CREATIVE WRITING
PROMPTS
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD BY LEE HARPER
LANGUAGE
Language is a powerful tool in this novel. The language of the children, the eloquence of
Atticus, and the language of the townspeople reflect their attitudes and often their
prejudices. This language reveals the power of words to establish what (and who) society
values most. Language choice and style have the power to confer status and value, to
elevate, and to wound. Notice the importance attributed to names and titles in the novel.
How does the way the characters in the novel address or nickname the people below
reveal status, entitlement, and power?
1. What lessons does Atticus attempt to teach Scout about the use of racial slurs to refer
to Tom Robinson and other African Americans in the novel?
2. Harper Lee attempts to portray several kinds of dialect in the novel; such as, the
language of the poor whites, poor Blacks, small children, genteel Southern ladies, an
educated lawyer, and others. Did her renderings of these different dialects strike you as
realistic? If not, which language styles seemed to be less credible?
3. What lesson about language does Calpurnia try to teach to Scout when Calpurnia says
that she has one way of talking at home and another way of talking at the Finch
household? Do you agree that people often communicate differently in different
environments rather than having only a single language style? Why?
CREATIVE WRITING WITH IMAGERY
• Imagery draws readers in and kick-starts their imaginations through word choice. Imagery means giving
descriptive details and figures of speech that allow the reader to imagine with their senses. See Lee’s
description of Mrs Dubose:
• “She was horrible. Her face was the color of a dirty pillowcase, and the corners of her mouth glistened with wet,
which inched like a glacier down the deep grooves enclosing her chin. Old-age liver spot dotted her cheeks, and
her pale eyes had black pinpoint pupils. Her hands were knobby, and the cuticles were grown up over her
fingernails. Her bottom plate was not in, and her upper lip protruded; from time to time she would draw her
nether lip to her upper plate and carry her chin with it.This made the wet move faster.”
• Demonstrate imagery by creating an original example and providing analysis.Your example of imagery
can take one of several forms: a short story, an excerpt from an imagined narrative, a poem, or an indepth description of a person, place, or event (descriptive essay).
Word choice terms:
• Figurative language: metaphor, personification, simile, hyperbole, understatement, idiom, etc.
• Connotations: the feelings and thoughts associated with particular words.
• Imagery: helping readers imagine with their five senses
• Allusions: references to or use of source materials
• Sound devices: rhythm, rhyme, onomatopoeia, etc.
• Sense of time and place: dialogue, dialect, allusions, and references
• Tone: the narrator’s attitude toward the subject
• Mood: how the words create feelings in the reader
WRITING DIALOGUE
• Harper Lee is a master of writing dialogue. The way her characters express themselves
makes their personalities and motivations come to life. The dialect they use creates a
sense of time and place.
• Write an original narrative that includes dialogue.Your story could be from your own life
or pure imagination. Remember that dialogue is the focus.
POINT OF VIEW SHIFT
• Lee chooses the point of view in To Kill a Mockingbird carefully. An adult Jean Louise Finch
looks back on her childhood. Through her memories we experience the events with the
eyes a child. Sometimes the point of view is childish and sometimes the adult point of
view comes through.
• Rewrite one chapter or event from the novel from a different point of view.You may
choose a first-person narrator or a third-person narrator. Make sure to establish and
maintain the point of view. Follow your re-write with an explanation of how the point of
view shift changes the telling.
FORESHADOWING IN TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
• Lee creates feelings of tension and suspense in To Kill a Mockingbird. For example, think about how the
writing puts the reader on edge leading up to the attack on the children.
• One way that Lee creates tension and suspense is through foreshadowing, clues about what may
happen. Write an essay analyzing Lee’s use of foreshadowing and include textual evidence in your
explanation.
• Choose an example to analyze:
• The kids’ mission to the Radley House
• Waiting for the verdict of the trial
• Atticus shooting Tim Johnson
• Bob Ewell’s attack on Scout and Jem
Types of foreshadowing:
• Concrete foreshadowing: A material item is shown so that the reader or viewer will remember it for later
(e.g., the kitchen knives shown early in the horror film).
• Word choice: The author might clue you in to what type of story this is through word choice. (Why did the
author describe the ocean as blood red instead of wine red?)
• Direct foreshadowing: A knowledgeable source tells you exactly what is going to happen.
• Flashback / flash forward:The author interrupts the timeline to inform the reader.
• Symbolism: Imagine a gangster movie that starts with a bunch of rats killing each other in an alley; they all
die. The filmmaker started this way to give you a clue.
• Red Herring: A red herring is misleading foreshadowing. The author wants you to guess wrongly. Many
readers think that these fishy clues stink.
FORESHADOWING IN CREATIVE WRITING
• Lee creates feelings of tension and suspense in To Kill a Mockingbird. Think about how the
writing puts the reader on edge leading up to the attack on the children. One way that
Lee creates tension and suspense is through foreshadowing, clues about what may
happen.
• Write an original narrative that includes at least two types of foreshadowing. The
foreshadowing should help build a sense of anticipation, suspense, or mystery.
LEE’S STYLE (WORD CHOICE)
• How does an author make language powerful and engaging? Lee chooses her words
carefully to create emotions and sensations. The imagery she creates makes a memorable
impression on many readers.
• Write an essay analyzing Lee’s style, especially her word choice.You will be graded on
how well you explain elements of word choice, support your ideas with specific details,
and include an effective conclusion.
• Identify key elements of Lee’s word choice and how she uses them.
• Dialogue and dialect (how the characters talk)
• Figurative language (idioms, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, analogy, etc.)
• Word connotations (the thoughts or feelings of specific words and phrases)
• Imagery / sensory details (the five senses help the reader imagine)
• Tone (the narrator’s attitude toward the subject – including the level of formality)
• Mood (how the words create feelings in the reader)
• Sentence styles (e.g., short and direct or long and flowing)
• Sound devices (rhythm, rhyme, onomatopoeia, etc.)
• Allusions and references (mentioning well-known ideas, texts, or examples)
HYPOCRISY IN MAYCOMB: POINT OF VIEW AND
IRONY
• Harper Lee uses Scout’s point of view to show the ironies of Maycomb. Through her eyes we
see how hypocritical people can be.
• Irony: When the reality is the opposite of what is expected or appropriate.
• Hypocrisy: When the behavior of a person or group is contrary to their supposed or stated
principles.
• Use examples of irony in To Kill a Mockingbird to explain how Lee uses the different points of
view to express a message (theme). (Whenever someone is hypocritical it is ironic.) Choose
three or more examples to examine the irony, the points of view, and the message.
Choose examples that you might write about in your essay body:
• The celebration of Africa (Egypt) in a segregated, all-white school.
• The justice system (that does not care about justice)
• The teacher who disapproves of reading at home
• The Missionary Society (that supports oppression in their own community)
• White people feeling threatened after the trial
• Dill the clown (who laughs at the audience)
• Atticus’ reelection (despite popular disapproval)
• The whispering lynch mob (It’s rude to annoy the man you are about to kill.)
• The thoughtful juror (The man who defends Tom was in the lynch mob.)
• Treatment of the Ewells (respected in court but not in life)
• Criticism of racism in Europe (Scout learns about Nazi Germany)
• Atticus the sexist
• Dolphus Raymond (the drunk who doesn’t drink)
• The supposed psychopath (Boo) is one of the kindest people.
STEREOTYPES
• Many of the characters in the novel are depicted by the author as classifying each other
according to rigid categories. They hold stereotypes about how individuals will behave as
a result of their age, gender, race, social status, and other fixed categories.
• Which characters are the victims of stereotyping? Do any of them break through the
behaviour expected of them, showing individuality and exposing the falseness of narrowly
labelling people?
Write your own description of a character stereotype.
‘FLAT’ AND ‘ROUND’ CHARACTERS
• Literary characters are considered to be "flat" when they are presented by the author as onesided and unchanging, behaving in ways that are predictable.
• Characters are considered "round" when they are depicted as having greater complexity and
depth, some weaknesses and some strengths, and a wide range of human emotions.
• Which characters in the Harper Lee novel struck you as being more "flat" or more "round"?
Why might an author create flat characters in a given work? Are the minor characters in To
Kill A Mockingbird - e.g. Miss Maudie, Calpurnia, Aunt Alexandra, Miss Fisher (the
schoolteacher), Nathan Radley, Mrs. Dubose, Mr. Cunningham, Sheriff Tate, and others - one
dimensional, or do some have "round" qualities?
Experiment writ writing ‘fat’ and ‘round’ characters, keeping in mind that both serve a purpose
and effect.
SYMBOLISM
• Certain objects take on symbolic value in the TKM. That is, an object is used by the author as
apart of the setting or narrative, yet that object points to or represents something outside
itself. Of course, a central symbol is the mockingbird, described by Miss Maudie as a creature
that should never be killed because it is harmless and even provides song for the enjoyment
of others. Both Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are basically blameless individuals who are at
the mercy of society, yet society is cruel to Boo, and ultimately Tom is murdered. The symbol
of the mockingbird also points to Scout, both as an innocent child and as the grown-up
narrator, who "sings a song" in telling the story.
• Write a descriptive piece of writing where an object functions as a symbol holding significant
meaning.