Incoming Freshman/Sophomore Summer Reading Assignment:
To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
Read the novel, answer the questions, and define the vocabulary words. You may handwrite the answers on this paper, or attach separate typewritten pages. The assignment is divided by chapter, so it will be easier to complete the work while you are reading, rather than after you have completed the novel. Vocabulary words are listed in the order that they appear in the novel.
Bring your completed assignment to class on the first day of school; it will be collected and graded. After reviewing the novel, you will be tested on the material.
Vocabulary
Chapter 1
culprit
Chapter 2
condescend
Chapter 3
erratic
diminutive
Chapter 4
melancholy
probate
Chapter 5
benign
tacit
edification
Chapter 7
ascertain
render
Chapter 8
dire
Chapter 9
inordinate
induce
Chapter 10
peril
articulate
Chapter 11
passé
livid
Chapter 12
altercation
contemptuous
Chapter 13
formidable
dispel
curt
Chapter 14
reverent
Chapter 15
prevail
Chapter 16
concede
subpoena
affluent
Chapter 17
fluctuation
deign
complacent
Chapter 18
evoke
chronic
Chapter 19
subtlety
impudent
Chapter 20
perpetrate
indict
integrity
Chapter 21
acquit
Chapter 22
fatalistic
ruefully
Chapter 23
obscure
circumstantial
adamant
vehement
Chapter 24
squalid
duress
Chapter 26
recluse
allegedly
profound
Chapter 28
gallant
irascible
Chapter 30
bland
connive
Chapter 31
acquiescence
Guided Reading Questions
PART 1, Chapter 1
1. From the first sentence, the reader learns that the speaker’s brother breaks his arm when he is 12 years old and that the novel tells the story of the events leading up to this accident. Who does the narrator say is to blame for this accident? Why does Jem say Dill is responsible?
2. How does the narrator describe her hometown of Maycomb, Alabama?
3. What event in American history can you determine the people of Maycomb are currently experiencing from the description in the two paragraphs beginning, “Maycomb was an old town…”?
4. Name two examples that the townspeople are frightened or superstitious about the Radley home.
5. The narrator says that the Radleys behave in ways that are unacceptable to traditional Southern customs. Name one way in which the Radleys are different.
6. How does Jem’s description of Boo Radley indicate that he is childish and immature?
Chapter 2
7. What message does Miss Caroline tell Scout to relate to her father?
Chapter 3
8. Explain the resolution Atticus offers when he finally realizes why Scout doesn’t want to go back to school.
Chapter 4
9. What interesting claim does Dill make as he looks toward the Radley home?
Chapter 5
10. What is the difference between a “foot washing Baptist” and any other Christian, according to Miss Maudie? Who does Miss Maudie describe as a “foot washing Baptist”?
11. What three things does Miss Maudie say about Boo?
12. What scheme do Jem and Dill concoct? What is the message? Who catches them? What does he have to say about what they are doing?
Chapter 6
13. What attempt do Scout, Dill and Jem make? What noise is heard when Scout trips in the collards? How does Dill explain the item that Jem is missing?
14. What issue causes Scout to believe that she and Jem would begin to “part company”?
Chapter 7
15. What sorts of things do the Finch children find in the knothole during this chapter? What do Scout and Jem decide to put into the knothole?
16. Who is responsible for the change in the tree, and what did he do?
Chapter 8
17. Describe the creation that Scout and Jem build, and who it appears to represent. Name the three professions Atticus says Jem is suited for as a result of this creation. Why do you think he says this?
18. Why are the children awakened at 1:00 AM? What explanation does Atticus provide for the unknown blanket around Scout’s shoulders? How does Miss Maudie react to her loss?
Chapter 9
19. Explain the advice about fighting that Atticus gives to Scout. What happens when Scout is confronted by Cecil the next time?
20. What does Atticus say about the outcome of the case that he has taken?
21. What does Scout say she didn’t know at the time, but came to understand years later?
Chapter 10
22. Why don’t Jem and Scout admire their father like so many other kids their age?
23. What fascinating information do Scout and Jem learn about their father as a result of the day’s events? Why does this come as such a surprise to his children? How does Miss Maudie explain how Atticus has dealt with his skill?
Chapter 11
24. What does Mrs. Dubose say to Jem and Scout to cause Jem to lose his temper?
What is Jem’s punishment?
25. Why does Atticus say that he must defend Tom Robinson, despite the town’s reaction?
26. What does Atticus hope that Jem will learn from Mrs. Dubose?
Part 2, Chapter 12
27. Now halfway through the novel, and the beginning of the second part of the novel, marks Jem’s twelfth birthday. What changes occur as a result of Jem’s new maturity? How does Calpurnia show her respect for Jem?
28. Why does Calpurnia say that she changes her manner of speaking around her own people?
Chapter 13
29. Explain Scout’s beliefs about “Fine Folks.”
30. What are “the facts of life” that Alexandra has sent Atticus to explain to Jem and Scout? What does Atticus tell Scout about all of this information, after he speaks to her sharply and she cries?
Chapter 14
31. What does Alexandra want Atticus to do about Calpurnia? What is Atticus’ response?
32. What is Dill’s response when Scout asks him why he thinks Boo Radley has never run away?
Chapter 15
33. What is the question Atticus asks, described as his “dangerous question”?
34. Despite the fact that he may lose the case, Atticus makes it clear that he must defend Tom Robinson in order to do what?
35. Who had been protecting Atticus the whole time? How?
Chapter 16
36. What does Scout become confused by as she overhears conversation on the courthouse steps?
37. Which was the only family who ever brought Judge Taylor to “a dead standstill in open court”?
Chapter 17
38. The prosecutor, or solicitor, Mr. Gilmer, asks Heck Tate about the events of November 21st. What does he say occurred?
39. Which question does Atticus ask Mr. Tate three times?
40. What is the “trick” that Mr. Ewell says that Atticus plays on him? What does Atticus gain through this “trick”?
Chapter 18
41. Why does Mayella believe that Atticus is being disrespectful towards her?
42. Why does Atticus ask Tom Robinson to stand up when Mayella identifies him?
Who does Atticus suggest is responsible for Mayella’s injuries?
Chapter 19
43. During Tom’s testimony, what two things suddenly occur to Scout?
44. Considering your answer to question 78, can you make a connection regarding the language
Mr. Gilmer uses to address twenty-five-year-old Tom as opposed to the language Calpurnia uses to address twelve-year-old Jem? How does this support Dill’s claim?
Chapter 20
45. What statement does Atticus make in his closing argument that sums up the entire trial in only nine words?
46. What is the evil assumption, and what is the truth, according to Atticus?
47. What is the one human institution that proves all men to be equal?
Chapter 21
48. What does Scout mean when she says, ”I saw something only a lawyer’s child could be expected to see, could be expected to watch for, and it was like watching Atticus walk into the street, raise a rifle to his shoulder and pull the trigger, but watching all the time knowing that the gun was empty.”
49. What do the Negroes in the balcony do to show their respect for Atticus?
Chapter 22
50. Why does Atticus say there is still hope for Tom?
51. How does Miss Maudie describe the positive direction that Atticus was able to achieve by simply causing the men on the jury to think about the verdict for so long?
Chapter 23
52. Do you think that Atticus is experienced enough in life in Maycomb to think that having a gun is “nonsense,” or do you think he is simply naïve and overly optimistic about his fellow man? Why?
53. What is Atticus’ complaint about the law in a capital murder trial?
54. What makes a white man trash, according to Atticus? Explain what you think he means by this statement.
55. What does Atticus mean when he says, “It’s all adding up and one of these days we’re going to pay the bill for it”? Do you think that that day has come? Why or why not?
56. Jem believes he knows why Boo Radley has stayed inside all of these years. What is his idea?
Chapter 24
57. Irony is the discrepancy between what you would expect and what actually occurs. What is somehow ironic in the way that Mrs. Merriweather behaves during the society luncheon at the Finch household?
58. In writing, an allusion is a reference to another piece of literature, artwork, or historical event. What allusion is made in Mrs. Merriweather’s rambling conversation? (You may have to do some research)
59. How does Miss Maudie help Alexandra to see Atticus’ role in the community differently?
Chapter 25
60. What happens in the beginning of this chapter to let you know that Jem has been thinking a lot about the events of the trial?
61. How does Maycomb respond to the news about Tom?
Chapter 26
62. How do the people show their approval of Atticus, despite the fact that he defended Tom Robinson?
63. How is Miss Gates’ discussion ironic considering what the reader learns of her behavior on the courthouse steps at the end of the chapter?
Chapter 27
64. What three things occur in Maycomb by the middle of October that are noteworthy?
65. What is the purpose of a Halloween party and recital, something new for Maycomb?
Chapter 29
66. What does Mr. Tate reveal at the end of the chapter?
Chapter 30
67. Who saved the lives of Jem and Scout?
Chapter 31
68. Why is Mr. Tate so unbending in his belief that Mr. Ewell fell on the knife and killed himself?
69. What does Scout experience, standing on the Radley porch?
70. How does the final sentence of the novel make you feel? What emotional response is the ending intended to create in readers?