To Kill A Mockingbird

Questions and Discussions

Questions for Chapter 1:1) What do we learn about Atticus in the first

chapter regarding his personal integrity, his courage, his sense of fairness, his independence?

2) Describe the family life the Finches appear to have.

3) What is it about Dill that makes Jem and Scout accept him?

4) What are some of the details Lee included to place this story in the 1930s?

5) Explain in a clearly-written sentence or two why the Radley family chooses to withdraw from Maycomb society?

6) What are two of the local legends or superstitions surrounding Arthur Radley?

7) Contrast Atticus’ approach to Boo with Miss Stephanie’s.

8) List Dill’s ideas for getting Boo to come out.

9) Why are the children so obsessed with seeing Boo?

Discussion: Narrator

Narrator: First person limited in retrospect

What are the benefits of this kind of narrator?• As a child, Scout has a very simple and

“uncluttered” way of looking at the world. She is innocent to the ways of adults and, as she struggles to understand things, so does the reader. • Also, because she is older and looking back on

her childhood, she can provide appropriate commentary on the events

Discussion: Narrator

What are the downsides to this kind of narrator?

• Sophisticated vocabulary can make the events difficult to work through

• You generally only get one perspective on a situation that can include many different ideas and beliefs.

Discussion: Setting

Setting: The small, fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama in 1933

What are the characteristics of a small town?

Discussion: SettingWhat are the characteristics of Maycomb in

particular?• “Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired

old town when I first knew it” (pg. 5)

• “There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb county” (pg. 5)

• “The Radleys, welcome anywhere in town, kept to themselves, a predilection unforgivable in Maycomb...the shutters and doors of the Radley house were closed on Sundays, another thing alien to Maycomb’s ways” (pg. 9)

Discussion: Theme

One important theme from the novel is the idea of “Othering”. What does this mean?

How does this idea of “othering” present itself in the novel?

Discussion: OtheringThings to Consider: • Atticus’ approach to Boo Radley vs. Miss

Stephanie Crawford’s approach (pg. 10-11)• Dill’s approach to Boo Radley vs. Jem’s approach • Turtle Conversation (pg. 14)

This doesn’t only to the Radley’s. People in Maycomb “other” different families in their community: • “But they were the Haverfords, in Maycomb

County a name synonymous with jackass” (pg. 5)

Questions for Chapters 2 & 3:

10) What is the name of Scout’s teacher and what is she like? Why is she viewed with “apprehension”?

11) Why does she tell Scout that she should no longer read at home? What is ironic about this?

12) What do we learn about the Ewell family in the first few chapters?

13) Explain how Walter Cunningham and Burris Ewell are foils? Why might Lee have included them in the novel?

14) Write one important fact about each of the following: Miss Stephanie Crawford Jem Scout The Cunninghams Boo Radley Finch’s Landing Calpurnia Atticus Dill

Discussion: Adult vs. Child World

Before these chapters, we saw very little of the adult world. How does this world differ from the simple child world that Scout, Jem and Dill live in during the first chapter?

Do either worlds understand the other?

Discussion: Othering and Social ClassFinches vs. The Cunninghams: • “The Cunninghams never took anything they can’t pay

back...they get along on what they have. They don’t have much but they get along on it” (pg. 20)

• ‘“Are we poor Atticus?” Atticus nodded. “We are indeed” Jem’s nose wrinkled. “Are we as poor as the Cunninghams?”’ (pg. 21)

• “Yo’ folks might be better’n the Cunninghams but it don’t count for nothin’ the way you’re disgracin’ ‘em” (pg. 24)

The Ewells:• “Atticus said the Ewells had been the disgrace

of Maycomb for three generations. None of them had done an honest days work in his recollection.” (pg 30)

• “He said that the Ewells were members of an exclusive society made up of Ewells. In certain circumstances the common folk judiciously allowed them certain priveleges by the simple method of becoming blind to some of the Ewell’s activities (pg. 30)

Social Class Hierarchy: • Top: Finches (Though they are poor, they

have money. Upstanding individuals in the town.)

Middle: Cunninghams (They are poor but they pay their debts. Are looked down on by community but are still generally accepted) • Low: Ewells (Dirt poor. Not trying to fit into

“civilized” society. Seen as a disgrace.)

Discussion: Walking in Another’s Shoes

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (pg. 30)

How does this come into play in these chapters?

Questions for Chapters 4, 5, & 6

15. As a naïve narrator, Scout often makes mistakes which we, as well-informed, adult readers may find humorous. What, for instance, is it that Scout calls the Dewey Decimal System? What, in reality, is the Dewey Decimal System?

16. In what ways is Miss Maudie like Atticus (Chapter 5)?

17. What opinion does Miss Maudie have of Atticus?

18. How does Atticus view the Radleys?

19. What is the Missouri Compromise?

20. Show how the theme of tolerance - acceptance of others as they are - has been developed so far.

Discussion: Othering Gender

How are females characterized in this novel?

“Jem told me I was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, that’s why other people hated them so, and if I started behaving like one I could just go off and find some to play with (pg 41)

The boys leave Scout to herself so she does go off and find another woman to spend her time with. Does this woman fit the description that Jem gives? What is this woman like?

Miss Maudie as a Role Model

What kind of role model is Miss Maudie for Scout?

What does Scout learn from her?

Boo Radley

In this section of the novel, we slowly see Boo Radley move from a “malevolent phantom” to an actual human being. How does this happen?• Jem and Dill and the game vs. Jem and Dill after

Atticus talks to them• Scout before the tire rolls into the Radley yard vs.

after• Scout before talking to Miss Maudie vs. after