According to Jem’s description, what does Boo look like? What act of ‘courage’ on Jem’s part ends the chapter? Thinking Questions: Answer two of the following questions How old do you think the narrator is when she tells us the story? List phrases from the chapter that helped you arrive at this conclusion. Atticus tells Scout that there are “other ways [besides chaining them to beds] of making people into ghosts.” What does he mean by ghosts? What “ways” might he have in mind? List several. Given what you know of Maycomb and of the Radley family, why don’t the Radley’s seem to fit in? How might Maycomb itself be responsible for the Radley’s strangeness? Review the information about Dill. What kind of person is he? List several of your conclusions. What do you know about his background that might account for these aspects of his character? RESPONSE SPACE: Chapter Two: The Facts: Comprehension: Name the things that Scout does that “annoy” Miss Caroline. Why do you think the teacher might feel that way? Have you ever had a teacher get annoyed at you for a reason you didn’t understand? Explain. Scout seems to be ahead of where Miss Caroline expects here to be in her academic skills. Scout knows how to read and write, and can even write in script, which is not supposed to be “learned” until the 3rd grade. Scout also is very outspoken and assertive. She does not understand conversational boundaries yet. In blurting out everything that comes to her mind, literally, she baffled Miss Caroline, who is having trouble relating to children of southern rural Maycomb County.
5. Why does Scout fight her cousin after the Christmas dinner? 6. What is “Maycomb’s usual disease”? Thinking Question: 1. Look closely at the reasons Atticus gives Scout for defending Tom Robinson. Also look at his statement, “every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally. This one’s mine, I guess.” What is it about this case that strikes so deeply at what Atticus believes? Response Space: Chapter Ten “Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” The Facts: Comprehension: In Scout’s eyes, what is Atticus’s chief fault? What reasons does Uncle Jack give for Atticus’s unwillingness to let the kids shoot? What crisis shows the children a surprising skill their father possesses? What is Atticus’s old nickname? Who is Heck Tate?
Miss Maudie says, “I think maybe he put his gun down when he realized that God had given him an unfair advantage over most living things. I guess he decided he wouldn’t shoot till he had to, and he had to today.” What other advantages does Atticus have? Does he use them when he doesn’t “have to”? Miss Maudie also says, “People in their right minds never take pride in their talents.” Is this true? Why is it a sin to kill a mockingbird? What is the larger principle involved here? By the way, what’s a sin? How is the mockingbird a symbol? Thinking Questions: Pick two of the following questions to respond to: 1. Why is it a sin to kill a mockingbird? What is the larger principle involved here? 2. Consider vision symbols in the opening scene of this chapter and the shooting scene. When does Atticus see well? What reason(s) can you think of that Harper Lee might have had for having him break his glasses in the mad-dog scene? 3. What do the children learn in this chapter? List several things. RESPONSE SPACE: (more on next page) Chapter Eleven “I wanted you to see what courage is…It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.” The Facts: Comprehension What makes the children hate and fear Mrs. Dubose?
RESPONSE SPACE: Chapter Thirteen “For no reason I felt myself beginning to cry, but I could not stop. This was not my father.” The Facts: Comprehension: Why has Aunt Alexandra come to stay at the Finch house? What do we learn about the origins and nature of Maycomb County? (131) Describe the “caste system” in Maycomb County. (131) “Aunt Alexandra fitted into the world of Maycomb like a hand in a glove, but never into the world of Jem and me.” Explain. Why is Aunt Alexandra obsessed with heredity (genetics)? How does she tend to think about people?