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READING COMPREHENSION: To Kill a Mockingbird (Arakin, Unit 2)
Task 1: Read the biography of Harper Lee and complete it with the words from the list below. You don’t have to
change the form of the words.
PURSUED, IMPART, TESTIMONY, PROPRIETOR, LAWYER, TOMBOY, FRUGAL, CASE,
REVISING, DEFENDANTS, PAROLED, GUILTY, CONVICTIONS, TRIALS, SENTENCED
Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926, to Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee. Harper
Lee grew up in the small southwestern Alabama town of Monroeville. Her father, a former newspaper editor and (1)
…, was a lawyer who also served on the state legislature (1926-38). As a child, Lee was a (2) … and a precocious
reader and enjoyed the friendship of her schoolmate and neighbor, the young Truman Capote, who provided the
basis of the character of Dill in her novel, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’.
Lee was only five years old in when the first (3) …began in April 1931 in the small Alabama town of Scottsboro
surrounding the purported rapes of two white women by nine young black men. The (4) …, who were nearly
lynched before being brought to court, were not provided with the services of a (5) … until the first day of trial.
Despite medical (6) … that the women had not been raped, the all-white jury found the men (7) … of the crime and
(8) … all but the youngest, a twelve-year-old, to death. Six years of subsequent trials saw most of these (9) …
repealed and all but one of the men freed or (10) …. The Scottsboro (11) … left a deep impression on the young
Lee, who would use it later as the rough basis for the events in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’.
Lee studied first at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama (1944-45), then (12) … a law degree at the
University of Alabama (1945-49), including one year abroad at Oxford University, England. She worked as a
reservation clerk for Eastern Airlines in New York City until the late 50s, when she resolved to devote herself to
writing. Lee lived a (13) … lifestyle, traveling between her cold-water apartment in New York to her family home
in Alabama to care for her ailing father. She worked in Holcombe, Kansas, as a research assistant for Truman
Capote's novel ‘In Cold Blood’ in 1959.
Lee published her first and only novel, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, in 1960, after a two-year period of (14) … and
rewriting under the guidance of her editor, Tay Hohoff, of the J. B. Lippincott Company. To Kill a Mockingbird
won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize, despite mixed critical reviews. The novel was highly popular, selling more than fifteen
million copies. Though she delved into her own experiences as a child in Monroeville, Lee intended for the book to
(15) … the sense of any small Deep South town and the universal characteristics of people everywhere. The book
was made into a successful movie in 1962, starring Gregory Peck as Atticus. It won three Oscars: for Best Direction,
Set Decoration, and Actor.
Lee was named to the National Council of Arts in June of 1966 by President Johnson, and has received numerous
honorary doctorates since then. She continues to live in New York and Monroeville but prefers to live a relatively
private existence, granting few interviews or and giving few speeches. She has published only a few short essays
since her publishing debut ("Love--In Other Words" in Vogue, 1961; "Christmas to Me" in McCalls, 1961; and
"When Children Discover America" in McCalls, 1965).
Task 2: Read the short summary of the novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and fill in the gaps with the appropriate
prepositions, particles or adverbs.
The story … ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ takes place … Alabama…the Depression, and is narrated… the main
character, a little girl named Scout Finch. Her father, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer … high moral standards. She and her
brother, Jem, and their friend Dill are intrigued … the local rumors …a man named Boo Radley who lives… their
neighborhood but never sets foot … his house. Legend has it that he once stabbed his father … the leg … a pair …
scissors, and he is made… to be a kind … monster. Dill is … Mississippi but spends his summer … Maycomb … a
house near the Finches.
The children are curious to know more … Boo, and create a mini-drama to enact which tells the events … his life as
they know them. They slowly begin moving closer … the house itself, which is said to be haunted. They try leaving
notes… Boo …his windowsill, but are caught … Atticus, who firmly reprimands them. Then they try sneaking …
the house … night and looking … its windows. However, Boo's brother, Nathan Radley, who lives … him, thinks he
hears a prowler and begins firing his gun. The children get …, though Jem loses his pants … a gate. When he
returns, his ripped pants have been folded and roughly sewn ….
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Other mysterious things happen … the Finch children. A certain tree near the Radley house has a hole … which
little presents are often left… them, such as pennies and chewing gum. When they leave a note… the giver … these
gifts, Boo's brother plugs… the hole the next day …cement. The next winter brings unexpected cold and snows, and
the house… the kind neighbor Miss Maudie catches … fire. While Jem and Scout, shivering, watch the blaze… near
the Radley house, someone puts a blanket … Scout. She doesn't realize until afterwards that Boo Radley must have
been the one to do this.
Atticus decides to take … a case involving a black man named Tom Robinson who has been accused … raping a
very poor white girl named Mayella Ewell, a member …the notorious Ewell family, who belong … the layer of
Maycomb society that people refer … as "trash." The Finches all face harsh criticism … racist Maycomb because …
Atticus's decision to defend Tom, but Atticus insists … going through… the case because his conscience could not
let him do otherwise. He knows that Tom has almost no chance, because the white jury will never believe his story,
but he wants to reveal the truth of what happened …his fellow townspeople as well as expose their bigotry.
Scout and Jem find themselves whispered …and taunted, and they have trouble keeping their tempers. …a family
Chirstmas gathering, Scout beats… her cloying relative Francis when he accuses Atticus… ruining the family name.
Jem cuts… the tops… an old neighbor's flower bushes… she derides Atticus, and then as punishment he has to read
… loud …her every day while she breaks her morphine addiction. Atticus holds this old woman …. as an example
… true courage: the will to keep fighting even when you know you can't win.
The time… the trial draws closer, and Atticus's sister Alexandra comes to stay … the family. She is proper and oldfashioned and wants to shape Scout …the model … the Southern feminine ideal, much … Scout's resentment. Dill
runs away …his home, where his mother and new father don't seem interested… him, and stays … Maycomb … the
summer …Tom's trial. The night … the trial, Tom is moved …the county jail, and Atticus, fearing a possible
lynching, stands guard outside the jail door all night. Jem is concerned …him, and the three children sneak … town
to find him. A group … men arrives ready to cause some violence… Tom, but Scout runs … and begins to speak …
one of the men, the father …one …her classmates …school. Her innocence brings them … … their mob mentality,
and they leave.
The trial pits the evidence …the white Ewells …Tom's evidence. According… the Ewells, Mayella asked Tom to do
some work … her while her father was …, and Tom came … their house and forcibly beat and raped Mayella until
her father appeared and scared him …. Tom says that Mayella invited him inside, then threw her arms around him
and began to kiss him. When her father arrived, he flew… a rage and beat her, while Tom ran away … fright.
According … the sheriff's testimony, Mayella's bruises were … the right side… her face. Tom Robinson's left arm is
useless due … an old accident, whereas Mr. Ewell leads … his left. Given the evidence, Tom should go free, but
after hours … deliberation, the jury pronounces him guilty.
Though the verdict is unfortunate, Atticus feels some satisfaction that the jury took so long deciding: usually the
decision would be made …minutes, because a black man's word would not be trusted. Atticus is hoping … an
appeal, but unfortunately Tom tries to escape … his prison and is shot … death. Jem has trouble handling the results
… the trial, feeling that his trust… the goodness and rationality …humanity has been betrayed.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ewell has been threatening Atticus and other people connected … the trial because he feels he was
humiliated. He gets his revenge one night while Jem and Scout are walking home … Halloween play ... their school.
He follows them home … the dark, then runs …them and attempts to kill them. Jem breaks his arm, and Scout, who
wearing a confining costume, is helpless… the attack. However, the elusive Boo Radley stabs Mr. Ewell and saves
them. Scout finally has a chance to meet the shy and nervous Boo. The sheriff declares that Mr. Ewell fell … his
own knife so that Boo won't have to be tried …murder. Scout walks Boo home. He goes inside and she never sees
him again.
Task 3: Read the excerpt from the novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ (Arakin Un.2) and provide the English
equivalents for the following Russian words and phrases.
1.
получить единодушное признание критики
2.
получить награду, приз
3.
экранизация романа
4.
быть потрясенным ч.л. (=расстраивать, приводить в волнение)
5.
обвинение в нападении (! to make an assault on a policeman; to assault smb’s religious feelings; assault
and battery)
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6.
обвиняться в изнасиловании
7.
получить должное (=справедливое) обращение
8.
негодование, возмущение, обида
9.
быть на середине речи (!half-way measures, to meet smb. half-way)
10.
подкрепляющие улики (=свидетельства)
11.
обвиняться в преступлении, карающемся смертной казнью
12.
говорить беспристрастно (или отчужденно)
13.
на людях и наедине
14.
совершенно голый
15.
потерять свою сухость и отчужденность
16.
использовать оставшееся время для того, чтобы ...
17.
не требуется тщательного разбора запутанных фактов
18.
(ответчик или) подсудимый (=обвиняемый)
19.
судебное дело (!the case will be heard in court/tried tomorrow; When does the case come to trial/come
before the court?)
20.
не предоставить никаких медицинских свидетельств
21.
полагаться на показания двух свидетелей (!to produce testimony to/of one’s statement; to call smb. in
testimony; to give/bear testimony to smth.)
22.
быть поставленным под сомнение
23.
перекрестный допрос
24.
полностью противоречить
25.
рисковать жизнью человека (=поставить на карту, под угрозу)
26.
быть затравленным к.л.
27.
настойчиво продолжать делать ч.л.
28.
когда-нибудь
29.
чудовищность проступка (правонарушения) (BrE – offense; AmE – offence)
30.
свидетельствовать касательно ч.л. (!to testify against smb./for, in favour of smb.; to testify
on/upon/under oath that …)
31.
косвенные улики
32.
быть зверски избитым к.л.
33.
упорный, настойчивый (!to preserve in/at/with one’s work or studies)
34.
при подобных обстоятельствах
35.
выступать против того, что утверждает к.л. другой
36.
подтверждать ордер
37.
дать клятву
38.
скромный, раболепный
39.
безрассудая смелость
40.
ч.л. поведение на месте для дачи свидетельсикх показаний
41.
следовать за к.л., предполагая что ...
42.
ширина ч.л. ума
43.
относиться к человеческой расе
44.
оставлять, покидать
45.
бросать ч.л. в к.л. (!rioters hurling stones at the police)
46.
переводить (в следующий класс) глупых и ленивых вместе с прилежными
47.
страдать от ужасных чувств неполноценности
48.
родиться более одаренным, чем большинство людей
49.
быть полностью уверенным в честности судов
50.
беспристрастно пересмотреть улики
51.
вернуть подсудимого в семью (!to restore one’s property; to be restored in one’s rank)
52.
спустить курок (!to trigger off war; violent movies are potential triggers for juvenile delinquency)
53.
осудить обвиняемого
54.
старшина присяжных
55.
подсчитывать голоса присяжных
56.
наносить удар ножом, заколоть (!to be stabbed to death)
57.
молоток председателя собрания, судьи или аукциониста (!to bang/rap the gavel on the table)
58.
сделать ч.л. с неохотой
[SYN.] to be charged with a crime; to be indicted for smth./on charges of …; to be accused of smth.
[ANT.] to be convicted of a crime – to acquit smb. of a crime
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VOCABULARY REINFORCEMENT
Task 1: Fill in the gaps in the sentences below with the appropriate words from the box.
UNANIMOUS
MITIGATING
TO CROSS-EXAMINE
IOTA
TO CONFER
TEMERITY
WARRANT
TO HURL
ACCLAIM
ARID
SAVAGE
INTEGRITY
TO ROCK
TESTIMONY
TO CORROBORATE
TO PAROLE
ASSAULT
MINUTE
EVIDENCE
TO PURPORT
AILMENT
TOMBOY
FRUGAL
TO REPEAL
1. It won’t make an ………of difference. / And, as far as she could see, he hadn't changed one ………! /
We have heard not one ……… of evidence the suspect may have in this case.
2. It was decided by a …… vote that the school should close. / Parents have been ……….. in supporting
the after-school program.
3. Mythology usually relates that those who dare to challenge the gods pay a stiff price for their ……….. /
He was not hurt, so much as indignant that a woman he was beating should have the …… to fight back.
4. Judges often give reduced sentences where there are ……… circumstances/factors.
5. Patients who often complain of minor ……… might have something more important on their minds.
6. An honorary degree was ……. on him by the University. / It gave Becton the title of chief executive
officer and ………. extraordinary powers upon him.
7. Jenny, the ……….., still felt awkward wearing a dress, and so she wore jodhpurs most of the time.
8. He was convicted of adultery and indecent ………./ Only a successful ….. on the rebel's headquarters
could have ended the civil war. / She served three years in prison for domestic ……..and battery.
9. As children we were taught to be …… and hard-working. / He was very ……, and would often use a
tea bag three or four times over. / Hidden hotel costs can be a source of frustration to the …… traveler.
10. Congress ….. the ban on women flying Naval combat missions. / No special procedures are required
for amending or ……. such laws./ The draconian Special Powers Act was never …….. despite the
election promises.
11. Her writing's so …….. that it's difficult to read. / Police found ……. traces of blood on the car seats. /
All the historical evidence has been examined in …… detail.
12. Paul sat gently …… the child in his arms. / Jim ….. with laughter when he heard what had happened.
13. The young singer is enjoying critical ……….. / Their recordings have won great ……….
14. Two undercover officers …….. to be dealers infiltrated the gang. / The document is ……… to be 300
years old.
15. Much of Namibia is ……… country and only fit for raising goats. / My mind was …….., all
inspiration gone.
16. Rooney brought dignity and ………. to the profession. / She is a woman of ………… who has never
abandoned her principles for the sake of making money.
17. The grand jury today heard ……… from numerous witnesses. / Barker's ………. is crucial to the
prosecution's case.
18. The magistrate issued a …… for his arrest. / You don't have to let the police in unless they have a
search ……….. / By indulging in casual sex, many teenagers could be signing their own death ……...
19. Some demonstrators began ………. bricks at the police. / So saying he ………. his spear. / He was
accused of ………. abuse at the referee.
20. He was released on …….. after serving two years. / She will become eligible for ……… in 19
months.
21. The documents may be used in ……. at the trial. / He refused to give …… at the trial. /
Murrow's ………. was enough to convict Hayes of murder.
22. The first lawyer …………. the defendant for over three hours. / [He broke down under
cross-examination.]
23. A recent parenting study ……….. the benefits of such role reversal./ We now have new
evidence to ………… the defendant's story.
24. Daniels was found dead in his apartment, the victim of a ………. beating. / Police are
hunting the ……… killer of five men in South London.
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Task 2: Complete the phrases with the suitable prepositions (if necessary).
1. to make a smart job … smth.
2. I wouldn’t stake my life … it.
3. to find smb. guilty … drunken driving
4. to be suspected … embezzlement
5. the witness … the defense
6. to charge smb. … theft
7. to serve … a jury
8. to rule … an objection
9. to convict smb. … fraud
10. to be sentenced … be shot … a firing squad
11. the jury acquitted him …murder
12. to exonerate smb. …/ … any blame
13.to find fault … smb.
14. to send timber … exchange … oil
15. to trust … one’s memory
16. to accuse smb. …robbing the bank
17. to be calculated … effect
18. US Courts … Appeal
19. to appear … the dock
20. to try smb. … molestation
21. to entrust smb. … completing the
experiment
22. to put the man’s life … stake
23. to plead guilty … perjury
24. it happened … no fault of mine
25. to be promoted …be general/to be
promoted …general
26. The sergeant was demoted … soldier.
27. the attorney … the prosecution
28. to indict smb. … felony
29. she was acquitted … all the charges … her
30. to be sentenced … life imprisonment
Task 3: Make up collocations from the words on the left and on the right.
1.to run through the city stark
2. to get a square
3. to meet smb.
4. to be called into
5. to poll
6. to be stabbed
7. to be a potential trigger
8. to bang/rap the
9. to persevere in/at
10. circumstantial
11. not to testify
12. witnesses are required to take
13. the evidence was given under
14. the case will be
the oath
to death
for juvenile delinquency
heard/tried next week
gavel on the table
one’s work
against one’s spouse
naked
the jury
half-way
question
evidence
deal
oath
Unit TWO
TEXT
From TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
By Harper Lee
Harper Lee was born in 1926 in the state of Alabama. In 1945—1949 she studied law at the University of Alabama. “To Kill
a Mockingbird” is her first novel. It received almost unanimous critical acclaim and several awards, the Pulitzer Prize1 among
them (1961). A screen play adaptation of the novel was filmed in 1962.
This book is a magnificent, powerful novel in which the author paints a true and lively picture of a quiet Southern town in
Alabama rocked by a young girl’s accusation of criminal assault.
Tom Robinson, a Negro, who was charged with raping a white girl, old Bob Ewell’s daughter, could have a court-appointed
defence. When Judge Taylor appointed Atticus Finch, an experienced smart lawyer and a very clever man, he was sure that
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Atticus would do his best. At least Atticus was the only man in those parts who could keep a jury2 out so long in a case like that.
Atticus was eager to take up this case in spite of the threats of the Ku-Klux-Klan3.
He, too, was sure he would not win, because as he explained it to his son afterwards, “In our courts, when it is a white man’s
word against a black man’s, the white man always wins. The one place, where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color1* of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into the jury box. As you grow
older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it —
whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that
white man is trash...
There is nothing more sickening to me than a low-grade white man who’ll take advantage of a Negro’s ignorance. Don’t fool
yourselves — it’s all adding up and one of these days we’re going to pay the bill for it”.
Atticus’s son Jem aged thirteen and his daughter Jean Louise, nicknamed Scout, aged seven were present at the trial and it is
Jean Louise, who describes it...
Atticus was half-way through his speech to the jury. He had evidently pulled some papers
from his briefcase that rested beside his chair, because they were on his table. Tom Robinson
was toying with them.
“...absence of any corroborative evidence, this man was indicted on a capital charge and is
now on trial for his life...”
I punched Jem. “How long’s he been at it?”
“He’s just gone over the evidence,” Jem whispered... We looked down again. Atticus was
speaking easily, with the kind of detachment he used when he dictated a letter. He walked slowly
up and down in front of the jury, and the jury seemed to be attentive: their heads were up, and
they followed Atticus’s route with what seemed to be appreciation. I guess it was because
Atticus wasn’t a thunderer.
Atticus paused, then he did something he didn’t ordinarily do. He unhitched his watch and
chain and placed them on the table, saying, “With the court’s permission —”
Judge Taylor nodded, and then Atticus did something I never saw him do before or since, in
public or in private: he unbuttoned his vest, unbuttoned his collar, loosened his tie, and took off
his coat. He never loosened a scrap of his clothing until he undressed at bedtime, and to Jem and
me, this was the equivalent of him standing before us stark naked. We exchanged horrified
glances.
Atticus put his hands in his pockets, and as he returned to the jury, I saw his gold collar button
and the tips of his pen and pencil winking in the light.
“Gentlemen,” he said. Jem and I again looked at each other: Atticus might have said “Scout”.
His voice had lost its aridity, its detachment, and he was talking to the jury as if they were folks
on the post office corner.
“Gentlemen,” he was saying. “I shall be brief, but I would like to use my remaining time with
you to remind you that this case is not a difficult one, it requires no minute sifting of complicated
facts, but it does require you to be sure beyond all reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the
defendant. To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as
black and white.”
“The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence to the effect that the crime Tom
Robinson is charged with ever took place. It has relied instead upon the testimony of two
witnesses whose evidence has not only been called into serious question on cross-examination,
but has been flatly contradicted by the defendant. The defendant is not guilty, but somebody in
this court-room is.
1
*Please note that the American spelling is used throughout the text. However,
in the questions and exercises the British spelling is retained and it is recommended
that you continue to use this.
7
“I have nothing but pity in my heart for the chief witness for the state, but my pity does not
extend so far as to her putting a man’s life at stake, which she had done in an effort to get rid of
her own guilt.
“I say guilt, gentlemen, because it was guilt that motivated her. She has committed no crime,
she has merely broken a rigid and time-honored code of our society, a code so severe that
whoever breaks it is hounded from our midst as unfit to live with. She is the victim of cruel
poverty and ignorance, but I cannot pity her: she is white. She knew full well the enormity of her
offense, but because her desires were stronger than the code she was breaking, she persisted in
breaking it. She persisted, and her subsequent reaction is something that all of us have known at
one time or another. She did something every child has done — she tried to put the evidence of
her offense away from her. But in this case she was no child hiding stolen contraband: she struck
out at her victim — of necessity she must put him away from her — he must be removed from
her presence, from this world. She must destroy the evidence of her offense.
“What was the evidence of her offense? Tom Robinson, a human being. She must put Tom
Robinson away from her. Tom Robinson was her daily reminder of what she did. What did she
do? She tempted a Negro.
“She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is
unspeakable: she kissed a black man. Not an old Uncle, but a strong young Negro man. No code
mattered to her before she broke it, but it came crashing down on her afterwards.
“Her father saw it, and the defendant has testified as to his remarks. What did her father do?
We don’t know, but there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell was beaten
savagely by someone who led almost exclusively with his left. We do know in part what Mr.
Ewell did: he did what any God-fearing, persevering, respectable white man would do under the
circumstances — he swore out a warrant, no doubt signing it with his left hand, and Tom
Robinson now sits before you, having taken the oath with the only good hand he possesses — his
right hand.
“And so a quiet, respectable, humble Negro who had the unmitigated temerity to ‘feel sorry’
for a white woman has had to put his word against two white people’s. I need not remind you of
their appearance and conduct on the stand — you saw them for yourselves. The witnesses for the
state, with the exception of the sheriff of Maycomb County, have presented themselves to you,
gentlemen, to this court, in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted,
confident that you, gentlemen, would go along with them on the assumption — the evil
assumption — that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro
men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption one associates with minds of their
caliber.
“Which, gentlemen, we know is in itself a lie as black as Tom Robinson’s skin, a lie I do not
have to point out to you. You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some
Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women — black or white.
But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men. There is not a
person in this court-room who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and
there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman without desire.”
Atticus paused and took out his handkerchief. Then he took off his glasses and wiped them,
and we saw another “first”: we had never seen him sweat — he was one of those men whose
faces never perspired, but now it was shining tan.
“One more thing, gentlemen, before I quit. Thomas Jefferson4 once said that all men are
created equal, a phrase that the Yankees5 and the distaff side6 of the Executive branch in
Washington are fond of hurling at us. There is a tendency in this year of grace, 1935, for certain
people to use this phrase out of context, to satisfy all conditions. The most ridiculous example I
can think of is that the people who run public education promote the stupid and idle along with
the industrious — because all men are created equal, educators will gravely tell you, the children
left behind suffer terrible feelings of inferiority. We know all men are not created equal in the
sense some people would have us believe — some people are smarter than others, some people
8
have more opportunity because they’re born with it, some men make more money than others,
some ladies make better cakes than others — some people are born gifted beyond the normal
scope of most men.
“But there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal — there is one human
institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal of an
Einstein, and the ignorant man the equal of any college president. That institution, gentlemen, is
a court. It can be the Supreme Court of the United States or the humblest J.P.7 court in the land,
or this honorable court which you serve. Our courts have their faults, as does any human
institution, but in this country our courts are the great levellers, and in our courts all men are
created equal.
“I’m no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system.
Gentlemen, a court is no better than each man of you sitting before me on this jury. A court is
only as sound as its jury, and a jury is only as sound as the men who make it up. I am confident
that you, gentlemen, will review without passion the evidence you have heard, come to a
decision, and restore this defendant to his family. In the name of God, do your duty.”
Atticus’s voice had dropped, and as he turned away from the jury he said something I did not
catch. He said it more to himself than to the court. I punched Jem.
“What’d he say?”
“In the name of God, believe him, I think that’s what he said.”...
What happened after that had a dreamlike quality: in a dream I saw the jury return, moving
like underwater swimmers, and Judge Taylor’s voice came from far away and was tiny. I saw
something only a lawyer’s child could be expected to see, could be expected to watch for, and it
was like watching Atticus walk into the street, raise a rifle to his shoulder and pull the trigger,
but watching all the time knowing that the gun was empty.
A jury never looks at a defendant it has convicted, and when this jury came in, not one of
them looked at Tom Robinson. The foreman handed a piece of paper to Mr Tate who handed it
to the clerk who handed it to the judge. ...
I shut my eyes. Judge Taylor was polling the jury: “Guilty ... guilty ... guilty ... guilty ...” I
peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as
if each “guilty” was a separate stab between them.
Judge Taylor was saying something. His gavel was in his fist, but he wasn’t using it. Dimly, I
saw Atticus pushing papers from the table into his briefcase. He snapped it shut, went to the
court reporter and said something, nodded to Mr. Gilmer, and then went to Tom Robinson and
whispered something to him. Atticus put his hand on Tom’s shoulder as he whispered. Atticus
took his coat off the back of his chair and pulled it over his shoulder. Then he left the courtroom, but not by his usual exit. He must have wanted to go home the short way, because he
walked quickly down the middle aisle toward the south exit. I followed the top of his head as he
made his way to the door. He did not look up.
Someone was punching me, but I was reluctant to take my eyes from the people below us, and
from the image of Atticus’s lonely walk down the aisle.
“Miss Jean Louise?”
I looked around. They were standing. All around us and in the balcony on the opposite wall,
the Negroes were getting to their feet. Reverend Sykes’s voice was as distant as Judge Taylor’s:
“Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father’s passing.”
Commentary
1. Pulitzer Prize is a United States award for achievements in newspaper journalism, music
or literature. It was established in 1917 by New York world publisher Joseph Pulitzer (18471911). In the field of literature the prize is awarded each year for the books published last year.
In 1937, for example, the novel “Gone with the Wind” by M.Mitchel got the prize. In 1953 it
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was the novel written by E.Hemingway “The Old Man and the Sea”. In 2011 the prize was
awarded to Jennifer Egan for the novel “A Visit from the Goon Squad”.
2. Jury is a group of usually 12 people chosen to hear all the details of a case in a court of law
and to bring in a verdict of guilty or not guilty. You do not need any special skills or legal
knowledge to be a juror. No one is exempt because of his or her job, race, color, religion, sex,
national origin or economic status. But you are required to be at least 18 years of age to serve as
a juror. There are no maximum age limits for jury service.
3. Ku-Klux-Klan, often abbreviated as KKK, is the name of three distinct past and present
far-right organizations in the US which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as:
white supremacy, white nationalism and anti-immigration. The first Klan flourished in the South
in the 1860s and died out by the 1870s. Members of the organization adopted white costumes:
robes, masks and conical hats. The second KKK flourished nationwide in the early and mid
1920s. The third KKK emerged after World War II and was associated with opposing the civil
rights movement and progress among minorities. The symbol of KKK is a cross in a circle with
the “blood drop” in the center.
4. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was the third President of the USA. He drafted the
Declaration of Independence, which was adopted on July 4th, 1776. The former 13 English
Colonies had won their independence and set up their new United States Government. Thomas
Jefferson also founded the University of Virginia and served as president of the American
Philosophical Society. T.Jefferson is best remembered as a champion of human rights and the
lead draftsman of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson’s face appears on the US nickel
and the two-dollar bill.
5. Yankee originally meant “a native of New England”. During the Civil War, however, the
Southerners used it to refer, often derisively, to inhabitants of any Northern States. Nowadays the
term is used outside the US to refer to natives of the US. In the South of the USA, it is still used
to describe the Northerners in a negative way.
6. The distaff side is the female branch in a family as opposed to the male branch. In the text
‘ the distaff side’ means women members of the US government, the more sentimental and
moralistic part of the staff, who are fond of hurling the phrase “all men are created equal” in
order to be brought to the notice of the public.
7. The J.P. courts came to America from England. The courts arose from the struggle for
power between the King and the local sheriffs. The JP courts in most states have the jurisdiction
over minor civil claims as well as minor misdemeanor claims. Other powers assigned to a Justice
of the Peace include the ability to issue search warrants, arrest warrants. Justices of the Peace
also officiate weddings, handle traffic offences and hold inquests.
ORATOTICAL(-DECLAMATORY) STYLE (a judicial public monologue)
Most speeches of lawyers are based on three modes of proof, which were defined by
Aristotle over 2300 years ago, but they are still useful and determine the success of a speech
the purpose of which is to influence.
Emotional appeal ETHOS (этос,
моральная цель, идеал,
характер, дух)
LOGOS (логос, мировой разум)
PATHOS (пафос, страстное
воодушевление, эмоциональный
подъем)
Function: the jury needs to believe
the attorney before they will accept
the logos and pathosLogical appeal
Function: the attorney is to appeal to
the jury’s sense of rationality and
reasonableness (as supporting
material, the attorney uses verifiable,
consistent evidence that comes from
Function: the attorney should stir
emotions of the audience in order to
captivate attention, to motivate
action and to stimulate desire.
Without emotions the speech can be
3 major components: trust,
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intelligence, goodwill; additional
aspects: integrity=honesty,
competence, responsibility,
imagination, rationality (all these
qualities can boost the attorney’s
credibility in the minds of the jury
and enhance the logos and pathos in
their speech)
competent, unbiased sources and
that is based on adequate
assumptions)
as bland as Melba toast whereas with
an emotional appeal the presentation
can be a feast for the listener, so it
might be wise to provide emotional
underpinning to the argument.
Other features: (1) a large amount of parallelism on any level, so that the speech sounds more persuasive; (2)
the range of vocabulary is extremely wide (archaic words add the touch of formality; adverbial words and
preposition-like suffixes – hereon, hereto, hereunder, hereinafter, aforesaid – make the speech more precise)
Character List
Scout (Jean Louise Finch): The narrator and main character of the book who begins her story from the age of
nearly six. A rebellious tomboy, Scout has a fierce disposition toward any who challenge her, but at heart she
believes in the goodness in people and reacts to the terrible events of the book without losing hope.
Jem (Jeremy Finch): Scout's older brother, who is nearly ten at the beginning of the story. Jem is quieter and more
reserved than his sister, and has very high standards and expectations for people. When these expectations are not
met, he has a difficult time resolving his feelings.
Dill (Charles Baker Harris): A friend of the Finch children, a little older than Scout, who has an active
imagination and a sense for adventure. He initiates the first expeditions toward the Radley house, and is Scout's best
friend. His family life is less than ideal, and he tends to resort to escapism when confronted with difficult situations.
Atticus Finch: The father of Scout and Jem, Atticus is a lawyer and an extremely morally upright man who strives
to deal with everyone in the greatest fairness. Atticus has an inclination to be a little overly optimistic sometimes,
but his unshakable hope and his self-created role as the town do-gooder sustain him. His wife died when Scout was
a baby.
Boo Radley: A recluse who never emerges from his house. As a young boy, he was in trouble with the police, and
his strictly religious, also reclusive parents kept him inside. One day he stabbed his father with scissors, and has
never been heard of since. The town has created a myth around him of monstrous proportions. He lives with his
brother throughout much of the book.
Tom Robinson: A black man who stands falsely accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Atticus agrees to take up his
case, even though he knows it is probably a hopeless one, if only to show the white community its own moral
degeneracy.
Calpurnia: A black woman who works as the Finches' cook and housekeeper. She is one of the many motherly
figures in Scout's life. She can negotiate between the very separate black and white worlds of Maycomb.
Aunt Alexandra: Atticus's sister, who has strict, traditional ideas of how society works and the role for a Southern
woman within it, which she tries to enforce upon Scout. She is concerned with raising Atticus's children "properly,"
and thus shows up during the summer of Tom's trial to stay with them.
Maudie Atkinson: A kind, cheerful, and witty neighbor to the Finches and a trusted friend of Scout's, who also
upholds a strong moral code and helps the children gain perspective on the events surrounding the trial. She also
loves gardening.
Bob Ewell: An evil, ignorant man who belongs to the lowest substratum of Maycomb society, living with his nine
motherless children in a shack near the town dump. Evidence from the trial suggests that he caught his daughter
kissing Tom and proceeded to beat her. He drinks heavily and spends his relief checks on whiskey rather than food
for his family.
Mayella Ewell: The oldest of the many Ewell children, at nineteen. She lives a miserable and lonely existence,
despised by whites and prohibited from befriending blacks. However, she breaks the social taboo by trying to seduce
Tom, then reacts with cowardice by accusing him of rape and perjuring against him in court.
Heck Tate: Maycomb County's trusty sheriff, who is on the whole an honest and upstanding man.
Reverend Sykes: The reverend for the all-black congregation, First Purchase African M.E. church, where Scout and
Jem visit one day with Calpurnia.
Judge Taylor: The judge for Tom's trial; a good, sensible judge with a sense of humor.
Mr. Gilmer: The solicitor for the Ewells in Tom Robinson's case.
Mrs. Dubose: A mean, sick, very old woman who lives near the Finches. Her heroic attempt to conquer her
morphine addiction wins her Atticus's highest praises.
Walter Cunningham: A poor farmer who is among the "Sarum bunch," a crowd which assembles near the town
jail the night before Tom's trial in order to start a lynching. He is deeply moved by Scout's words, however, and
respects the Finches greatly afterwards.
Walter Cunningham (Jr.): Son of the other Walter, who attends first grade with Scout.
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Adolphus Raymond: A white man who chose to marry a black woman and have "mixed" children, and who
pretends to be a drunk so that the townspeople will have a way to explain his behavior.
Helen Robinson: Wife of Tom.
Uncle Jack: Atticus's brother, a doctor of whom the children are very fond.
Francis: One of Aunt Alexandra's grandchildren, who spends Christmas with the Finches and annoys Scout by
being both boring and cruel.