’t you fret yourself about anything’” (267). 5. “…but brought my arm down quickly lest Atticus reprimand me for pointing” (270).


6. “Atticus seemed to be talking in his sleep. His age was beginning to show, his one sign of inner

turmoil, the strong line of his jaw melted a little, one because aware of telltale creases forming

under his ears, one noticed not his jet-black hair, but the gray patches growing at his temples” (267).

7. “He pointed with a long forefinger. A shiny clean line stood out on the dull wire. ‘Bob Ewell meant

business,’ Mr. Tate muttered (269).

8. “ ‘he had guts enough to pester a poor colored woman, he had guts enough to pester Judge Taylor

when he thought the house was empty, so do you think he’da met you to your face in daylight?’ Mr.

Tate sighed” (269).

Chapter Thirty (pages 271-276)


1. Atticus moves everyone to the front porch to discuss the events. Why?

2. Atticus believes that Jem played a part in Ewell’s death. What is his biggest concern?

3. Heck Tate has a switchblade that he says he took off a drunken man. What is the significance of the

knife?

4. Who killed Bob Ewell? What is Sheriff Tate going to do about it and why?

5. Why does Scout agree with Sheriff Tate?


are in parenthesis.

6. “If Atticus could blandly introduce me to Boo Radley at a time like this, well—that was Atticus” (271).

TKM | 22


7. “ ‘Sometimes I think I’m a total failure as a parent, but I’m all they got. Before Jem looks at anyone

else he looks at me, and I’ve tried to live so I can look squarely back at him…if I connived at

something like this, frankly I couldn’t meet his eye, and the day I can’t do that I’ll know I’ve lost him.

I don’t’ want to lose him and Scout, because they’re all I’ve got’” (271).

8. “ ‘I’m not a very good man, sire, but I am the sheriff of Maycomb County. Lived in this town all my

life and I goin’ on forty-three years old. Know everything that’s happened here since before I was

born. There’s a black boy dead for no reason, and the man responsible is dead. Let the dead bury the

dead’” (276).

9. “ ‘To my way of thinkin’, Mr. Finch, taking the one man who’s done you and this town a great service

an’ draggin’ him with his shy ways into the limelight—to me, that’s a sin. It’s a sin and I’m not about

to have it on my head…’” (276).

10. “ ‘Mr. Tate was right.’ Atticus disengaged himself and looked at me. ‘What do you mean?’ ‘Well, it’d

be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?’” (276).

Chapter Thirty-One (pages 277-281)


1. Who takes Boo home?

2. What does Scout see from the Radley porch? List three details from the text.

3. What does Scout realize?

4. What does Atticus do during the long night?


are in parenthesis.

5. “It must have been after midnight, and I was puzzled by his amiable acquiescence” (280).


6. “He gently released my hand, opened the door, went inside, and shut the door behind him. I never

saw him again” (278).

7. “Atticus is 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” (279).

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

by harper lee - spokane public schoolsswcontent.spokaneschools.org/cms/lib/wa01000970...tkm | 2 list...

Documents