To Kill a Mockingbird Midterm Study Guide Who is the narrator of the story? Jean Louise Scout Finch What is the setting of Harper Lee s To Kill a Mockingbird? Who is Scout s father? What does he do for a living? Maycomb, Alabama, in the mid 1930s Atticus Finch He is a lawyer and a state legislator He also teaches his children about courage and how to treat others by what he says and does Where is Scout and Jem s mother? She died of a heart attack when Scout was 2 years old, and Jem was 6 Who comes to stay next door at Rachel Haverford s home? Where did he come from? A little boy named Charles Dill Harris Meridian, Mississippi 1
What does it mean to climb into someone s skin and walk around in it? Whose broken arm and the story of how it happened frame the plot of the story? That you cannot truly judge a person until you know their background and see how they live Jem Finch s Who wrote To Kill a Mockingbird? What did Scout hear after crashing into the Radley Place in a tire? Harper Lee She heard laughter coming from inside the house Who was the recluse who had been shut up in his house for 15 years after having a run-in with the law when he was teenager? Arthur Boo Radley What happens to Scout s surprise while she is watching the fire? Boo Radley places a blanket over her shoulders 2
Who is the black man that Atticus will defend in court? Why does Atticus take a case which is causing so much dissention in Maycomb? Tom Robinson What is Maycomb s usual disease Atticus hopes his children won t contract? Prejudice against African Americans Atticus says he couldn t hold his head up again, and that he couldn t tell Jem and Scout what to do if he didn t defend Tom Robinson. He would be ashamed not to do it What does Atticus tell the children it is a sin to do? Why is it a sin? Who is Heck Tate? And what does he do that surprises Jem? It is a sin to kill a mockingbird It is a sin because mockingbirds don t do anything that causes damage. All they do is sing their hearts out The sheriff of Maycomb County He hands a rifle to Atticus and asks him to shoot the dog What does Atticus do that surprises his children? Why are they surprised? Why does Dill think Boo Radley has never run away from his home? He kills Tim Johnson with one shot They think he is feeble and unable to do anything because of his age He believes that maybe Boo doesn t have anywhere to go 3
From what is the snowman constructed? How can this be symbolic of racism in the South? The snowman starts off as being all mud (brown), but it is not an acceptable snowman until it is covered with snow (white) In the South during that time, African Americans were not treated like real people, with the same rights as whites, because of the color of their skin Who is the black man that Atticus will defend in court? Why does Atticus take a case which is causing so much dissention in Maycomb? Tom Robinson Atticus says he couldn t hold his head up again, and that he couldn t tell Jem and Scout what to do if he didn t defend Tom Robinson. He would be ashamed not to do it What was Aunt Alexandra fanatical about when it came to Scout? Why? Her attire Alexandra didn t believe she could ever be lady-like if she continued to dress in overalls. She believed she should dress like a proper young lady What are the men who come to Atticus home at night afraid will happen? That some of the townspeople will want to lynch Tom Robinson once he s moved to the county jail What are the men who come to Atticus home at night afraid will happen? That some of the townspeople will want to lynch Tom Robinson once he s moved to the county jail Who is it that causes the crowd to disperse? Why does the mob finally leave? Scout By singling out Mr. Cunningham and talking to him about his child, Mr. Cunningham is no longer overcome by the mob mentality and he can sympathize with Atticus and his situation 4
Why is Tom s left arm crippled? It was caught in Dolphus Raymond s cotton gin when he was a child, and it tore the muscles loose from the bone What, according to Atticus, was the unwritten social code that Mayella Ewell broke? She tempted and kissed a black man Why does Atticus walk down the middle aisle when leaving the courthouse? Why does Rev. Sykes ask Scout to stand when her father passes? To show he s not ashamed of his actions. The walk is an indication of his bravery Because all the other African-Americans in the balcony stood as a sign of respect for what Atticus did What special thing do the people of Maycomb do for Atticus the next morning after the trial, and why do they do this? What kind of person does Miss Maudie say that Atticus is? They leave food for him. To show their appreciation for what he did The type of person who does the unpleasant work for others 5
What does Robert Ewell say and do to Atticus? What of Bob Ewell s does Atticus say he destroyed at the trial? He spits in Atticus face and tells him he ll get him if it takes the rest of his life Atticus says he destroyed his last shred of credibility Atticus says one type of person is trash. Who is this and why? How did Tom Robinson die? A white man who cheats a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from He was shot 17 times while trying to climb over the prison fence What does Atticus say most people are like when you finally see them? What does Sheriff Tate say had happened to Bob Ewell? How did Bob Ewell really die? They are nice He fell on his own knife He was stabbed and killed by Boo Radley 6
What does Boo say to Scout? Why does Scout walk Arthur to his home? Will you take me home? Because he asked her to do so He s the type of person who does unpleasant work for others. Atticus says every mob in every little Southern town is made up of whom? Atticus Finch People What does Atticus say most people are like when you finally see them? They are nice 7