
Coming-of-Age :
› Over the course of the novel Scout learns to act
in a more adult way, even a more ladylike way,
and to see the people around her as actual
human beings.
› While Scout and Jem face some
disappointments as they learn more about how
their world works, they also develop identities
that might be able to hold back the world’s
darker influences
› Begs the question: Is it possible to become an
adult, to join an adult community, and still keep
a child’s sensitivity to injustice?

Southern Gothic
› haunted house
› Fear of ghosts
› inexplicable human evil
› terrifying nightmare encounters
› All of this is offset by humor as well

“Lawyers, I suppose, were children once.” –
Charles Lamb
-From an essay by Charles Lamb
-English writer in the late-18th and early-19th
century.
-Linking lawyers to children suggests these
two opposites perhaps aren’t so different
after all, and reminds us that lawyers really
are people just like everyone else.
- A metaphor for whites and blacks

Man vs. Society:
› prejudices, and values that the society holds
› The individual that poses a different view
than the society is discriminated against

Man vs. Man –
› Vengeful
› Present due to a feud, disagreement with
principles or
an actual physical confrontation.
› Expressed and enacted in various
ways.
Flawed Education
Tom Robinson's innocence - Racism
Atticus' hidden courage - Tolerance
Mob Mentality – Racism in Numbers
Social Class Division
Jem and Scout's experiences with Boo
Radley- Lessons Learned
 Mrs. Dubose‘s Mentality- Old School v. New
School
 The Cunningham's Financial Status vs. The
Ewell's Financial Status






Wealthy
This is probably similar to
how class structure
Country Folk
existed during the 1930’s
in the South. The
Low Class Whites
wealthy, although fewest
in number, were most
Black Community
powerful. The blacks,
although great in
number, were lowest on
the class ladder, and
thus, had the least
Examples of Each Social Class:
privileges.
Wealthy - Represented in text by Finches
Country Folk - Represented in text by Cunninghams
Low Class Whites– Represented in text by Ewells
Black Community – Represented in text by Tom
Robinson
A cafe near the tobacco market.
(Signs: Separate doors for "White" and
for "Colored.“) Alabama , 1940


First Person Point of View (limited)
Scout as narrator
-doesn’t comment much on the action
- just presents what happens as a series of facts.
- Remembers things in a childish way (like Hughes’
“Salvation”) but it is told by an older Scout, looking
back.
Note: In this way, the narration presents a sort of
“doubled”
perspective on the events
1. All women/men are created equal
2. Girls should act like girls
3. Boredom can be a devil’s tool
4. Nobody is all bad or all good
5. Some words are so offensive that they should
never be stated or written
6. Under our justice system,, all citizens are
treated fairly in our courts off law
7. “Sticks and Stones…” is true
8. Speaking standard grammar proves that a
person is smart
9. A hero is born,, not made
10. No one is above the law
11. Education is the great equalizer
12. When the law doesn't succeed in punishing
criminals,, citizens should do so..

The text states: “Simon, having forgotten his teacher's dictum on
the possession of human chattels, bought three slaves and with
their aid established a homestead on the banks of the Alabama
River some forty miles above Saint Stephens.”

What does this reveal about Scout and Jems ancestors?

The Text states: “It was customary for the men in the family to
remain on Simon's homestead, Finch's Landing, and make their
living from cotton. The place was self-sufficient: modest in
comparison with the empires around it, the Landing nevertheless
produced everything required to sustain life except ice, wheat
flour, and articles of clothing, supplied by river-boats from
Mobile.”

Atticus breaks this “tradition” to study law, take the bar and
become a lawyer

During his first five years in Maycomb, Atticus practiced
economy more than anything; for several years
thereafter he invested his earnings in his brother's
education. John Hale Finch was ten years younger
than my father, and chose to study medicine at a time
when cotton was not worth growing; but after getting
Uncle Jack started, Atticus derived a reasonable
income from the law. He liked Maycomb, he was
Maycomb County born and bred; he knew his people,
they knew him, and because of Simon Finch's industry,
Atticus was related by blood or marriage to nearly
every family in the town.

What does this tell about Atticus Finch?



Maycomb, Alabama (fictitious)
Described as a “tired old town”
“There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go,
nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing
to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb County”

Somehow, it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on
a summer's day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts
flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on
the square. Men's stiff collars wilted by nine in the
morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their
three-o'clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft
teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum.
People moved slowly then.

What might this reveal about its inhabitants?
We lived on the main residential street in
town-Atticus, Jem and I, plus Calpurnia
our cook.
 Jem and I found our father satisfactory:
he played with us, read to us, and
treated us with courteous detachment


Calpurnia was something else again. She was all
angles and bones; she was nearsighted; she
squinted; her hand was wide as a bed slat and twice
as hard. She was always ordering me out of the
kitchen, asking me why I couldn't behave as well as
Jem when she knew he was older, and calling me
home when I wasn't ready to come. Our battles were
epic and one-sided. Calpurnia always won, mainly
because Atticus always took her side. She had been
with us ever since Jem was born, and I had felt her
tyrannical presence as long as I could remember.

What type of woman is Cal?

The “shutters and doors of the Radley house were closed on
Sundays, another thing alien to Maycomb's ways: closed doors
meant illness and cold weather only.”

Once the town was terrorized by a series of morbid nocturnal
events: people's chickens and household pets were found
mutilated; although the culprit was Crazy Addie, who eventually
drowned himself in Barker's Eddy, people still looked at the Radley
Place

A Negro would not pass the Radley Place at night, he would cut
across to the sidewalk opposite and whistle as he walked.

The Maycomb school grounds adjoined the back of the Radley lot;
from the Radley chickenyard tall pecan trees shook their fruit into
the schoolyard, but the nuts lay untouched by the children: Radley
pecans would kill you. A baseball hit into the Radley yard was a lost
ball and no questions asked.

“Before the first morning was over, Miss
Caroline Fisher, our teacher, hauled me
up to the front of the room and patted
the palm of my hand with a ruler, then
made me stand in the corner until
noon.”

Thoughts on this tactic?

The text states: “Then she went to the blackboard
and printed the alphabet in enormous square
capitals, turned to the class and asked, "Does
anybody know what these are?“ I suppose she chose
me because she knew my name; as I read the
alphabet a faint line appeared between her
eyebrows, and after making me read most of My First
Reader and the stock-market quotations from The
Mobile Register aloud, she discovered that I was
literate and looked at me with more than faint
distaste. Miss Caroline told me to tell my father not to
teach me any more, it would interfere with my
reading.”

Why do you think this upset her so much?

Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved
to read. One does not love breathing.

What does this reveal about Scout?
“Our teacher says Miss Caroline's
introducing a new way of teaching. She
learned about it in college. It'll be in all the
grades soon. You don't have to learn much
out of books that way -it's like if you wanta
learn about cows, you go milk one, see?"
 "Yeah Jem, but I don't wanta study cows, I-"Sure you do. You hafta know about cows,
they're a big part of life in Maycomb
County."

"Miss Caroline, he's a Cunningham."
 I sat back down.
 "What, Jean Louise?"
 I thought I had made things sufficiently
clear.


What does this reveal about the
Cunninghams? Why does Jem invite him
for dinner?
Walter smothers his meat and veggies in
syrup
 Scout protests it
 Cal defends Walter


Why?
The boy stood up. He was the filthiest
human I had ever seen. His neck was dark
gray, the backs of his hands were rusty, and
his fingernails were black deep into the
quick. He peered at Miss Caroline from a
fist-sized clean space on his face……And
Burris," said Miss Caroline, "please bathe
yourself before you come back tomorrow."
The boy laughed rudely. "You ain't sendin' me
home, missus. I was on the verge of leavin'- I
done done my time for this year.“

What does this reveal about the Ewells?

“I could not help by perceive the
impression that I was being cheated out
of something…Out of what I did not
know” (44).

What does this reveal about Scout?
What would opportunities does school
offer for a kid like her today?

On p. 44 Scout finds “two pieces of
chewing gum minus their outer
wrappers” in a knothole of tree and on
p. 46 she and Jem find a “real old”
Indian head penny.

Do you think this is random or planned
and why?

Scout says that Calpurnia’s “tyranny,
unfairness and meddling in her business
had faded to gentle grumblings of
general disapproval”

How is their relationship beginning to
change?

Dill mentions that his father was “taller
than ours, had a black beard (pointed)
and was president of the L&N railroad”
(48).

What doe this show about Dill?

The kids see Boo Radley as a game they
want to beat.

How is this seen in the text?

P. 65

How does he use the kid’s playing
games to teach them a life lesson?

What does Scout reveal to the reader
that she heard at the end of chapter 4?

Dill and Jem are having a tough time
including Scout. Why?

Miss Maudie discusses how the Radley’s are
foot washing Baptists (really strict religious
followers- everything that is pleasure is sinful)

She them mentions that the “Bible in the
hand of one man can be worse than
whiskey in the hand of oh your father” (58).

What might she mean by this?

Scout says, “there is a lady in the moon
in Maycomb, she sits at a dresser and
combs her hair” (76).

What does this man for women in
Maycomb?

Why is Jem pantless at the end of ch 6?

What excuse does Dill give?

Is this still funny to the reader or is it
getting serious now? Why or why not?

In chapter 3, Atticus tells Scout, “You
never really understand a person until
you . . . climb into his skin and walk
around in it.”

What makes this advice so appropriate
for Scout? How does this advice translate
to you personally?

How has this theme manifested so far in
the text?

When Jem discovers that his pants have
been mended he is in shock, the same
way Scout is when she discovers the
blanket someone put over her shoulders;
what do you think this represents?

The kids find more items in the tree, what
are they?

Why does Nathan say he plugged the
tree?

Why does Jem cry when he discovers
the tree has been plugged?

Scout was told by her brother that it is
not until she “reaches the sixth grade
that one learned anything of value.”

Do you agree? Why or why not?

Scout proclaims that “the world is
endin’!” because she is not used to
snow.

What themes does this reaction align
with?

The snowman brings comic relief to a
dark tale, yet the snowman itself is not all
laughable.

What is serious about the snowman
incident?

Authors make specific choices to
enforce their themes. Make a list of the
characteristics of snow on the board.

What do you think the snow symbolizes?

Authors make specific choices to
enforce their themes. Make a list of the
characteristics of fire on the board.

What do you think the fire symbolizes?

When Scout asks Atticus if he “defends
ni**ers” his response is quite candid.

What lesson does he hope to teach her
here?

Considering the time period, do toy think
Atticus is doing the “right” thing?

He tells Scout that “he couldn’t hold his
head in town” and that he couldn’t
“represent the county in the legislature”
and that he couldn’t even “tell [Scout
and Jem] not to do something ever
again.”

What does this mean to you?

Atticus responds “no honey” when Scout
asks if they are going to win.

Why does he say this?

Scout equates her to Mount Everest.
Why?

What do we think of her?

Why does Scout become violent with
Francis, is this a good enough reason?

What does Francis represent?

Uncle Jack is not straightforward when
Scout asks him what a “whore lady” is.

Atticus responds, “when a child asks you
something, answer him for goodness’
sake”.

Do you agree, why or why not?

In ch 10, Scout paints an image of
Atticus, how is he viewed by them?

Atticus said to Jem one day, "I'd rather
you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but
I know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the
bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but
remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

Why is it a sin? Who is a “mockingbird?”

What is the story of the “mad dog” what
does this symbolize for the town? The
kids? Atticus?

Why didn’t Atticus want the kids to know
he was called “One Shot Finch?”

1930s Typical
Morphine Addict:
› White female
› Middle-aged or
›
›
›
›
›
older
Widowed
Homebound
Lives in the south
Property owner
Began using
morphine for
medical reasons
(pain relief)

In “To Kill a Mockingbird,”
the Finch children will become
acquainted with a morphine
addict named Mrs. Dubose.
Although only a fictitious
character, she personifies the
American morphine addict of
the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries.

Lula says “you ain’t got no business
bringin’ white chillun here, they got their
own church we got our own”

Why does Harper Lee include this?

Cal’s response is : it’s the same God ain’t
it? What does this show about her
character?

When Calpurnia introduces them to her
"black" community, The children noticed
that Calpurnia talks differently. Scout
says that Calpurnia "lives a double life",
Do you think there is such a thing as a
"double life"?

The kids learn about Tom Robinson at
church. What do they learn and why is it
significant?

Why won’t people hire Helen Robinson?
What does Scout’s reaction show about
her?

Cal says “folks don’t like to have
somebody walkin around knowing more
than they do. It aggravates them. You;r
not gonna change any of them by
talkin’ right, they have to want to learn
themselves. And if they don’t want to,
keep your mouth shut or talk their
language.”

What do you think this means?

Scout remembers Alexandra’s first words
as “Put my bag in the front room
Calpurnia” What is significant about
this?

Scout says “Aunt Alexandra fit into
Maycomb like a hand into a glove, but
never into the world of Jem and me”
Explain.

Scout asks Atticus: “What’s rape?” and
he responds “it is the carnal knowledge
of a female by force and without
consent.”

Although this is factually accurate, what
should he have added to be more
beneficial for Scout?
Aunt Alexandra is appalled to hear that
the kids went to church with Cal.
 She confronts Atticus about letting her
go and he responds that “she is a faithful
member of this family and you will simply
have to accept things the way they
are.”


Do you think Aunt Alex is capable of
accepting things?

Dill has run away from home because his
mother and new father did not pay
enough attention to him. He took a train
from Meridian to Maycomb Junction,
fourteen miles away, and covered the
remaining distance on foot and on the
back of a cotton wagon.

Why does Lee include this detail?
P. 242-250
 What can we gather from her through
this?
 Is Atticus being nasty? Why or why not?


What is significant about her name?

What do we learn from Tom Robinson’s
testimony?

Why is this surprising to the reader?
Why does Dill feel “sick” at the end of
chapter 19?
 What do you think this represents?


267-269

Why is this story particulary tragic?

P. 274

Why is his speech so effective?

How does he use persuasion well?

P. 284

Why does Jem cry?

How does this differ from the 1st time he
cries?

P. 283

Why does Reverend Sykes adamant that
Scout stand up when her father passes?

What does this show about Atticus and
the black community?

On page ____ we learn that the jury way
out for