I. To Kill a Mockingbird

English I HonorsMrs. HarderTo Kill A Mockingbird Study Guide

Part I Character Identification: Know the characters and their descriptions.Atticus Finch Boo Radley Scout Finch CalpurniaDill Harris Jem Finch Bob Ewell Miss MaudieDolphus Raymond Aunt Alexandra Mrs. Dubose Tom RobinsonHeck Tate Miss Caroline Mayella Ewell ZeeboMiss Caroline Uncle Jack Francis Part II True And False• Know events that occur; deeper meanings and themes; symbols in the novel

Part III Multiple Choice• Know events that occur; deeper meanings and themes; symbols in the novel

Quote Identification• Major character and major quotes; you must identify the speaker

Vocabulary• Lists 1 and 2• Match the definition to the word• Fill-in-the-blank with context clue sentences

TKAM TestName:

I. Matching

_____ foreshadowing A. something that represents both itself and also some general idea

_____ first person point of view B. a hint or clue to events that will occur later in a story

_____ symbol C. time and place of a story

_____ stereotype D. when a story is told from the perspective of a character

_____ setting E. a generalization made about a group based on prejudices

II. General Response

A. After a hard first day of school, Atticus tells Scout, “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.”

1. Explain in your own words what Atticus means.

2. Explain one specific example from the novel where you think Scout learns a lesson about this.

B. One day at school after the Tom Robinson case is over, Scout’s class is talking about Hitler and the persecution of the Jews. Miss Gates, the teacher, says “We are a democracy and Germany is a dictatorship. Over here we don’t believe in persecuting anybody.” What is ironic about this statement?

C. On the back side of this paper, write each literary term from the matching section about and give a complete description of how that device is used in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird. Be sure to use complete sentences and be as specific as possible. You should describe all five terms.________________________________________________________________________

Vocabulary: To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper LeeDirections: You must complete vocabulary squares for all of the following words.

Vocabulary List #11. assuaged2. piety3. taciturn4. eccentric5. malevolent6. nebulous

7. indigenous8. erratic 9. auspicious10. divine

Vocabulary List #21. benevolence2. aberration3. attributes4. cantankerous5. habiliments6. subpoena7. elucidate8. litigants9. impertinence10. demise________________________________________________________________________

THE TRIAL OF TOM ROBINSON: Understanding Characters’ Motivations

During Mr. Gilmer’s cross-examination of Tom Robinson, he asks Robinson if he is scared to face up to what he did. Robinson replies, “No, suh, scared I’d hafta face up to what I didn’t do” (198). Tom’s motivation for running from the Ewell house is clear. In a town as prejudiced as Maycomb, a black man cannot be seen near the scene of a crime when the police arrive. Prejudice, or the lack of prejudice, motivates the actions and opinions of nearly all of the novel’s characters. Decide how –or if—prejudice motivates each character named below. Use the chart to collect evidence that backs up your belief.

CHARACTER IS THE CHARACTER PREJUDICED? EVIDENCE

Reverend Sykes

___ Yes ___No

Mr. Gilmer ___ Yes ___No

Bob Ewell ___Yes ___No

Mayella Ewell ___Yes ___No

Dolphus Raymond ___Yes ___No

Making a Personal ResponseWhat struck you the most deeply about justice or prejudice as you read chapters 17-22? Describe the scene or event in these chapters that led to this realization. Tell what you learned._______________________________________________________________________

To Kill a Mockingbird Significant passages from Chapters 12, 13, and 14

1. Bootleggers caused enough trouble in the Quarters, but women were worse. Again, as I had often observed in my own church, I was confronted with the Impurity of Women doctrine that seemed to preoccupy all clergyman.

Speaker: _________________________ Page #:____________Significance:

2. It’s not necessary to tell all you know. It’s not ladylike—in the second place, folks don’t like to have somebody around knowin’ more than they do. It aggravates em. You’re not gonna change any of them by talkin’ right, they’ve got to want to learn themselves, and when they don’t want to learn there’s nothing you can do but keep their mouth shut and talk their language.Speaker:______________________ Page #:________________________

Significance:

3. I know now what he was trying to do, but Atticus was only a man. It takes a woman to do that kind of work.

Speaker:_____________________ Page #: _________________________

Significance:

4. The thing is, what I’m trying to say is—they do get on a lot better without me, I can’t help them any.

Names: ___________________________________Date________________Pd.______

To Kill A Mockingbird Quiz #2

PART I: In a 1-2 sentence statement, explain how the three items in the list are related in the novel.

1. a monster who eats raw squirrels/ scissors/ a blanket

2. Indian head pennies/ cement/ a broken pocket watch

3. Scout reading/ Walter Cunningham/ the Dewey Decimal System

4. book/ camellias/ morphine

5. Zeebo/ One-Shot/ Old Tim Johnson

PART II: For each quotation, write the name of the character who said it.

6. “You never really understand a person until you climb into his skin and walk around in it..” ____________________________7. “Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets.” ______________________________8. “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what…” __________________9. “I’m Charles Baker Harris…I can read.” ____________________10. “Will you take me home?” ___________________

________________________________________________________________________

Name________________________________Date_______________Pd.____________

To Kill A Mockingbird Part I Quiz

1. By what name do the children call Arthur Radley? _________________________2. What is Finch’s Landing? ____________________________________________3. Whose idea was it to try to get Boo to come out? _________________________4. Who is Calpurnia? __________________________________________________5. What happened to Jem and Scout’s mother? _____________________________6. When Scout goes to school for the first time, She gets in trouble with the teacher for being able to do what? ____________________________________________

7. Which classmate does Scout invite home for lunch during the first week of school? __________________________________________________________8. When Dill and Jem pushed Scout into the Radley yard in the old tire, what did she hear coming from inside the house? _________________________________9. On Dill’s last night in Maycomb, the children go over to the Radley place in the dark. On the way back, what does Jem lose? _____________________________10. How does Dill explain this loss to Atticus? ______________________________11. In Chapter 8, it snows for the first time in Maycomb County since 1885. Why do the children feel guilty about this snowstorm? ___________________________12. In Chapter 9, the Finches pick Uncle Jack up at the train station, and he is immediately appalled at Scout’s behavior. What does she do that makes him so angry? __________________________________________________________13. Uncle Jack brings with him two Christmas packages for Scout and Jem. What are inside them? _____________________________________________________14. Why does Atticus instruct the children that they are allowed to shoot tin cans and blue jays but no mockingbirds? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________15. During the Tim Johnson ( the rabid dog) episode, the children find out that Atticus has a specific talent when he was younger. What was this talent? ________________________

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English I HonorsMrs. HarderTo Kill A Mockingbird essay topics

Directions: Choose one of the following topics on which to write your essay.

1. Harper Lee uses the metaphorical symbol of the mockingbird in the title of her famous novel. In your essay, examine her purpose for using this symbol and evaluate how profoundly it affects the reader. Also, be sure to examine the three “mockingbirds” in the text in order to support your point.

2. In the novel Harper Lee thoroughly investigates several important themes, among them prejudice, intolerence, courage and justice. Choose the theme that you feel most strongly about and evaluate how well Lee analyzes that theme in the text and how readers benefit from her illustration of that theme.

3. To Kill A Mockingbird has been one of the most controversial books in the history of American literature. In fact, many school districts throughout the country have banned the novel from the classroom and school media centers. Why would anyone fight to censor or ban this book? What might they be afraid of? Is there any reason that the censorship of this novel could be justified? Investigate whether or not American schools are justified in the banning of To Kill A Mockingbird, particularly in the southern states.

4. There are many characters in To Kill A Mockingbird who could be considered victims: Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, Mayella Ewell, Charles Baker Harris and Atticus Finch. Analyze Lee’s depiction of victimization in the novel. What would be Lee’s purpose in relying so heavily on this theme when writing a relatively happy story about her childhood.

5. One theme that Harper Lee focuses on in the novel that most people overlook is fatherhood. What are the characteristics of a good father? Examine the three fathers that the reader is exposed to in To Kill A Mockingbird: Atticus Finch, Bob Ewell, and Mr. Radley. How do each of these characters live up to or not live up to Lee’s definition of a good father? What might Lee be trying to teach the reader through examining these three fathers._______________________________________________________________________

Mockingbird Symbolism

Atticus Finch gives his children guns for Christmas, but he also gives them very specific instructions: not to kill any mockingbirds because “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (90). Obviously, this explains the meaning behind the title. Use the chart below to analyze three characters from the novel who could be considered mockingbirds.

Character: Character: Character:Analysis:

Analysis: Analysis:Quotations:

Quotations: Quotations:________________________________________________________________________

To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper LeeClose Reading Activity for Chapters 1 and 2

In the correct spaces on the back, complete the following activity:

Group #1• Reread pages 3-5 and write down any descriptive phrases about the history of the Finch family and Atticus Finch.

Group #2• Reread pages 5-7 and write down any descriptive phrases of the town/county of Maycomb and the neighborhood in which the children live.

Group #3• Reread pages 6-8 and write down any descriptive phrases about the Radley family, the Radley house and Boo Radley.

When your group has finished the above activity for Chapter 1, answer the following questions for Chapter 2:

1. What are Jem’s instructions to Scout upon arriving at school on the first day?

2. What is Scout able to do that greatly offends her teacher? Why is Miss Caroline so offended by this?

3. What is the problem with Walter Cunningham? How and what does Scout know about Walter’s family?

The Finch Family History

Atticus FinchMaycomb

Scout’s neighborhood

Calpurnia Dill

Radley Family and House Arthur (Boo) Radley_______________________________________________________________________

To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper LeeACTIVITIES FOR CH. 3-6

DIRECTIONS: For the next two days, after basic class discussion and vocabulary, you will be working independently on the following activities. You must complete (5) of the (8) choices, but it is entirely up to you which ones you choose. As you complete each of the following activities, turn them in to me, so that I can mark it off of your list. If you finish all (5) activities and have turned them in, you may use the time to catch up on your reading.

CHOICE #1:Write a memoir paragraph about your favorite season using the following quote from p. 34 as a model:

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

Your paragraph must be at least 12 sentences long; it must be well written; it must have a nostalgic tone. CHOICE #2:Read the following quote from p. 41:

“ Atticus’s arrival was the second reason I wanted to quit the game. The first reason happened the day that I rolled inot the Radley front yard. Through all the head-shaking, quelling of nausea and Jem-yelling, I had heard another sound, so low I could not have heard it from the sidewalk. Someone inside the house was laughing.”

Imagine that you are either Scout or Boo. If you are scout, write a short letter to Boo apologizing for coming onto his property uninvited. Be as descriptive and extensive as possible. If you are Boo, write a note to Scout explaining why you are laughing.CHOICE #3:On p. 49, Atticus finds out that the children are playing a game based on the legends revolving around the Radley’s:

“’Son,’ he said to Jem, ‘I’m going to tell you something and tell you one time: stop tormenting that man….What Mr. Radley did was his own business. If he wanted to come out, he would. If he wanted to stay inside his own house, he had the right to stay inside free from the intentions of inquisitive children, which was a mild term from the likes of us….What Mr. Radley did might seem peculiar to us, but it did not seem peculiar to him. Furthermore, had it never occurred to us that the civil way to communicate with another being was by the front door instead of a side window…”

In a paragraph or two, discuss Atticus’s motivation for reprimanding the children. Also discuss how you feel about his disciplinary tactics: Is this how parents should teach their children right from wrong? CHOICE #4:On p. 45, Miss Maudie describes Mr. Radley for Scout:

“There are just some kind of men who—who’re so busy worrying about the next world that they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.”

In a paragraph, discuss the following:What is your immediate reaction to this description of Mr. Radley?Why does Mr. Radley kept his son Arthur locked up in the house for all these years? Now that Arthur is 33, why wouldn’t he come out on his own? How do you feel about Arthur Radley and what has happened to him?CHOICE #5:Skim back through p. 30-40 and look for specific examples of morality and ethics exhibited by the children and Atticus. Outline these examples and give a brief description of each one. Pay close attention to the following:

The Ewells, looking at a situation from another’s point of view, taking pennies that don’t belong to you, the neighborhood code, Jem’s guilt about Boo, Scout and Atticus’s feelings about the Boo Radley game, Jem’s hiding of the game from Atticus, Scout’s use of the word “nigger”. CHOICE #6:On p. 37, Scout and the boys get in an argument over the “Hot Steam Legend and Scout’s response to them is:

“Don’t believe a word he says, Dill,” I said. “ Calpurnia says that’s nigger talk.”

In a paragraph describe your feelings about the use of such a word. Also include your thoughts on the following: How can Calpurnia, whom one would think would want to promote equality, use this language around Scout knowing that the girl may then use it on her own? And How can Scout, who is being raised by a black woman and who knows the difference between right and wrong, use such language so freely?

CHOICE #7:Skim back over Chpater two, Scout’s description of the first day of school. Choose your favorite classmate and draw a detailed caricature. Also write a brief descriptive paragraph explaining your drawing.

CHOICE #8:Choose your favorite episode or the episode that most affected you from the novel so far and draw it. You must include a descriptive paragraph explaining your drawing and why you chose this particular event.

To Kill A Mockingbird Name ___________________________

List of Characters:

Atticus Finch – A lawyer in the small southern town of Maycomb, Alabama who defends a Negro man, Tom Robinson.

Scout – Jean Louise Finch – Atticus’ young daughter who is the narrator of the story.

Jem Finch – Atticus’ son and Scout’s older brother.

Cal – Calpurnia – The Negro cook who has been responsible for raising the Finch children.

Aunt Alexandra – The very proper aunt who comes to care for the children during the Negro trial.

Uncle Jack Finch – The bachelor uncle who visits every Christmas.

Dill – Charles Baker Harris – The friend of Jem and Scout who lives in Mississippi but comes every summer to Maycomb.

Miss Rachael – Dill’s aunt who lives next door to the Finches.

Miss Maudie – A very open-minded neighbor that Scout talks with.

Mrs. Dubose – An old lady who lives down the street and who screams at the children as they pass her house.

Boo – Mr. Arthur Radley – The mysterious neighbor whom the children have never seen.

Mr. Nathan Radley – The stern, distant brother of Boo who seldom speaks even though he is seen every day.

Heck Tate – The sheriff, who is also a good friend of the Finches.

Judge John Taylor – The presiding judge at the trial.

Mr. Gilmer – The prosecuting attorney at the trial.

Tom Robinson – A hard-working young Negro man who is accused of a crime against Mayella Ewell.

Bob Ewell – The irresponsible and disgraceful father of a brood of children who receives welfare checks and uses them for alcohol.

Mayella Violet Ewell – She is Bob’s daughter who accuses Tom Robinson of attaching her.

Mr. Walter Cunningham – An upright farmer who refuses to accept charity.

Reverend Sykes – A Negro minister who takes care of Scout and Jem during the trial.

Miss Stephanie Crawford – A gossipy neighbor who knows the family histories of the entire neighborhood.

Miss Caroline Fisher – One of Scout’s teachers.

Mrs. Merriweather – A local lady who writes the Halloween pageant.

Dolphus Raymond – A white man who prefers to live with the Negroes.

Mr. B. B. Underwood – Owner of the town’s newspaper.

Mr. Link Deas – Tom Robinson’s boss.

Symbolism from the novel:

Mockingbird –

Dog –

Flowers – Canna lilies

Fire/Snow –

Boo - ________________________________________________________________________

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD TEST

Do not write on the test!!! Answer all questions on both sides of separate sheets of notebook paper.I. CHARACTER ID.

Directions: Based on the character descriptions and quotations, identify the correct character.

1. She believed that “fine folks” meant that “a family had been squatting on one patch of land” for a long time2. Asks, in the trial, if anyone called a doctor to examine Mayella Ewell3. Watched under a window of the newspaper office with a shotgun4. Eats cigars and appoints Atticus to defend Tom Robinson5. Leads the collection for money to assist Helen Robinson who can’t get work6. Signs his name to his welfare check with his left hand7. Convinces Atticus to let him announce that Mr. Ewell was killed when he fell on his own knife8. Arm was caught in Dolphus Raymond’s cotton gin9. Comes to lynch Tom Robinson, but Scout asks about his entailment, and he feels ashamed10. Cries after the verdict and says, “It ain’t right”

II. QUOTATIONS. Directions. Choose five out of the seven quotes and do the following for each: (A) Identify the speaker. (B) Identify the context/circumstances of the quote. (C) Explain the significance of the quote with regards to a character or one of the novel’s major issues. (What does the quotation reveal about a character? How does its content relate to one of the issues?)

Label the parts of each answer A, B, and C. Answer thoroughly but concisely in carefully-worded complete sentences.

#1 -- “When I went back, they were folded across the fence, like they were expectin’ me.” #2 -- “I saw something only a lawyer’s child could be expected to see, and it was like watching Atticus walk into the street, raise a rifle to his shoulder and pull the trigger, but watching all the time knowing that the gun was empty.”

#3 -- “…I think I’m beginning to understand something. 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.”

#4 -- “What if I talked white-folks’ talk at church, and with my neighbors? They’d think I was puttin’ on airs to beat Moses.”

#5 -- “This time we aren’t fighting the Yankees, we’re fighting our friends. But remember this, no matter how bitter things get, they’re still our friends and this is still our home.”

#6 -- She never let a chance escape her to point out the shortcomings of other tribal groups to the greater glory of our own…I never understood her preoccupation with heredity.

#7 -- “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand…She was the bravest person I ever knew.”

III. SHORT ANSWERS

Directions: Choose 3 of the 4 letters. For each of your choices, write 4-5 carefully-worded sentences to answer the question.

A. Titles are usually carefully chosen to capture the essence of the meaning of a story. Why do you think Harper Lee decided to title her book, “To Kill A Mockingbird?” Be thorough, explain carefully, and use specific examples.

B. Many characters in To Kill a Mockingbird go through a life-shaping change as a result of one of the events in Maycomb. Choose one character that changes over the course of the book and do the following:

a. Describe the ways in which he/she is innocentb. Explain what changes him or her AND what his/her outlook on life is at the

end.

C. Atticus chooses to react to the injustice of the events surrounding Tom Robinson’s trial in a very particular manner. Describe his reaction using 2 specific examples and discuss why he chooses to react as he does.

D. We’ve talked about how To Kill a Mockingbird is a portrait of small-town Southern life in the first half of the 20th century. Accurately describe the portrait that TKAM paints of the South, choosing two specific aspects of life in Maycomb to focus on. Use specific examples to support what you say.

IV. HONOR PLEDGE

Write “Honor Pledge” and sign your name on your answer sheet (You don’t have to recopy the pledge).“I have not given or received any unauthorized information on this test.”

Signed,

_________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________A survey of Critical Quotes from To Kill a Mockingbird1. "Hush your mouth! Don't matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house's yo' comp'ny, and don't you let me catch you remarkin' on their ways like you was so high and mighty!"

2. "Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets."

3. "When I went back, they were folded across the fence…like they were expectin' me."

4. "Try fighting with your head for a change…it's a good one, even if it does resist learning."

5. "Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win."

6. "This time we aren't fighting the Yankees, we're fighting our friends. But remember this, no matter how bitter things get, they're still our friends and this is still our home."

7. "I guess it ain't your fault if Uncle Atticus is a nigger-lover besides, but I'm here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family—"

8. "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

9. "This case, Tom Robinson's case is something that goes to the essence of a man's conscience – Scout, I couldn't go to church and worship God if I didn't try to help that man."

10. "The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience."

11. "She never let a chance escape her to point out the shortcomings of other tribal groups to the greater glory of our own"

12. "The Levy family met all criteria for being Fine Folks: they did the best they could with the sense they had, and they had been living on the same plot of ground in Maycomb for five generations."

13. '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 animal can be stopped, simply because they're still human.'

14. His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side. It ended in a small, shriveled hand.

15. As Tom Robinson gave his testimony, it came to me that Mayella Ewell must have been the loneliest person in the world.

16. But 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…

17. 'I wish Bob Ewell wouldn't chew tobacco'

18. In her distraction, Aunty brought me my overalls. "Put these on, darling," she said, handing me the garments she most despised.Gandhi and King Quotes

Non- violence, to be a potent force, must begin with the mind. Nonviolence of the mere body without cooperation of the mind is cowardly and has, therefore, no potency. It is a degrading performance. If we bear malice and hatred in our bosoms and pretend not to retaliate, it must recoil upon us and lead to our destruction.

Mahatma Gandhi

Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate rather than to convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends by deflating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers.

Martin Luther King

THE RIGHT WAY TO PROTEST?What is the right way to fight injustice? What do you do when injustice is imbedded yourself, friends, neighbors and loved ones?

I. For each of the following scenarios, decide whether you agree or disagree, and why. Jot down your conclusions.a. Bullies must be taught a lesson. The only way they will learn to leave people alone is to get beat up themselves. b. It was good for the colonies to declare independence from Britain and fight a war to win their freedom.c. Martin Luther King Jr. & civil rights activists should have fought back with violence when they were attacked by racists.

II. Examine the way characters in TKAM respond to injustice. For each answer, be sure to have passages from the text to back up your thoughts.A. Cecil Jacobs and Francis accuses Scout’s dad of defending black people in court (Ch. 9)(1) How does Scout respond to Cecil and Francis? Why do you think she reacts this way?(2) How does Atticus react to what Scout did? What does he do and say? B. Atticus watches over Tom Robinson in jail and people from the town approach (Ch. 15) (1) How does he choose to stand up to the mob? What other methods could he have chosen? (2) Why do you think he chose this way instead of another way? Do you think his choice was a good choice?(3) What does he say about the mob early in Ch. 16, and what insight does that give you about Atticus’ philosphy?C. Atticus argues in court that Tom Robinson is innocent (Ch’s 17 – 21) (1) How does he choose to stand up to injustice here? What method does he use, and why? (2) Do you think Atticus made a good decision to try to fight racism by legal means? Why or why not?D. Reflect: What do you think about the way Atticus fights injustice? Weak? Strong? Courageous? Cowardly? Effective? Ineffective? Explain.________________________________________________________________________ Day One, TKAM

As before, choose 1 scribe (who has not been a scribe before) to record the course of your discussion. Put everyone’s name on the paper.

1. Do issues of race still affect Chapel Hill and the South? How big is the issue now? How fair is society to all people? Is anyone treated unfairly? If so, who and how so?

If you think that the issue still exists, what is Chapel Hill’s biggest obstacle to overcoming thisproblem?

2. Is violent resistance to injustice ever appropriate? When? Think of examples when it’s OK and when it’s not. What is the difference in each situation?

3. Do you think that a 15 year old is wiser than an 8 year old? If so, what does a 15-year old know that an 8-year old doesn’t? What do you know that you didn’t when you were