Vocabulary

• Apothecary
• Assuaged
• Dictum
• Entailment
• Live Oaks
• Taciturn
• Talcum

Quiz on Chapters 1-2

1. Identify Finch's Landing.
2. What had happened to the Atticus' first two clients?
3. In what town and state does Atticus practice law?
4. Who are Alexandra and Jack to Scout?
5. What were the summertime boundaries when Scout was six and Jem was ten?
6. Is Dill older or younger than Jem?
7. Which is not true about Dill? (a) he had snow white hair, (b) he was taller than Scout, (c) he had a cowlick in the center of his forehead, (d) he was staying with his aunt Rachel, (e) he could read.
8. Who comes up with the idea of making Boo come out?
9. What is not one of the things unusual about the Radley house? (a) the doors were closed on Sunday, (b) the people were afraid of walking by it, (c) the people kept to themselves, (d) once a fire burned the back part of the house, (e) all were true.
10. What had Boo done which got him intro trouble with the law and would have sent him to a state industrial school?
11. What had happened which caused Mrs. Radley to run screaming into the street?
12. Who was Calpurnia referring to when she said, "There goes the meanest man ever God blew breath into…"?
13. Identify Miss Caroline Fisher.
14. What is the Dewey Decimal System according to Jem?
15. How does Miss Caroline insult Walter Cunningham?
16. How do the Cunninghams pay their debts?
17. What does Miss Blount threaten to do to class if they don't get quiet?

Examples of Scout's sense of humor:

• Atticus' first two clients were the last two people hanged in Alabama.
• "Because of Simon Finch's industry, Atticus was related by blood or marriage to nearly every family in the town."
• Scout's teacher "hauled me up the front of the room and patted the palm of my hand with a ruler, then made me stand in the corner until noon."
• The teacher shows the class the alphabet and asks if anyone knows what they are… "Everybody did; most of the first grade had failed it last year."
• "I mumbled that I was sorry and retired meditating upon my crime [being able to read].I never debilerately learned to read, but somehow I had been wallowing illicitly in the daily paper."

Descriptions

• Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square. Somehow, it was hotter then; a black dog suffered on a summer's day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square. Men's stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o'clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum.

• Maycomb County had recently been told that it had nothing to fear but fear itself.

• The Radley Place jutted into a sharp curve beyond our house. Walking south, one faced its porch; the sidewalk turned and ran beside the lot. The house was low, was once white with a deep front porch and green shutters, but had long ago darkened to the color of the slate-gray yard around it. Rain-rotted shingles drooped over the eaves of the veranda; oak trees kept the sun away. The remains of a picket drunkenly guarded the front yard-a "swept" yard that was never swept-where Johnson grass and rabbit-tobacco grew in abundance.

Consider later

• Atticus says, "there were other ways of making people into ghosts."
• "Our first raid came to pass only because Dill bet Jem The Gray Ghost against two Tom Swifts that Jem wouldn't get any farther than the Radley gate."
• Note how the ideas of tolerance and understanding of others are conveyed by the children's views of Boo and Scout's views of Miss Caroline (i.e. her sympathy for her as she leaves).

Vocabulary

• Contentious
• Condescension
• Diminutive
• Fractious
• Amiable
• Auspicious
• Wrought
• Tyranny
• Scuppernong

Quiz on Chapters 3-4

1. Who invites Walter Cunningham home for lunch?
2. What does Walter do during lunch which causes Scout to ask, "What the sam hill is he doing"?
3. What lesson does Calpurnia try to teach Scout about Walter?
4. Why does Miss Caroline scream and point a finger at Burris Ewell?
5. What strategy does the Ewell family have regarding the children's education?
6. How does Cal show she cares for Scout and Jem?
7. Why, according to Atticus, do people allow Bob Ewell to hunt out of season?
8. What compromise does Atticus make with Scout regarding school?
9. On her way home from school, what does Scout first find in the live oak tree knothole?
10. What do Scout and Jem find together in the tree?
11. Where does Scout end up when Jem rolls her in the tire?
12. What new game do the children play?
13. What finally stops them from playing the game?
14. What was the reason Scout wanted to quit the game which she says occurred the day she rolled in the tire?

Lessons that Scout learns

• See Calpurnia's comments regarding the Walter Cunningham incident.
• Atticus: "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." How does Scout show an understanding of this regarding Miss Caroline?

Vocabulary

• Quelled

Quiz on Chapters 5-6

1. What does Scout do with Miss Maudie at summer twilight?
2. What does Maudie like to do instead of being in her house?
3. How does Uncle Jack tease Miss Maudie?
4. What term does Miss Maudie use for Mr. Radley: "he was a __ Baptist."
5. What quality best describes Miss Stephanie? (a) caring, (b) gossipy, (c) religious, (d) hard, (e) soft
6. What do Dill and Jem plan to do with a fishing pole?
7. Why does Dill ring a bell?
8. What does Mr. Avery do which Jem and Dill try to imitate, but Scout decides she can't do?
9. What do the boys plan on doing the last night Dill is in town?
10. What happens to Jem's pants?
11. What lie does Dill tell about how Jem lost his pants?
12. Is Jem able to get his pants?

Characterization

• What kind of person is Miss Maudie? How she contrast with some of the other characters in the book?

Vocabulary

• Pilgrimage

Quiz on Chapters 7-8

1. According to Scout, what was the only good thing about second grade?
2. What secret does Jem share regarding his pants?
3. Which of the following is NOT one of things found in the knothole of the live oak? (a) a medal, (b) twine, (c) soap figures, (d) a pack of gum, (e) all of the above are found
4. What two things consistute the children's "biggest prize"?
5. What subject does Jem particularly like studying when he reaches sixth grade?
6. What stops the gifts in the knothole?
7. Who does Mr. Avery blame for the change in the weather?
8. What unusual thing happens which causes school to be cancelled?
9. Who is the snowman first made to look like?
10. Why does Atticus send the children in front of the Radley house to watch the fire?
11. What does Mr. Avery do which redeems him as a character?
12. What makes Atticus think the children didn't "stay put"?
13. What disappointment does Scout have regarding Boo?
14. Why does Jem suddenly reveal all that has happened to them?
15. Why isn't Miss Maudie upset about the fire?

Characterization

• What kind of person is Mr. Avery? Is he someone you would like to have dinner with? Why or why not?

Vocabulary

• Changelings
• Trousseau
• Provocation
• Jubilant

Quiz on Chapters 9-10

1. Why does Scout fight with Cecil Jacobs?
2. What reason does Atticus give for not using the word, "nigger"?
3. From what he tells Scout, does Atticus believe he will win the case he is trying?
4. Whose arrival was one of the good things about Christmas?
5. What is Atticus' brother's occupation?
6. T/F Atticus disapproves of the children getting air rifles for Christmas.
7. What relation is Francis to Aunt Alexandra?
8. How does Uncle Jack protect Scout?
9. Why does Atticus not tell Scout to go to bed earlier when he is talking with Jack?
10. What complaint does Scout have regarding Atticus?
11. Why, according to Miss Maudie, does Atticus believe it's a sin to kill a mockingbird?
12. What target does Scout want to shoot at?
13. Identify Tim Johnson.
14. Why is the incident with the dog unusual for February?
15. What does Atticus do which flabbergasts the kids?
16. What was Atticus' nickname at the Landing?

Characterization

• Compare and contrast the characters Atticus and Jack.

Vocabulary

• Umbrage
• Rectitude
• Interdict
• Camellia
• Propensities
• Ecclesiastical

Quiz on Chapters 11-12

1. What does Jem use to destroy Mrs. Dubose's flowers?
2. What does Jem have to do as result?
3. What do the children listen for that means they are free to go?
4. What are Mrs. Dubose's fits?
5. What does Mrs. Dubose say that Jem should have done to get rid of her flowers?
6. Why does Atticus say Mrs. Dubose was a courageous woman?
7. What does Mrs. Dubose leave Jem and what is his reaction to it?
8. Why is Calpurnia babysitting the kids?
9. Identify Lula.
10. Identify Zeebo.
11. Why are the blacks "lin'" their hymns?
12. How much money is Rev. Sykes attempting to raise?
13. Who is the money for?
14. What does Rev. Sykes do to assure he has the amount he wants?
15. Why do the children feel Calpurnia leads a double life?

Characterization

• Both Mrs. Dubose and Calpurnia teach the children by their actions. Make a list of things we learn from each.
• Why might Harper Lee have picked chapter 11 as the end of the first part of the book?

Chapters 13-14

Quiz on Chapters 13-14

1. Why does Scout feel it wouldn't make much of a difference if Uncle Jimmy had come with Aunt Alexandra?
2. What best describes Aunt Alexandra's figure? (a) diminutive, (b) formidable, (c) wispy, (d) Maycomb, (e) none of the above
3. What is not true about Aunt Alexandra? (a) she joined many groups, (b) she is concerned with her heritage, (c) she gossips, (d) she admires Calpurnia, (e) she feels Atticus is too easy on the children
4. Fill in the correct word for this idea from Aunt Alexandra: "Everybody in Maycomb, it seemed had a __: a Drinking ___, a Gambling ___, a Mean ___, a Funny ___"
5. In the discussion of the history of Maycomb, who was responsible for the formation of the town: (a) Abner (b) Maycomb, (c) Sinkfield, (d) Cunningham, (e) Ewell
6. What had Cousin Joshua done?
7. What does Atticus come to talk with the children about that Scout feels he really doesn't want to talk about?
8. What story about Calpurnia does Scout tell which creates an arguement between Atticus and Alexandra?
9. Why do Scout and Jem fight?
10. What do they think is under Scout's bed?
11. What is under her bed?
12. How does Jem "break the remaining code of childhood"?
13. How does Atticus show he has sympathy for Dill?
14. Why does Dill say he ran away?
15. Where does Dill think he and Scout can get a baby?
16. Where does Scout think they can get a baby?

Characterization

• Compare and contract Atticus and his sister Alexandra.
• What qualities of Dill's would serve him well as a writer?

Chapters 15-16

Quiz on Chapters 15-16

1. Why do the men with Heck Tate come to see Atticus?
2. What was Atticus's "dangerous question"?
3. What happened when the Ku Klux Klan tried to intimidate Sam Levy?
4. Why is Jem afraid?
5. Where does Atticus sit at church?
6. Why does Atticus take the long extention cord with him?
7. Why does Scout kick someone?
8. What does Mr. Underwood show?
9. According to Atticus, how had Scout gotten Mr. Cunningham to "walk around in my shoes"?
10. Why do some people get upset with Miss Maudie's yard?
11. How do people treat the trial?
12. According to Jem, how does one judge being "colored"?
13. Identify Dolphus Raymond.
14. Who takes the children "under his wing"?
15. Where do the children sit (be specific).

Themes

• One of the themes running throughout the book has to do with the world of children opposing the world of the adult. How do we see the two clash (particularly from a sense of understanding or not understanding what is going on).
• What attitudes toward "colored" people are shown in the chapters?
• Author Lee exhibits a real concern for the life of even the minor characters in the story. Who are some of the characters that stand out in these chapters?

Chapters 17-18

Quiz on Chapters 17-18

1. Identify Mr. Gilmer.
2. What do we learn from both Mr. Tate and Mr. Ewell about how Mayella had to have been struck?
3. Who lives by the dump and where does Tom live?
4. What was the surprising feature in the Ewells yard? (a) a refrigerator, (b) a bathtub, (c) a dentist chair, (d) flowers in slop jars.
5. What question is asked by Atticus that shows both Mr. Tate and Mr. Ewell had no real concern about Mayella's condition?
6. What does Atticus prove by having Mr. Ewell write his name on the envelope?
7. Does the judge feel sorry for Mr. Ewell?
8. Did Mayella look like she had tried to keep herself clean?
9. Who does Mayella say she's afraid of?
10. Does the judge seem to feel sorry for Mayella?
11. How does the chiffarobe figure into Mayella's story?
12. What contradiction to the story Mr. Ewell told is revealed in the following quote from Mayella? "…next thing I knew Papa was in the room a'standin' over me hollerin' who done it, who done it?"
13. How old is Mayella?
14. Why does Atticus ask Mayella if Tom chocked AND hit her?
15. What is Mayella's response to whether her father had ever beaten her?
16. Where is Mayella's mother?
17. What does Mayella do after her last speech to the courtroom?

Chapters 19-20

Quiz on Chapters 19-20

1. How had Tom ever been in trouble with the law before?
2. Why does Scout think Mayella must have been lonely?
3. According to Tom, why were the children gone that day?
4. According to Tom, what had Mayella asked him to do?
5. Did Mayella suggest she'd ever been kissed before?
6. According to Tom, whom did Mr. Ewell direct his anger toward?
7. What, according to Atticus, is a lawyer supposed to concentrate during a witness's testimony?
8. Why is Tom's left arm important to his defense?
9. What does Tom say to Mr. Gilmer that makes the crowd angry?
10. Why is the Judge furious with Link Deas?
11. Why do Scout and Dill go outside?
12. Why does Dolphus Raymond pretend to drink?
13. Why, according to Atticus, does Mayella want Tom to be found guilty?
14. What did Atticus do in public that Scout had never seen him do?
15. What one way are all men created equal, according to Atticus?
16. Who comes to the trail at the end of the chapter?

Characterization

• Readers must often "read between the lines" of literature and find what is really being implied. What important implications do you find in Tom's testimony in what really happened?
• What does it add to our understanding of Bob and Mayella Ewell? What uncomfortable assumption are we to make by Tom's reporting, "She says she never kissed a grown man before an' she might as well kiss a nigger. She says what her papa do to her don't count"?
• What do you think actually happened viewing all the testimony?

Chapters 21-22

Quiz on Chapters 21-22

1. Who wrote the note that Calpurnia gives to Atticus?
2. What agreement does Atticus make with the children regarding the trial?
3. Why are the children surprised when they return to the courthouse?
4. T/F The jury is out until after 11:00 p.m.
5. How, according to Scout, do you know whether a jury has found the defendant guilty or not before the verdict?
6. How do you know the blacks think highly of Atticus at the end of the trial?
7. What do the blacks do for Atticus the next day?
8. What immediate reaction does Jem have to the verdict?
9. Who, according to Atticus, are the only ones to cry when Maycomb does terrible things like the jury did?
10. What was Miss Rachel's reaction to the previous night?
11. What does Miss Maudie do for the children, which shows whose side she's on?
12. How, according to Miss Maudie, did Judge Taylor help Tom?
13. What occupation does Dill decide he wants to pursue?
14. What had happened to Atticus that prompts Miss Rachel to tell Dill to stay at home and say, "There's danger a'comin'"?

Characterization

• In the first section we saw Jem growing up. How is the trial an important awakening on Jem's part to what the world is really like?
• How does Miss Maudie explain what has happened and how one's Christianity is shown?
• Do you find a similarity between Maycomb's prejudice towards black and the prejudice between women? If President Richard Nixon's view of women in the 1970's was that they should not serve on his cabinet and should not be educated, what was the viewpoint of the 1930's evident in the book?

Chapters 23-24

Quiz on Chapters 23-24

1. What was the only thing Atticus said about his encounter with Mr. Ewell?
2. What is Jem's solution to the jury system?
3. What kind of person does Atticus call trash?
4. Why couldn't women be on the juries, according to Atticus?
5. Who does Aunt Alexandra talk about which causes Scout to cry?
6. What are the four kinds of people in Maycomb, according to Jem?
7. What kind of folks are there, according to Scout?
8. What causes the difference in background, according to Jem?
9. Identify the Mrunas.
10. Who is the woman who seems to lead all the discussion?
11. Identify J. Grimes Everett.
12. What news does Atticus bring?
13. How do Aunt Alexandra and Miss Maudie show courage?
14. What is Jean Louise's reaction to Aunt Alexandra at the end of the chapter?

Characterization

• Chapter 23 is important in defining Jem's new perception of the legal system and the class sytem of his world. Note how Scout perceives the same worlds. What changes are evident in the children's views?
• Look at the topic of the Missionary Circle's meeting. How is the hypocracy of the women illustrated. One of things which angered people of Monroeville the most was this chapter. What about this chapter would get such a reaction?
• Scout is an accurate reporter for us, but she doesn't understand the subtext of what she is seeing. What battle is going on between Mrs. Grace Merriweather and Miss Maudie?
• How does the idea of courage reimerge with both Miss Maudie and Aunt Alexandra?

Chapters 25-26

Quiz on Chapters 25-26

1. What is Scout about to do which upsets Jem?
2. What were Dill and Jem doing that allowed them to go to Tom's house with Atticus?
3. What was Helen Robinson's reaction at seeing Atticus?
4. How long was Maycomb interested in Tom's story?
5. To what does Mr. Underwood compare Tom's death?
6. What comment does Mr. Ewell make, which is reported by Miss Stephanie?
7. What is Scout's fantasy about Boo?
8. How does Miss Gates react to the Grit Paper?
9. What does Cecil Jacobs bring up that prompts Miss Gates to discuss "democracy"?
10. What had Miss Gates said, leaving the courthouse, that confused Scout?
11. How does Jem react to it all?

Characterization

• What hypocracy does Miss Gates exhibit? How could the plight of the Jews be compared to the plight of the blacks of the 1930's South?

Chapters 27-28

Quiz on Chapters 27-28

1. What is Scout about to do which upsets Jem?
2. What were Dill and Jem doing that allowed them to go to Tom's house with Atticus?
3. What was Helen Robinson's reaction at seeing Atticus?
4. How long was Maycomb interested in Tom's story?
5. To what does Mr. Underwood compare Tom's death?
6. What comment does Mr. Ewell make, which is reported by Miss Stephanie?
7. What is Scout's fantasy about Boo?
8. How does Miss Gates react to the Grit Paper?
9. What does Cecil Jacobs bring up that prompts Miss Gates to discuss "democracy"?
10. What had Miss Gates said, leaving the courthouse, that confused Scout?
11. How does Jem react to it all?

Plot

• To understand the end of Chapter 28, you really have to finish the book first. Then you need to remember that Scout is a very accurate reporter, but she doesn't always understand what she is reporting. Don't assume she is right in her assumptions.
• Scout's costume is an important prop in the story because it saves her life. Look back over the description and see if you can draw what it looked like.

Chapters 29-31

Quiz on Chapters 29-31

1. Describe the two knives that Mr. Tate had.
2. What assumption does Mr. Tate make about Scout's costume and the shiny line on the back of her costume?
3. How did Scout know she was by a tree?
4. Why could none of the neighbors have heard Scout call?
5. Why couldn't Atticus and Alexandra hear Scout?
6. At first, who did Atticus believe killed Mr. Ewell?
7. What does Mr. Tate say happened?
8. How did Mr. Ewell actually get killed?
9. Scout in one of the previous chapters had a fantasy about her being with Boo. Was her meeting the same? Explain.
10. How did all the adults treat Boo?
11. What does Boo ask Scout to do for him?
12. What does Scout realize standing on the Radley porch?
13. What does Atticus read to Scout?
14. What realization does Scout have about other people at the end of the book?

Plot

• As was stated in Book 28, Scout is a good reporter but doesn't always understand what is said. Here she does, but sometimes younger readers miss what she is saying. Note that Mr. Tate says he took one of the knives off a drunk, earlier that evening. He doesn't really lie, but the drunk he is referring to is Mr. Ewell. Mr. Tate is not trying to protect Jem, he is trying to protect Boo. Can you find the point where everybody understands what he is saying, even Scout?