Irodalom | Középiskola » To Kill a Mockingbird, Study Questions

- 1 -To Kill a Mockingbird – Study Questions To Kill a Mockingbird Study Questions – Part I Chapter 1 1. Where does the novel take place? Describe the town using two text-based details? 2. What does the children’s father, Atticus Finch, do for a living? What other information do we learn about Atticus? 3. From whose point of view is the story told? 4. Who is Calpurnia and what is she like? 5. How does Jem show his respect for Dill? What game does Dill invent? 6. How had Mr Radley seen to it that his younger son Boo caused “no further trouble” in Maycomb? 7. What did Arthur (Boo) Radley do (at age 33) that landed him temporarily in the county jail? 8. According to Jem’s description, what does Boo look like? Use text-based details 9. After Mr Radley dies, what changes occur at the Radley place? 10. What act of “courage” on Jem’s part ends the chapter? Chapter 2 1. When Jem takes Scout to school for her first day, what “order” does he give her? 2. What two

things does Miss Caroline tell Scout that Atticus is not to do any more? 3. How does Miss Caroline Fisher feel at the end of her first day? How do you know? 4. When Scout tries to spare Walter Cunningham any further humiliation, what does Miss Caroline do to her? 5. What are the Cunninghams like? Chapter 3 - 2 -To Kill a Mockingbird – Study Questions 1. How does Scout solve her problem with Walter Cunningham? 2. How does Jem solve Scout’s problem with Walter Cunningham? 3. Why can’t Walter Cunningham pass the first grade? 4. After Calpurnia makes Scout leave the table, what “lecture” does she give Scout? 5. What scared and shocked Miss Caroline? (Do you know another name for this creature?) 6. How does Scout describe Burris Ewell’s physical appearance? 7. How does Little Charles Little describe Burris’ personality? 8. After Scout’s first day of school, what is her assessment and what is her plan? 9. After Scout begs Atticus not to make her return to school, what

advice does he give her for getting along with people? Chapter 4 1. Why does Scout feel school is unnecessary and useless? 2. What is the first gift that appears in the hollow tree? What other gifts do the children find? 3. What new facts does Dill offer about his father? 4. How has the Boo Radley game changed? 5. When Scout rolls into the Radley front yard in the tire, what does she hear? Chapter 5 - 3 -To Kill a Mockingbird – Study Questions 1. Why does Scout become annoyed with Dill? 2. What does Scout admire about Miss Maudie? 3. What do you learn about Uncle Jack? 4. What new plan do the boys devise to get Boo to come out? Why doesn’t it work? 5. What does Dill say that causes Scout to accuse him of lying? 6. What direct order does Atticus give the children regarding Boo? Chapter 6 1. How do the children plan to spend Dill’s last night in Maycomb? 2. What goes wrong with the children’s escape plan? 3. At whom does Mr Nathan think he has fired his gun? 4. How

do the children claim to have spent the evening? 5. What makes Jem decide to return to the Radley yard that night? Chapter 7 1. What does Jem tell Scout about “that night” at Boo Radley’s? 2. What new gifts do they find in the knothole? (There are five) 3. What ends the knothole gifts? 4. How does Jem react to what happens in the knothole? Chapter 8 1. Who dies in this winter? - 4 -To Kill a Mockingbird – Study Questions 2. What “aberration of nature” frightens Scout? 3. What method does Jem devise to make a snowman? What compliment does Atticus pay Jem? 4. When Maudie’s house begins to burn, what other possibility is the Finch family worried about? 5. Why doesn’t Atticus help carry out Maudie’s furniture? 6. What is Scout wearing? How does Atticus explain the presence of what Scout is wearing? 7. Describe Scout’s reaction to the news she receives Chapter 9 (*Note: This chapter begins the change to a serious tone.) 1. Who is Tom Robinson? 2. What is

the main reason why Atticus is defending Tom Robinson? 3. What gift does Uncle Jack give the children? 4. What new habit has Scout picked up that bothers Uncle Jack? 5. What does cousin Francis tell Scout about Dill’s home life? 6. Why does Scout fight her cousin after the Christmas dinner at Finch’s Landing? 7. What are Atticus’ personal feelings about the trial? 8. What is “Maycomb’s usual disease”? Chapter 10 1. Why is it “a sin to kill a mockingbird”? - 5 -To Kill a Mockingbird – Study Questions 2. In Scout’s eyes, what is Atticus’ chief fault? 3. What reason does Uncle Jack give for Atticus’ unwillingness to teach the kids to shoot? 4. What crisis shows the children a surprising skill their father possesses? 5. Who is Heck Tate? 6. What is Atticus’ old nickname? 7. According to Miss Maudie, why didn’t Atticus tell Jem and Scout his secret? Chapter 11 1. What makes the children hate and fear Mrs Dubose? 2. What two comments specifically

infuriate Jem to the point that he can’t control his temper? 3. What does Jem do to get revenge? 4. What is his punishment? 5. What did Mrs Dubose vow to do before she died? 6. According to Atticus, what is real courage? Who is the perfect example of a really courageous person? Chapter 12 Part II Study Questions 1. Why doesn’t Dill plan to come to Maycomb this summer? - 6 -To Kill a Mockingbird – Study Questions 2. What is the purpose of this Sunday’s collection at First Purchase African Methodist Episcopal Church? 3. Why are Jem and Scout so welcome in this church? 4. Why can’t Helen Robinson get work? 5. What do the children notice about Calpurnia’s behavior in her church community? 6. Why does Reverend Stykes order the doors of the church shut? 7. Who is sitting on the Finch’s front porch? Chapter 13 1. Why has Aunt Alexandra come? 2. Why does Aunt Alexandra get angry with Atticus? 3. What does Atticus tell the children about being Finches? Chapter

14 1. When Aunt Alexandra finds out that Jem and Scout have attended Cal’s church, what does she want Atticus to do about it? - 7 -To Kill a Mockingbird – Study Questions 2. How does Atticus respond to Alexandra’s suggestion that they don’t need Cal anymore? 3. “Then {Jem} rose and broke the remaining code of our childhood” What new violation causes Scout to make this comment? What earlier breach of the childhood code can you remember? 4. What does Scout say she had never heard of or seen before, and how does it make her feel? 5. How does Atticus deal with Scout’s question about whether she has to mind Jem? 6. How does Atticus deal with finding Dill in Scout’s room? 7. What question does Scout ask Dill about Boo Radley? What is Dill’s response? Chapter 15 1. Describe Dill’s latest plan to get Boo Radley to come out 2. Why have the neighbors gathered in the Finches’ front yard? 3. Who is Mr Underwood? 4. Where do the children find Atticus at ten

o’clock on Sunday? 5. What is the mob’s intention? 6. How does Scout manage to end the danger? 7. At the end of the chapter, whom do we hear from for the first time in the novel? 8. What has Mr Underwood been doing during the mob scene? Chapter 16 1. In the eyes of the community, what is Dolphus Raymond’s problem? 2. What connection does Scout make that causes her to cry? - 8 -To Kill a Mockingbird – Study Questions 3. What subtle change does Scout notice in Atticus? 4. Why isn’t Miss Maudie going to court? 5. How does Atticus explain “mobs” to the children? 6. Why does Jem say the “mixed children” are sad? 7. What fact about Atticus’ defense of Tom Robinson does Scout learn from the Idlers’ Club? 8. Where do the children sit for the trial? What does this tell you (2 things? 3 things?) Chapter 17 1. What is the first point Atticus tries to make in court? 2. During the discussion of Mayella’s injuries, what key fact seems important to Atticus?

3. What does Atticus lead Sheriff Tate to remember about Mayella Ewell’s black eye? 4. What excuse does Mr Ewell have for not running after Tom Robinson? 5. Why does Atticus ask Mr Ewell to write his name? Chapter 18 1. Why does Mayella Ewell break into tears at the beginning of her testimony? 2. What makes Mayella think Atticus is mocking her? What does this tell you about her? - 9 -To Kill a Mockingbird – Study Questions 3. What dramatic fact do we learn about Tom Robinson at the end of Mayella’s testimony? 4. Atticus is trying to get Mayella to make a confession What does he want her to admit? 5. What is Mayella’s response to Atticus’ question about her having friends? Chapter 19 1. According to Tom’s story, when did he “bust up the chiffarobe”? 2. On the day of Tom’s “crime,” where were the seven Ewell children? 3. When Mr Ewell arrived on the scene, what did he see through the window that infuriated him? 4. Who is Link Deas? What

(unsolicited) comment does he add to the proceedings? 5. What two points does Mr Gilmer try to make in cross-examining Tom? 6. When Atticus asks Tom why he ran, what is his reply? Chapter 20 1. What aspect of Mr Raymond’s reputation do the children find to be false? 2. Why is he willing to let the children in on his secret? - 10 -To Kill a Mockingbird – Study Questions 3. What does Atticus say is “the worst thing you can do”? 4. What “crime” does Atticus say Mayella feels guilt for? 5. What “facts about Negroes” does Mr Ewell rely on to make the jury bring in a guilty verdict? 6. When Scout and Jem return to the courtroom, what prediction does Jem make? Chapter 21 1. Why has Cal come to court? 2. What does Jem think when Atticus calls them from the balcony? 3. How long was the jury out? (And why isn’t this a trivial question?) 4. How does Scout know that Tom has not been acquitted even before the jury reports? 5. What is the verdict? 6. What happens

as Atticus leaves the courtroom? Chapter 22 1. What does Atticus find in the kitchen on the morning after the trial? 2. What is Atticus’ response to Alexandra’s attempt to say the children shouldn’t have witnessed the trial? 3. - 11 -To Kill a Mockingbird – Study Questions What is the feeling among the white neighbors (Maudie excluded) on Atticus’ defeat? 4. What has Dill decided to be when he grows up? Why? 5. What is Bob Ewell’s response to the verdict? 6. What causes Atticus’ eyes to fill with tears? 7. What does Miss Maudie say about Atticus’ ability to have kept the jury out for so long? Chapter 23 1. What are the children worried about at the beginning of the chapter? 2. What had Atticus told Jem about having a gun around? 3. Where is Tom Robinson in this chapter? 4. Explain what will happen to Tom if he loses his appeal 5. How does Atticus define “trash”? How does Aunt Alexandra? 6. Why does Aunt Alexandra not want Walter Cunningham in the

house, even though the Cunninghams are admittedly “good folks”? 7. List the categories in Jem’s social hierarchy - the 4 kinds of folks in the world What kinds of folks are in Scout’s hierarchy? Chapter 24 1. What does the “business” part of the Missionary Society consist of? 2. Why does Scout prefer the world of men to the world in which “fragrant ladies rocked slowly, fanned gently, and drank cool water”? 3. What does Mrs Merriweather say the cooks and field hands did after the trial? Why? - 12 -To Kill a Mockingbird – Study Questions 4. Who are the “hypocrites” Mrs Merriweather mentions? Why does she consider them hypocrites? 5. What news does Atticus bring to Aunt Alexandra, Maudie, and Scout? 6. How does Atticus explain what Tom had done? Chapter 25 1. What causes Scout to comment that Jem was acting more like a girl everyday? What definition of “girl” does this imply? 2. How does Scout learn about Helen’s reaction to the news of her

husband’s death? 3. Mr Ewell said Tom’s death meant “one down and about two more to go” What does he mean? 4. What does Mr Underwood say in his editorial? 5. What conclusion does Scout come to about Tom after reading Mr Underwood’s article? Chapter 26 1. Although she thought it had escaped his notice, Scout learns in this chapter that Atticus has known of one of her “crimes” for a long time. Which one? 2. What historical figure does Miss Gates condemn? Why does her condemnation confuse Scout? 3.What has Scout overheard that confuses her about Miss Gates’s view of Helen? Chapter 27 1. Who does Bob Ewell blame for his loss of the WPA job? 2. What happened at Judge Taylor’s house? 3. What two services does Link Deas perform for Helen Robinson because he “felt right bad about the way things turned out? - 13 -To Kill a Mockingbird – Study Questions 4. What event has been added to the fall social calendar in Maycomb? 5. What is Scout’s Halloween

costume? What are its chief drawbacks? Chapter 28 1. Who scares the Finch children on the way to the pageant? 2. How does Scout’s performance go? 3. What is the first clue the children have that they are not alone on their walk home? 4. Who are the “four people under the tree”? 5. How does Jem get home? 6. What question does Scout ask again and again? 7. Who is the children’s attacker? How did he die? Chapter 29 1. What unexpected advantage did the ham outfit supply? 2. What does Boo Radley really look like? Chapter 30 - 14 -To Kill a Mockingbird – Study Questions 1. Who killed Bob Ewell? (Be careful with this one.) Explain what happened 2. What was the murder weapon? 3. What does the switchblade Heck Tate uses for demonstration have to do with all this? Chapter 31 1. Describe the manner in which Scout walks Boo home. How is this significant? 2. What do you learn about the plot of The Gray Ghost?