Preston High School Freshmen Summer Reading
1. Explain the following terms: a. Jim Crow b. liberalism c. eugenics
2. Compare Big Jim Folsom to the character of Atticus Finch. How are they similar? How are they different?
3. What does the case of John Mays, Jr. illustrate about social mores, or society, in the segregated South?
4. What does Malcolm Gladwell mean when he says, “he encourages them to swap one of their prejudices for another?”
5. In your own words, explain George Orwell’s criticisms of Charles Dickens.
6. Summarize the point of the article in one or two sentences.
7. Explain the title.
8. List four specific ways Jim Folsom demonstrates that he thought all men were equal.
9. How did Jim Folsom's approach towards inequality differ than that of a civil-rights activist?
10. What was the "friends and neighbors" effect? How do you think this idea helped/harmed Jim
Folsom's campaign?
11. What could be a possible reason for George Sims choosing the title "The Little Man's Best
Friend" as his title for his autobiography about Jim Folsom?
12. How did both Atticus Finch and Jim Folson seek to humanize Jim Crow, not challenge it?
13. Explain the following statement by Jim Folson in your own words: "I just never did get all excited about our colored brothers. We have had them here for three hundred years and we will have them for another three hundred years." What does the word "excited" mean in this context?