GROUP EXPORATION OF THEMES IN
To Kill a Mockingbird
Theme: Stereotypes
1. What is a stereotype?
2. How does a stereotype develop?
3. Why are stereotypes accepted?
4. Are stereotypes harmful? Explain? Is there ever an exception to this? What is it?
5. Explain a situation with which you are familiar that involved stereotyping.
6. How is this theme explored in To Kill a Mockingbird?
GROUP EXPORATION OF THEMES IN
To Kill a Mockingbird
Theme: Social Class
1. Identify the main social classes in our society today.
2. How easy is it for people to move from one social class to another? Explain.
3. Explain how people are judged based on their social class.
4. Would a society of uniform social class be preferable to the diverse classes we have
today? Why or why not?
5. How is this theme explored in To Kill a Mockingbird?
GROUP EXPORATION OF THEMES IN
To Kill a Mockingbird
Theme: Courage
1. As a group, write a definition of “courage” without using a dictionary.
2. Identify different kinds of courage. You may use examples to support your ideas.
3. Is courage a personality trait or a reaction to particular situations? Explain.
4. Identify four historical and/or contemporary people that you believe exemplify courage.
Explain why you believe each was/is courageous.
5. How is this theme explored in To Kill a Mockingbird?
GROUP EXPORATION OF THEMES IN
To Kill a Mockingbird
Theme: Education of Children
1. What is the function of formal public education?
2. Aside from school, who and what are instrumental in the education of children?
3. Identify five of the biggest life lessons that children learn as they mature.
4. At what age to children reach maturity in:
a. the eyes of the law
b. the eyes of their parents
c. their own eyes
5. How is this theme explored in To Kill a Mockingbird?
GROUP EXPORATION OF THEMES IN
To Kill a Mockingbird
Theme: Morality – the battle between good and evil
1. Are the notions of good and evil universal absolutes or does personal discretion play a
role? Explain with examples.
2. Are we born with a sense of morality (right from wrong) or is it something we learn?
Explain.
3. What factors contribute to our morality as we are growing up? Rank them in order of
importance.
4. Identify two great “evils” in our society and two great “goods”.
5. How is this theme explored in To Kill a Mockingbird?
GROUP EXPORATION OF THEMES IN
To Kill a Mockingbird
Theme: Prejudice
1. As a group, write a definition of prejudice without using a dictionary.
2. Using your knowledge of history and current events, cite examples of mass prejudice.
3. Why does prejudice exist? What motivates it?
4. Explain examples of prejudice that you are familiar with personally.
5. What effect does prejudice have on both the perpetrator and the victim?
6. How is this theme explored in To Kill a Mockingbird?