Lesson Title: Chapters Eleven through Fourteen: Who’s Got the Power?
Course and Grade: Sophomore English, 10th
Generalization: The main idea of this lesson is that there are many complex factors in power
relationships; some people have power over others due to the way society views and values things like race,
gender, social class, other people have power over others due to their specific relationship or by their
having things others don’t, like good health or literacy.
Learning Targets:
Facts: the different power relationships that exist between the characters in Chapters Eleven through
Fourteen; Jem now tells Scout he wants her to start acting like a proper girl (a reversal from his earlier
position); Scout cries when he says this to her; Scout flees to Calpurnia when Jem suggests she start acting
more like a girl; Scout begins to realize there is some ‘skill’ involved in being a ‘girl’ and she’s going to
consciously model herself after Calpurnia, who will ‘do’ until Dill gets there; Dill does not come that
summer because he claims he has a new father (who is also a lawyer) and they’re going to build a fishing
boat together; some parts of this may not be true (Dill probably does have a new father, but the rest is
suspect); Dill writes all this to Scout in a letter he sends her (along with a snapshot of his new father), a
letter that he concludes by saying he’ll love her forever and he’ll come and get here and they’ll get married
as soon as he has the money together; Scout is miserable that Dill isn’t coming; Atticus has to go to the
state legislature for two weeks; there is a cartoon in the Montgomery Advertiser that portrays Atticus
chained to a desk, writing, while frivolous-looking girls yell ‘Yoo-hoo!’ at him and he ignores them, and
that this cartoon is probably saying that Atticus is so involved in his work that he doesn’t have time for
girls and what’s wrong with him, anyway?; Jem insists to Scout that it’s a compliment showing that Atticus
does what no one else is willing to do, things that wouldn’t get done if no one did them; once while left
unattended in Sunday School the class (including Scout and Jem) tied a girl to a chair and left her in the
furnace room, playing ‘Shadrach’ from the Bible, and this incident makes Calpurnia not want to leave Jem
and Scout unsupervised at their church so she decides to bring them with her to her church, First Purchase;
First Purchase Church is named because it was the first thing the slaves purchased after they were free and
this implies that religion was/is very important to the African-Americans in the South; Lula objects to white
children going to their church, she accepts segregation as it has been imposed upon them (this is ironic);
Zeebo (Calpurnia’s grown son) and the other members of the congregation chastise Lula and tell Jem and
Scout they’re very welcome there and they are honored to have them as guests; Calpurnia gives Jem and
Scout change to put into the collection plate when it’s passed around; the members of the church cannot
afford hymnbooks and even if they could they could not read them, so they do linin’, which is where one
literate person (Zeebo, in this case) sings a line from a song from a hymnbook and then the rest of the
congregation sings that same line again back to him; according to Scout, even Reverend Sykes believes
(like all church men) that women are a sin by definition; Reverend Sykes actually names the people in the
congregation who are sinning (this is different than white church); a collection is taken up for Helen
Robinson and her children; when Reverend Sykes decides they have not raised enough money, he orders
the doors locked and begins calling people up by name until he decides they have raised enough, at which
point Jem and Scout also put in the money they’d set aside when Calpurnia had put in some change on their
behalf; when Calpurnia explains that people aren’t anxious to have anything to do with the family of Tom
Robinson because he’s been accused of raping the daughter of Mr. Ewell, Scout is puzzled that people
would be reluctant to hire Helen simply because the Ewells had accused her husband, Tom, of doing
something bad, because everyone ought to know what kind of people the Ewells are and so they should be
glad to hire her; when Scout asks Calpurnia what rape is, Calpurnia says Scout had better ask her father;
only about four folks in First Purchase can read, including Zeebo and Calpurnia; Scout now realizes that
Calpurnia is a full-grown woman with a grown son and her own life apart from her role in the Finch
household; Calpurnia grew up between the Buford place and Finch’s Landing and Scout’s grand-daddy
Finch (father to Atticus) gave her Blackstone’s Commentaries, out of which Miss Buford taught her to read
and that she used to teach her son Zeebo to read; it is implied that Calpurnia’s family may be descended
from slaves once owned by Simon Finch; due to Simon Finch’s ‘industry’ Atticus is related to nearly
everyone in Maycomb and may even be related to Calpurnia if Simon followed the trend of white male
slave-owners raping their female slaves; Calpurnia takes no offense when Scout uses ‘the n-word’ in her
presence; Calpurnia uses ‘proper English’ in the Finch household because it’s appropriate in that context,
and talks ‘black’ at her black church because it’s appropriate there and she wouldn’t want any of her black
friends to think she was putting on airs or trying to be better than them; Scout now wants to visit Calpurnia
at her house (she’s never expressed this desire before); at the end of the chapter Aunt Alexandra arrives;
Aunt Alexandra tries to raise Jem and Scout the way she thinks is ‘proper,’ and puts down the job that
Atticus and Calpurnia have been doing of raising them, insulting them and the children (who resent it); she
creates tension in the household; Atticus tolerates his sister’s attempts to change the way Jem and Scout are
being raised but only up to a point, when he tells his children to forget it; the rest of Maycomb is badmouthing Atticus in front of Jem and Scout and looking down on them because Atticus is defending Tom
Robinson; Scout asks again about the definition of the word ‘rape,’ and Atticus explains its definition to
her; Scout tells Atticus about how Scout and Jem went with Calpurnia to First Purchase, and while Atticus
is amused, Aunt Alexandra is horrified and embarrassed; when Scout asks Atticus if she can visit Calpurnia
at Calpurnia’s home, Aunt Alexandra says no; when Scout tells her aunt “I didn’t ask you!” Atticus
demands that Scout apologize to her aunt and makes it clear Scout will do whatever Atticus or Aunt
Alexandra tell her to do; Aunt Alexandra wants Atticus to fire Calpurnia and he refuses because they need
her and she is family; Scout feels that her aunt wants her to be more lady-like and Scout doesn’t want to be;
when Jem tells Scout not to antagonize their aunt or he’ll spank her and Scout attacks him so he won’t feel
so high-and-mighty over her; Atticus resolves their conflict, and Aunt Alexandra sees this fight as an
example of why Atticus is not being a strict enough father; Scout steps on Dill’s arm as she’s going to bed
and assumes it is a snake; Dill tells elaborate lies about how he got there and then tells them the truth: that
he took money from his mother’s purse and took the train; Jem tells Atticus that Dill is there and betrays
their childhood code of honor by doing so; Atticus makes some calls so that Dill can stay with them for the
summer; Atticus refers to the nation’s problem with soil erosion; Scout and Dill treat Jem coldly for his
having betrayed Dill; Miss Rachel lectures Dill about his having run away from home and causing
everyone to worry about him; Dill feels he is not wanted by his mother and stepfather because they are so
focused on each other; Dill tells Scout they should go get a baby from the foggy island where they are
grown (and Scout believes that God drops them down the chimney); Dill empathizes with Boo, believing
that Boo does not run away because he has nowhere to run off to; Dill has a family like the Finch family to
take him in while Boo has no one; Calpurnia and Dill are indeed members of the Finch family.
Materials: Lesson plan (with discussion questions), copies of the worksheet on quotation blending, cutout squares (which have names like ‘Mrs. Dubose,’ ‘Jessie,’ ‘Jem,’ ‘Scout,’ ‘Atticus,’ ‘morphine,’ ‘anger,’
‘Aunt Alexandra,’ ‘Calpurnia,’ ‘Lula,’ ‘Reverend Sykes,’ ‘Zeebo’), big squares of white poster or butcher
paper, copies of the book, list of groups projected on to the SmartBoard, pens and pencils, gluesticks.
Anticipatory Set: Have students respond to the quotation: “To be in someone else’s power is a conscious
experience which induces doubts about the ordering of the universe, while those who have power can
forget it, or can assume that it is part of the natural order of things and invent or adopt ideas which justify
their possession of it.” —Albert Hourani
Context and Purpose: “Today we’ll be looking at the dynamics of power between different characters in
Chapters Eleven through Fourteen, and if there is time, we’ll start to discuss those chapters.”
Instruction: Begin with the Power Map Exercise. Explain, “What I’d like you to do in your groups is to
create a Map of Power for Chapters Eleven through Fourteen, specifically. What you’ll do is arrange the
names on top of the poster/butcher paper. The Major Power, the person or thing that has power over
something else, will be where you have your arrow originate from. The pointy end of the arrow goes to
another name, the Minor Power, the person or thing over which power is being exerted. So for example,
you might have ‘Atticus Finch’ be the Major Power, and the arrow shoots out of it and into the Minor
Power, ‘Jem Finch.’ What I’d like you to write on the arrows themselves would be the reasons why the
Major Power has power over the Minor Power. Why does Atticus have power over Jem? You could write,
‘Father of,’ or ‘Bigger and stronger than,’ or, ‘Can ground him and take away privileges,’ or ‘Can send Jem
to bed without supper,’ or whatever it is that you think gives Atticus power over Jem. Now, could Jem also
have power over Atticus? Sure he could. To demonstrate that, you’d take another arrow and point it from
Jem’s circle into the circle marked ‘Atticus.’ And you’d write on that arrow why Jem has power over
Atticus. Two different people can have power over each other, for different reasons or at different times. It
is possible. You could also write whether the person who has the power is abusing that power or using it
for the other person’s good. For example, Atticus taught Scout how to read, which one could argue is still
him having power over her, but that he’s using it for her benefit. Make a note of things like that. So, what
I’d like for you to do once you’ve got your Power Maps all laid out, and your reasons written on the
arrows, is to glue everything in place. Then when everyone’s done, I’ll have a few volunteers come up to
the front of the class and explain their Power Maps. The whole thing, from the time you start to the time
we’re done presenting, should only take about fifteen minutes. After that, we’ll start to discuss Chapters
Twelve and Thirteen and Fourteen, which we’ll continue and finish with next time, at that point moving on
to discussing the next two chapters. Questions?”
In groups at desk-clusters, map out the power dynamics between the following characters and things:
Atticus, Jem, Scout, Aunt Alexandra, Jessie, Mrs. Dubose, anger, morphine, Zeebo, Calpurnia, Lula,
Reverend Sykes.
Using a thick arrow connecting one square (with a name or thing in it) to another, with the ‘arrow-head’
hitting the one over whom power is being exerted, represent who or what has power over what other person
or thing. If there are several shifts in power map out several arrows. Every square should be connected to
at least one other square, and several squares will be connected to more than two or three other squares.
Inside of each arrow, write how the Major Power (square from which arrow originates) exercises power
over the Minor Power (square ‘penetrated’ by the ‘arrow-head’) including any tools or skills (like literacy)
or identity advantages (whiteness in a racist society) they use. Note: the same square can be a Major Power
over other squares, and a Minor Power in relation to other squares. Have different groups paperclip their
results together (or tape them, or both) and carry the resulting Power Map up to the front of the room to
present and explain their Power Map. They will explain where the power comes from, or why the first
square has power over the second.
One example of what they might present: ‘Morphine has power over Mrs. Dubose through physical
addiction. Mrs. Dubose has power over morphine by beating that addiction. She suffers withdrawal, but
ultimately is more powerful than morphine.’
Another example: ‘Mrs. Dubose has power over Jessie because she’s white while Jessie is black, they live
in racist society; Mrs. Dubose is Jessie’s employer and work is scarce,’ ‘Jessie has power over Mrs. Dubose
because Mrs. Dubose is old and sick, and could not live independently; she needs Jessie’s help, and Jessie
controls Mrs. Dubose’s morphine.’
Discussion Questions for Chapter Twelve of To Kill a Mockingbird
What does Jem now tell Scout that’s a total reversal of what he’s told her all along up until this point in the
book, and why does Jem tell her this? (115)
Scout tells her it’s time she started acting like a girl. Maybe he tells her this because now he’s beginning to
accept society’s definitions of gender and he thinks Scout ought to act like a girl, just as he’s trying to act
like a boy ‘ought’ to act.
How does Scout react to Jem’s suggestion? (115)
She bursts into tears.
To whom does Scout run when Jem reduces her to tears with these suggestions? (115)
She runs to Calpurnia.
Scout says, “Calpurnia would do until Dill came … she seemed glad to see me … by watching her I began
to think there was some skill involved in being a girl.” Based on these statements, how are Scout’s views
changing? What changes do we see happening here in Calpurnia and Scout’s relationship, and in how
Scout sees herself and in how she sees gender roles? (115-116)
Scout is beginning to see Calpurnia more as like a mother figure. Scout is beginning to want to pattern
herself after Calpurnia, and is even accepting the idea that acting ‘like a girl’ might be okay because there
is some skill involved in it.
Why won’t Dill come to Maycomb that summer? (116)
He has a new (step)father with whom he is going to spend time.
Of the information that Dill provides in his letter to Scout about his stepfather, what do you believe is true
and what do you believe might not be true? (116)
Answers will vary. However, it is likely that Dill does have a new stepfather (there’s a photo). The rest of
the information (his being a lawyer, the two of them building a fishing boat) may or may not be true.
What does Dill conclude in his letter to Scout? (116)
He says that he’ll love her forever and he’ll come for her and they’ll get married as soon as he has the
money, and he asks her to write.
How does Scout feel about Dill not coming that summer? (116)
She is miserable for two days.
Can children this young actually feel true love: is Dill really her fiancé, or is this just childish imagination
and play? (116)
Answers will vary.
Where has Atticus gone off to for two weeks? (116)
Atticus has had to go to an emergency session of the state legislature.
Jem and Scout see a political cartoon of Atticus in the newspaper. Jem tries to convince Scout it is
complimenting Atticus. Is that political cartoon really complimenting Atticus and his efforts? Or is it a
put-down? What makes you think so? (116)
The cartoon may be a compliment, as Jem says, showing that Atticus is willing to do what no one else is,
but more likely it’s questioning whether or not there is something wrong with Atticus, since he ignores the
girls calling to him in favor of hard work and drudgery, and he ‘should’ try to remarry at some point.
What incident from Sunday School does Calpurnia remember, involving Jem and Scout, that makes her not
want to leave them unattended while Atticus is gone? (117)
The class had tied Eunice Ann Simpson to a chair and placed her in the furnace room, playing ‘Shadrach’
from the Bible story. Jem had said she wouldn’t get burned if she had enough faith.
Where does Calpurnia decide she will take Jem and Scout on Sunday? (117)
Calpurnia will take them with her to her church (First Purchase).
Why does Calpurnia take so much time and trouble to clean up Jem and Scout for church? (117-118)
Answers may vary, but may include: Calpurnia says she doesn’t want anyone saying she doesn’t look after
‘her’ children. She takes pride in them almost as if she is their mother; and she is especially worried about
what the other black folks at First Purchase will say, since they are her community.
Why is Maycomb’s black church called First Purchase? (118)
Because it was the first thing the slaves in the area bought after they were freed and able to earn wages.
What does that imply about the importance of religion for Maycomb’s black population?
This implies that religion is very important to Maycomb’s black population.
What is the ironic use of the church every weekday? (118)
On weekdays white men gamble there.
How do you think the congregation of First Purchase feels about white men gambling in their church
Monday through Friday?
Answers will vary, but will probably include: they object to it/don’t like it.
If that’s so, then why do they let these men use the church as a gambling hall?
The black congregation really doesn’t have a choice: they are not in a position of sufficient social power to
say ‘no’ to the whites.
Why does Lula object to Calpurnia’s bringing Jem and Scout to First Purchase church? (119)
Lula says that whites have their church and blacks have their own.
Why is it ironic that Lula objects to Calpurnia bringing Jem and Scout to First Purchase, and what is ironic
about the kind of language she uses in her objection?
Segregation was imposed on blacks by whites for the purpose of oppressing them, yet Lula doesn’t want to
have to mix with whites, so she accepts the very system that was placed upon her to oppress her. Lula also
uses ‘the n-word’ in her objection, showing she has internalized/accepted racism to some degree.
What does Scout notice about the way Calpurnia speaks back to Lula—her language? (119)
Calpurnia speaks in Standard Black English, rather than Standard English, which is what Scout is used to
hearing her use.
What does Lula’s statement, “Yeah, an’ I reckon you’s comp’ny at the Finch house durin’ the week” mean?
She means that although Calpurnia is treating Jem and Scout like guests, she herself is not being treated
like a guest in their household; she works for them as a housekeeper and is therefore in an inferior,
subordinate position. Lula’s saying Calpurnia doesn’t owe it to the kids to treat them like guests because
they’ve never treated her like one, only a servant.
Who is Zeebo, and what does he say to reassure the children? (119)
Zeebo is Calpurnia’s son, and he says to Jem and Scout that they’re glad to have them, and pay no mind to
Lula, she’s contentious and a troublemaker.
How does the rest of the congregation feel towards Lula and towards the children? (119)
The rest of the congregation feels Lula is a troublemaker and they are glad to have the children there.
What does the inside of First Purchase look like? (119-120)
It’s unceiled (no ceiling, just rafters and roof) and is unpainted, along its walls are unlighted kerosene
lamps and it has pine bench pews. Behind the rough oak pulpit there’s a faded pink silk banner that says
‘God Is Love,’ the church’s only decoration except a rotogravure print of Hunt’s The Light of the World.
There is no piano, organ, there are no hymn-books or church programs. It’s dim inside, and at each seat was
a cheap cardboard fan with a painting of the Garden of Gethsemane, from Tyndal’s Hardware Company.
What does Calpurnia give to Jem and Scout that must be very hard for her (especially) to part with, even
more so than for most folks during the Great Depression? (120)
She gives them change to put into the collection plate, because they are ‘her company,’ her guests.
How do the folks at First Purchase sing if they can’t afford any hymnbooks? (121)
They do linin’. Zeebo reads out of his hymnbook, and the rest of the congregation repeats each line back to
him and so they sing, line by line.
Even if they could afford hymnbooks, why might a lot of people at the church not be able to use them?
(124)
Most people at First Purchase are illiterate.
According to Scout, what doctrine preoccupies all clergymen? (122)
The Impurity of Women (the idea that women are a sin by definition).
How does this fit with Miss Maudie’s views of foot-washing Baptists?
This is the very same idea that she says they have, that women are a sin by definition.
What does Reverend Sykes do during his sermon that is very different from the sermon Jem and Scout are
used to hearing, when it comes to denouncing sin? (122)
He names people specifically and says what sins they are committing.
Do you agree or disagree with Reverend Sykes’s practice of naming those who have ‘fallen’?
Answers will vary.
For whom is the church collection taken up? (120-122)
Helen Robinson (Tom’s wife) and her children.
What does Reverend Sykes do when he counts up the collection and realizes that it is not enough? (122123)
He shuts the church’s doors and intends to ‘sweat out’ the money from his congregation until they raise ten
dollars. He also starts calling people by name who he feels could give some more, and appeals to those
who have no children to put in a little extra.
What do Jem and Scout now do with their own money they had set aside when Calpurnia had earlier
offered them money to donate to the collection plate? (122)
They both put in their own money at this point.
Do you agree or disagree with the tactics of Reverend Sykes in gathering the needed amount of money to
help out Helen Robinson and her children?
Answers will vary.
What can we infer about Mr. Link Deas, a white man who, according to Calpurnia, probably will hire
Helen Robinson? (123)
That he is not prejudiced and is willing to do the right thing and help out the Robinson family.
How does Calpurnia explain to Scout about why folks wouldn’t want to hire Helen? (123)
She explains that it’s because of what folks say her husband Tom has done, and now people don’t want
anything to do with his family.
What puzzles Scout about why people wouldn’t want to hire Helen? (124)
When Calpurnia explains that people aren’t anxious to have anything to do with the family of Tom
Robinson because he’s been accused of raping the daughter of Mr. Ewell, Scout is puzzled that people
would be reluctant to hire Helen simply because the Ewells had accused her husband, Tom, of doing
something bad, because everyone ought to know what kind of people the Ewells are and so they should be
glad to hire her.
What question does Calpurnia say Scout had better ask Atticus? (124)
“What’s rape?”
How many folks at First Purchase can read, including Calpurnia? (124)
About four.
What does Scout now realize about Calpurnia that she didn’t before (never having made the connection to
Calpurnia’s son Zeebo, who is a full-grown man)? (125)
That Calpurnia is of mature years. She doesn’t look as old as Atticus (though as Calpurnia explains, black
folks don’t show their ages as quickly as whites do).
Where did Calpurnia grow up, and who gave her the book (Blackstone’s Commentaries) out of which Miss
Buford taught Calpurnia to read, and that Calpurnia used (along with the Bible) to teach her son Zeebo to
read? (125)
Calpurnia grew up between the Buford place and Finch’s Landing and Scout’s grand-daddy Finch (father to
Atticus) gave her Blackstone’s Commentaries, out of which Miss Buford taught her to read and that she
used to teach her son Zeebo to read.
What might this imply about the relationship of Calpurnia’s family (and ancestors) to those of Simon
Finch?
This implies that Simon Finch may have owned the ancestors of Calpurnia.
Due to Simon Finch’s “industry,” Atticus is related to most everyone in Maycomb. Simon Finch owned
many slaves. Calpurnia grew up at Finch’s landing, and had always served Finches and Bufords. Think
about what white male slave-owners often did to their women slaves. Put these facts all together. Atticus
treats Calpurnia like she is a part of the family. Are Atticus and Calpurnia, perhaps, related?
Answers will vary.
Why does it surprise Scout so much that Calpurnia has a separate life apart from being their servant and
why is this revelation Scout has so significant?
Answers will vary.
Does Calpurnia take any offense when Scout uses the ‘n’ word with regard to the way Calpurnia talks
(when at church)? Why does Calpurnia react the way she does? (125-126)
No. Answers may vary, but may include that: Calpurnia herself has used this very expression around
Scout, so she knows that’s where Scout got it from and she doesn’t mean it to be offensive or mean.
What does Calpurnia explain about why she talks one way at church and another way while over at the
Finch household and around white people? (126)
She says it’d be out of place for Jem and Scout to talk colored-folks’ talk at their house, and similarly it’d
be out of place for her to talk white-folks’ talk at her black church. And, her fellow black church members
would think she was putting on airs (acting stuck-up).
How does Scout now want to see Calpurnia: aside from just at the Finch household, Scout wants to see
Calpurnia where? (126)
At her (Calpurnia’s) own house.
Why is this significant?
Answers may vary, but may include that: Scout finally sees Calpurnia as her own person, with a life of her
own, and now Scout wants to participate in that life outside of the Finch household. She wants to
experience the ‘black’ part of Calpurnia’s life, to cross over a segregation boundary that is expressly meant
to be one-way. It is acceptable for Calpurnia to go to work in the Finch household in the inferior position
of employee, but for Scout, a white girl, to go be a guest in Calpurnia’s home, as if they were equals, is
taboo. But Scout doesn’t care, she just wants to treat Calpurnia as a friend, perhaps surrogate mother.
Who arrives at the very end of the chapter? (126)
Aunt Alexandra.
Predict: how will Aunt Alexandra feel about Scout wanting to spend more time with Cal and about her and
Jem having gone to an all-black church?
Answers may vary, but will likely include that: Aunt Alexandra would have a conniption fit if she knew
Jem and Scout had gone to an all-black church, because what would society say? It’s not ‘proper.’
How would Atticus feel about his kids having gone to First Purchase?
Answers may vary, but will likely include that: Atticus would probably have no problem with it.
Discussion Questions for Chapter Thirteen of To Kill a Mockingbird
What is the first thing Aunt Alexandra says upon her arrival, and what does the way she treats this person
say about the way in which she views the person she is addressing? (127)
She tells Calpurnia to take her bags, indicating she sees Calpurnia merely as a servant and ‘beneath’ her.
What does Jem kindly offer to do at that point? (127)
Jem offers to take her bags.
From this sentence, describing the sound of Aunt Alexandra’s suitcase hitting the floor, “The sound had a
dull permanence about it,” what do you think Scout (the narrator) is trying to tell readers? What
connotations does this sentence have for Aunt Alexandra’s visit, and how might Scout feel about that,
given her word choice? (127)
It means Scout is afraid Alexandra will be staying with them for a long while.
Scout says that: “She [Aunt Alexandra] owned a bright green square Buick and a black chauffeur” (127).
What images or memories is the word choice here meant to evoke?
This evokes the history of slavery in the South.
Aunt Alexandra says to Jem and Scout, “Well, your father and I decided it was time I came to stay with you
for a while” (127). Do you believe that it was truly a mutual decision that both she and Atticus made? Why
or why not?
Aunt Alexandra probably told Atticus she was coming over to help and Atticus couldn’t dissuade her.
Aunt Alexandra states it’s time Scout had some feminine influence in her life. What is offensive about this
statement? Consider who is still standing right there in her presence. (127)
It’s offensive because Calpurnia is right there; she is saying Calpurnia is not a feminine influence.
When Atticus arrives home, he says, “We felt it was time you children needed …” which would seem to
indicate that Aunt Alexandra coming to live with them was indeed their mutual decision. Again, given
what you know about these characters, do you now think it was or was not a decision that both Atticus and
Alexandra made together? (128)
Again, it was probably Alexandra’s doing that she’s here, and Atticus just accepted it.
Atticus says to Scout, “I can’t stay here all day with you, and the summer’s going to be a hot one” (128).
What are the connotations of that phrase, the summer’s going to be a hot one?
The trial will make things ‘hot’ (uncomfortable) for them. People are going to get ‘heated’ (angry).
Scout describes how Aunt Alexandra “never let a chance escape her to point out the shortcomings of other
tribal groups to the greater glory of our own.” What is Jem’s amused response to this? (129)
That she’d better be careful because if you ‘scratch’ most folks in Maycomb, they are related to them.
According to Aunt Alexandra, everybody in Maycomb has one of these that causes their behavior, such as
Sam Merriweather’s suicide, or a Penfield girl giggling … (129)
‘Streaks.’
What question does Atticus ask Aunt Alexandra regarding their own family, since the both of them (and
Jack, their brother) are practically the first generation of Finches not to marry their cousins? (130)
Atticus asks his sister if that means their family has an Incestuous Streak.
According to Scout, Aunt Alexandra believes that a family is finer (or, better) the longer they have been
doing—what? (130)
Squatting on a single patch of land (owning land).
Scout states that Maycomb ‘grew inward’ and that “New people so rarely settled there, the same families
married the same families until the members of the community looked faintly alike.” What are the unsavory
implications of these statements? (131)
That Maycomb’s people have become inbred.
What does it say about Aunt Alexandra, and Jem and Scout, and Maycomb, that Aunt Alexandra fits into
the world of Maycomb like a hand into a glove, but never into the world of Jem and Scout? (131-132)
Aunt Alexandra is similar to Maycomb in that she is also racist, and old-fashioned, wants girls to be ladylike, and so on, while the kids are not racist and not old-fashioned and Scout is a tomboy.
When Aunt Alexandra asks Scout to speak to her cousin Lily Brooke, what does Scout say, and how does
Aunt Alexandra react? (132)
Scout doesn’t know Lily Brooke is her cousin; Aunt Alexandra is very upset by this though she tries to
remain polite.
When Aunt Alexandra is trying to make Jem and Scout feel proud of their family’s heritage by telling Jem
and Scout about their cousin Joshua St. Clair, and what a beautiful character he was, what shameful fact
about Cousin Joshua does Jem bring up, much to Aunt Alexandra’s frustration and consternation? (132)
That Joshua St. Claire had been locked up for trying to kill the president of a university.
Where did Jem learn about Cousin Joshua’s infamous incident? (132)
Atticus had told him.
Right after finding out the source of the information about Cousin Joshua, Aunt Alexandra stands up stiffly
and says, “We’ll see about this.” What do you think she intended to go and do? (133)
Lecture Atticus about telling the kids the whole truth about their family, even shameful truths.
Why does Atticus go into Jem’s room and try to impress upon the children the importance of behaving like
a lady and a gentleman? (133-134)
Because his sister, Alexandra, had insisted.
Why does he tell the children to ‘forget about it’ afterwards? (134)
Because he saw Scout was upset and realized it wasn’t all that important and he wasn’t going to allow his
sister to tell him how to raise his kids.
Discussion Questions for Chapter Fourteen of To Kill a Mockingbird
How is the rest of the town reacting to seeing Jem and Scout out in public? What are Jem and Scout
hearing about their family all around town? (135)
Criticism of their father for his decision to defend Tom Robinson.
One skinny man says, “They [blacks] c’n go loose and rape up the countryside for all of ‘em who run this
county care,” which reminds Scout that she has a question for Atticus, a question she had asked Calpurnia
before (at First Purchase) to which Calpurnia had responded by saying Scout had better ask her father.
What is that question? (135)
“What’s rape?”
How old were you when you first learned the correct definition of ‘rape’? How did you find out what it
meant, and how do you think you would react if a nine or ten-year-old girl asked you the meaning of
‘rape’?
Answers will vary.
How do you think a parent these days would react to the question if the nine or ten year old were his or her
own child?
Answers will vary.
After Atticus explains the definition of ‘rape,’ Scout says, “Well if that’s all it is why did Calpurnia dry me
up when I asked her what it was?” Atticus asks Scout for clarification, and Scout explains about how they
were coming back from First Purchase. Atticus asks Scout to tell him the story, and so she does. How do
Atticus and Aunt Alexandra react differently to hearing about Jem and Scout’s visit to First Purchase, and
what does this tell us about their beliefs, values, and their personalities? (135)
Atticus finds it amusing; Alexandra is upset. Alexandra is clearly uptight and racist.
Scout asks Atticus if she can go and visit Calpurnia at her house next Sunday, and Aunt Alexandra says,
“You may not.” After Aunt Alexandra’s rude interruption, Scout says to her aunt, “I didn’t ask you!” and
Atticus then tells Scout to apologize to Aunt Alexandra, and makes it clear that Scout will do whatever
Atticus, Calpurnia, and Aunt Alexandra tell her to do. How do you feel about Atticus deciding to make
Scout apologize to her aunt for having been rude to her, without saying anything to Aunt Alexandra about
her having been rude to Scout by butting in? (136)
Answers will vary.
A little while later, Scout eavesdrops and hears Atticus and Aunt Alexandra arguing. What are they both
arguing with each other about? What does Aunt Alexandra seem to want and what does Atticus argue to
support his position? (136-137)
Aunt Alexandra wants Atticus to fire Calpurnia; Atticus won’t and argues she’s family and they need her.
Scout says she “felt the starched walls of a pink cotton penitentiary closing in on me.” What does that
metaphor mean? (136)
She feels Aunt Alexandra is going to force her to be more girly and this is like a prison sentence to her.
With what sort of attitude does Jem treat Scout when he’s telling her not to antagonize Aunty anymore?
(137-138)
He acts as if he’s an adult and Scout is still just a child.
Why does Scout attack Jem? What is the final straw that prompts her to attack him? (138)
Jem tells Scout if she antagonizes Aunty any more he’ll spank her; Scout wants to remind Jem that they are
on equal ground and he’s not her superior.
How does Atticus handle Jem and Scout’s fight? (138)
He splits them up and sends them off to bed, and asks who started it. He tells Scout she has to mind Jem
when he can make her.
How does Aunt Alexandra feel about Jem and Scout fighting? (138-139)
That this is just another example of Atticus’s poor parenting.
When they go to bed, Scout steps on something warm, resilient, and rather smooth. She feels it is alive.
What does Scout incorrectly assume it is? (139)
A snake.
What is it, actually? (139)
Dill.
Scout and Jem ask Dill how he got there. What story does Dill tell them, at first? (140)
He escaped his chains in the basement, ran away, joined a small animal show as their camel-washer, and
walked from Abbott County to Maycomb.
Then Jem asks Dill again, “How’d you get here?” This time, Dill tells them the truth. How did he actually
get there? (140)
He stole $13 from his mom’s purse and took the train. He walked and then hitched a ride on the back of a
cotton wagon.
What does Jem do that Scout and Dill consider a betrayal of their childhood code of honor? (141)
Jem tells Atticus Dill is there.
Why does Jem do this; what is the deeper significance of his action?
Answers will vary.
What does Atticus decide to do about the situation? (141)
He will talk to Miss Rachel about Dill being there and ask her if Dill can spend the night there with the
Finches.
What does Atticus mean when he tells Dill to put some of the county back where it belongs? To what
historical occurrence does he refer? (141)
Dill is covered in dirt and dust; he’s referring to the soil erosion situation known as The Dust Bowl.
How do Scout and Dill view Jem’s decision to tell Atticus Dill’s there, and how do they treat him? (141)
They view Jem’s decision as a betrayal; he has ratted out Dill, so Dill and Scout shun Jem.
How does Miss Rachel react to finding Dill there, and finding out he ran away from home? (142)
She lectures him about how much he’s causing his folks to worry, etc. and finally hugs him.
Why has Dill run away from home? (142-143)
His mother and stepfather are so ‘into’ each other they are ignoring him and making him feel like a third
wheel.
What does Dill suggest he and Scout ought to go and get for themselves? (143)
A baby.
How do Dill and Scout differ in their opinions of where babies come from? What do you think of their
theories? (143-144)
Scout thinks God drops the babies down chimneys; Dill thinks that you take a boat over to a mysterious and
foggy island where they grow babies (like the cabbage patch) and you could order one.
When Dill says he thinks Boo Radley has never run off because maybe he doesn’t have anywhere to run off
to, what significance does that statement have for Dill and his life, and for Boo and his life? What does
Dill have that Boo doesn’t have? (144)
Dill has a place to which he can run; the Finches will take him in. Boo has nowhere else to go and no one
who would ever take him in.
What is ‘family’?
Answers will vary.
Are Calpurnia and Dill members of the Finch family?
Answers will vary.
Are Calpurnia and Dill more like family to Jem and Scout than Aunt Alexandra?
Answers will vary.
Is the Finch family more of a family to Dill than his own mother and stepfather?
Answers will vary.
HW: Study vocabulary.