To Kill a Mockingbird
CHAPTER 6
MAIN IDEA
Continuing their childhood game of trying to see Boo, Jem, Scout, and Dill sneak into the Radley’s back yard
and are almost caught.
1. Describe the effects of the description of the back of the Radley house. (Analyze Setting)
Description/Details
Effectiveness
Comparison to Neighbors
The back of the Radley house was less
inviting than the front: a ramshackle porch
ran the width of the house; there were two
doors and two dark windows between
the doors. Instead of a column, a rough
two-by-four supported one end of the roof.
An old Franklin stove sat in a corner of the
porch; above it a hat-rack mirror caught the
moon and shone eerily.
We spat ourselves dry, and Jem opened the
gate slowly, lifting it aside and resting it on
the fence. We were in the back yard.
We crept to the side of the house, around
to the window with the hanging shutter.
“Nothing. Curtains. There’s a little teeny
light way off somewhere, though.”
The description of the
house is effective in
its purpose of creating
suspense while the
children try to sneak a
look at Boo. It also
supports the mystery
that surrounds the
family and explains
why the children are
so interested in it.
The description of the
neighborhood creates a friendly
tone. They all know each other, chat
in the evenings on porch swings,
and make social calls on Sundays.
Miss Maudie’s house has lots of
flowers and she likes to talk with
the neighbors while she cares for
them. The Radley house has a
vegetable garden in the back and
Mrs. Radley has a few cannas
flowers. (My memory came alive to
see Mrs. Radley occasionally open
the front door, walk to the edge of
the porch and pour water on her
cannas. pg.11) The neighbors’
homes are well cared for and kept.
The Radley house is in disrepair.
2. Jem faces many conflicts in this chapter. What are the conflicts, and which conflict is the biggest in his
mind? Why? (Analyze Conflict)
- his sister is growing up and he doesn’t know what to think about it
- he has to protect his sister against the shadowed figure
- he is too big to fit under the fence; perhaps he is too old for playing the Boo game
- he has to face the neighbors in his underwear because they would suspect something about all of them if
they didn’t show up
- he has to make his sister mind him when he decides to go back and get his pants
- fear of disappointing Atticus
In his mind, the biggest conflict is disappointing Atticus. He has a deep respect for his father and does not
want his father to know what he has been up to. Instead of telling his father the truth, he goes along with
Dill’s lie and goes out in the middle of the night in order to retrieve his pants from the fence.
3. What literary devices build suspense in this chapter and the children’s desire to communicate with Boo?
1. There was a lady in the moon in Maycomb. She sat at a dresser combing her hair.
2. He sounded fishy to me.
3. We strolled silently down the sidewalk, listening to porch swings creaking with the weight of the
neighborhood, listening to the soft night-murmurs of the grown people on our street.
4. because Atticus would be so deep in a book he wouldn’t hear the Kingdom c oming
5. The back porch was bathed in moonlight, and the shadow, crisp as toast, moved across the porch
toward Jem.
6. The shadow stopped about a foot beyond Jem. Its arm came out from its side, dropped, and was
still. Then it turned and moved back across Jem, walked along the porch and off the side of the
house, returning as it had come.
7. In the glare from the streetlight, I could see Dill hatching one: his eyes widened, his fat cherub face
grew rounder.
8. “Sleep, Little Three-Eyes?”
To Kill a Mockingbird
CHAPTER 7
MAIN IDEA
When school starts back, Jem and Scout find treasures in a tree knot hole; however, the hole is filled by Mr.
Radley.
1. Scout takes the advice of her father at the beginning of the chapter. What is that advice, and what does it
reveal about her character that she follows it? (Character, Theme)
Atticus told her to climb into someone’s skin and walk around in it (we say walk in their shoes). It shows that
she is growing up and becoming more mature.
2. Who do you think fixed Jem’s pants? Provide 2 details from the text to support your answer. (Inference)
This is a guessing question. I will provide the details from the text, but there isn’t a definite correct answer.
“When I went back for my breeches—they were all in a tangle when I was gettin‘ out of ’em, I couldn’t get
‘em loose.
“When I went back, they were folded across the fence… like they were expectin’ me.”
They’d been sewed up. Not like a lady sewed ‘em, like somethin’ I’d try to do. All crooked. It’s almost like—”
“Like somebody was readin‘ my mind… like somebody could tell what I was gonna do. Can’t anybody tell what
I’m gonna do lest they know me, can they, Scout?”
Location: Radley place
Who was there? “Mr. Nathan Radley was standing inside his gate, a shotgun broken across his arm. Atticus
was standing beside Miss Maudie and Miss Stephanie Crawford. Miss Rachel and Mr. Avery were nearby.
None of them saw us come up.”
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3. Scout describes the settings in Alabama. What does she describe? What might a change in setting signify?
(Analyze Foreshadowing)
There are no clearly defined seasons in South Alabama; summer drifts into autumn, and autumn is sometimes
never followed by winter, but turns to a days old spring that melts into summer again. That fall was a long
one, hardly cool enough for a light jacket. Jem and I were trotting in our orbit one mild October afternoon
when our knot-hole stopped us again. Something white was inside this time.
4. What might the items Jem and Scout find in the tree symbolize? (Analyze Symbol)
Symbol
Deeper Meaning/Interpretation
ball of gray twine
Each of these items is something that a child would have and treasure. In an
earlier chapter, Scout found gum in the tree. In the beginning, these items
boy and girl carved from soap could have been left there and someone meant to come back and get them.
However, the boy and girl carvings are made with a lot of detail in their
tarnished medal (spelling)
similarity to Scout and Jem. Scout even says that the boy carving has a
a pocket watch that wouldn’t streak in the hair that even she has not noticed before. This means that
whoever is leaving these things intends for them to be found by Jem and
run, on a chain with an
Scout and has been watching them very carefully.
aluminum knife
5. Why do you think Mr. Radley filled the knothole with cement? Describe how his POV might affect his
actions. (Inference, Analyze POV)
This question asks why you think Mr. Radley filled the knothole and has more than one correct answer. Mr.
Nathan Radley is just as mysterious as his brother, Arthur (Boo) Radley. It is unclear if he is protecting Boo or
acting as his jailor. His reaction to children in his garden is to blast his shotgun, but he also climbs onto Miss
Maudie’s roof and helps save her possessions from the house fire. His POV is unclear – jailor or protector? You
have to infer.
6. How have Scout and Jem matured in their attitude toward Boo Radley? What does this say about their
character? (Analyze Character, POV)
Chapters 6-8 focus on the development of the Boo Radley theme. Secretly, Jem thinks that it might be Boo
hiding the things in the tree. The tree is in front of the Radley house, the items are things that would be found
in a home (not something bought), Scout heard someone laughing the day when she rolled in the tire to the
Radley house, and he found his pants mended and waiting for him. It all adds up. Although he is still interested
in Boo Radley, his interest has changed from fearful-legend hunting to curiosity for the unknown. Scout has
not put it together like Jem has. When Jem cries over the loss of the knothole, she doesn’t understand why he
is upset.
To Kill a Mockingbird
CHAPTER 8
MAIN IDEA
When Miss Maudie’s house catches on fire, the children see the neighbors coming together to help one
another – including Nathan Radley and Boo.
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1. How does the setting change in the beginning of the chapter? How does this change affect the
neighborhood?
For the first time in many years, it snows in Maycomb County. (The town is located in the South and it
doesn’t get cold enough for snow very often.) School is canceled due to the snow and the town moves even
slower than normal because most people walk from place to place.
2. What main conflict is faced in this chapter? What happens as a result of this conflict?
Main conflict: the fire at Miss Maudie’s
As a result:
- Boo covers Scout with a blanket without her seeing him
- Miss Maudie loses her home (but is still thankful)
- Nathan Radley gets on Miss Maudie’s roof in order to rescue some of her things
- Jem and Scout come clean to Atticus about the pretend Boo game and communication they have
had with Boo
3. Why do you think Boo “joined” the community that night? What was his purpose and what does it say
about his character? How might our views of his identity have changed? (Analyze Character, Motivation)
Boo has been watching Scout and Jem and sees that Scout is cold so he puts a blanket around her. His
purpose is not directly stated, but you can guess that he cares for the children and wants to protect them.
They have always had this sense of awe about him and now they are seeing him more as a normal person.
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