To Kill a Mockingbird
Study Guide/Oral Presentation Topics
1. What gothic elements are in the story? Why is the gothic used in this book? (Hints: Boo,
real events, the children’s imagination, architecture, insanity and sense of imprisonment.)
2. The importance of reading is used throughout the novel. What is said about reading?
What is said about education? How are they important?
3. Atticus is a good father—almost saint-like, while Bob Ewell (pronounced: “Yule”) is the
bad father. Compare and contrast them, and explain what the book is saying about parents
and families.
4. The gun is an important symbol in the book. What does it mean? How is violence and
killing viewed? Find excerpts of violence, and explain what the book is saying about
violence.
5. Name some urban legends. How is the story about Boo an urban legend? Where do urban
legends come from? Why do they originate? Why do we pass them on and retell them?
Are they like myths? How?
6. Find examples of ironic situations in the novel (ex. the missionary society). Name them
and explain how they are ironic.
7. What are the various social classes of people in the novel? How important is class in the
book?
8. Alienation and loneliness are themes in the novel. Explain and find examples. Harper Lee
said the main idea of the novel was love. Explain.
9. The mockingbird is a symbol in the novel. Find excerpts about the mockingbird. How is
the bird like Tom Robinson? What else could it symbolize? Could Boo be like the
mockingbird?
10. Racism is a major theme. Find examples of racism. What does the novel say about it?
11. The novel discusses what it means to be a lady. Give examples of what is expected of
Scout by Aunt Alexandra, the teacher, Uncle Jack, and others. What is a young lady?
Find examples. Who are Scout’s female role models?