12/9/2013
To Kill a
Mockingbird
Chapters 23-31 study guide
What is Atticus’ response when
Bob Ewell asks him if he’s too
proud to fight?
No, too old
What of Bob Ewell’s does
Atticus say he destroyed at the
trial?
Atticus says he destroyed his last shred of
credibility
Why, according to Atticus,
can’t Southern juries be fair if
they tried?
Because in Southern courts, when it’s a white
man’s word against a black man’s, the white
man always wins
What does Aunt Alexandra call
Walter Cunningham that angers
Scout? And why won’t Alexandra
allow Scout to play with Walter?
Atticus says one type of person
is trash. Who is this and why?
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
How do Atticus’ and Aunt
Alexandra’s opinions differ when
it comes to what kind of people
are trash?
As for Atticus, he believes that anyone – no
She calls him trash
Because Walter’s family is not of the same
social status as the Finches
The jury was made up of white
men from outside Maycomb.
What groups are missing from
the jury?
matter their social status – is trash if he cheats
a black man
The jury includes no women, no black men
and no residents of Maycomb
How is Scout dressed for the
missionary society’s meeting, and
how does she feel while in the
presence of the ladies?
In her Sunday dress, shoes and petticoat
She’s nervous; she feels out of place
As for Alexandra, she believes that anyone
who is not of the Finches’ social status is trash
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12/9/2013
Why does Scout prefer the
company of men over women?
Because, she believes, men aren’t hypocrites
Atticus interrupts the meeting
to tell Alexandra and Maudie
what?
That Tom Robinson is dead
How did Tom Robinson die?
He was shot 17 times while trying to climb
over the prison fence
Why does Jem order Scout not
to kill the roly-poly?
Because the roly-poly doesn’t hurt anything
(this reinforces the Mockingbird theme)
To what does Mr. Underwood
compare Tom Robinson, and
how does this relate to one of
the book’s major themes?
He compares Tom’s death to the senseless
slaughter of a songbird
What current event does Cecil
Jacobs discuss?
Adolf Hitler and Germany’s persecution of
the Jews
He was a cripple, and innocent, and he was
only trying to help Mayella, yet he died
through no fault of his own
How does Scout define
democracy?
“Equal rights for all, special privileges for
none”
What had Scout heard Miss Gates
say on the courthouse steps? Why
are the comments she made in the
classroom about Hitler ironic?
That the trial had taught the blacks a lesson, that
they were getting way above themselves and next
they’ll think they can marry white people
What does Link Deas threaten
to do to Bob Ewell?
Have him arrested if he bothers Helen
Robinson again
Because Miss Gates believes it is wrong for Hitler
to persecute the Jews, yet she sees nothing wrong
with persecuting Southern blacks
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12/9/2013
Why does Atticus say Mr.
Ewell harbors a grudge?
He says Bob Ewell thought he’d be a hero, but
instead, nobody believed his and Mayella’s
story
What happens to Scout at the
pageant that embarrasses Mrs.
Merriweather?
What is Scout’s costume for the
pageant? And on what night of
the year is the pageant?
A ham
Cecil Jacobs
Halloween night
What does Aunt Alexandra
bring to Scout to put on after
getting her out of the ham
costume?
She falls asleep inside her costume and forgets
to come out on stage when she is cued
Who frightens the children on
the way to the auditorium?
What injury does Jem suffer in
the attack?
A broken arm
Her overalls, because she knows it will comfort
her. Normally, Alexandra would insist she
dress more like a lady
Who does Sheriff Tate find has
been killed in the struggle, and
how did he die?
Bob Ewell
He was stabbed in the chest
Who brings Jem into the
house?
Boo Radley
What is Mr. Tate’s response to
Atticus’ comment that he
couldn’t conceive of a man like
Bob Ewell, and why can’t he
conceive of a person like that?
Heck Tate says Bob Ewell was the kind of man
who wasn’t worth the bullet it took to shoot him.
Atticus can’t conceive of a man like this because
he believes everyone has something good about
them
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12/9/2013
What does Sheriff Tate say had
happened to Bob Ewell? How
did Bob Ewell really die?
He fell on his own knife
Whom is Mr. Tate referring to
when he gets angry with
Atticus and says, “I’m not
thinking of Jem”?
Boo Radley
He was stabbed and killed by Boo Radley
Why does Sheriff Tate say Bob
Ewell’s death happened the
way it did?
He knows Boo won’t be able to handle the
publicity that will surely come his way if word
gets out that he saved the Finch children by
killing Bob Ewell
In a sense, it would be like killing a
mockingbird
For what does Atticus thank
Boo?
For his children
What does Boo say to Scout?
“Will you take me home?”
Why does Scout walk Arthur
to his home?
Because he asked her to do so
What makes Scout sad in
thinking back on all the gifts
Boo had given to him?
Because they had given him nothing in return
Why does Scout ask Boo to
take her arm?
So if Miss Stephanie Crawford is looking out
her window, she’ll see a gentleman escorting a
lady
What does Atticus say most
people are like when you
finally see them?
They are nice
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