To Kill a Mockingbird – Discussion Questions

Chapter 1

Discuss the following:

1. The narration and narrator of the novel

2. The Finch family background

3. The town of Maycomb

4. Scout, her family, their cook

5. Charles Baker Harris

6. The Radley Place

7. The Radley family

8. Boo Radley

9. The Dare

Chapter 2

1. Share a little about the following characters:

Miss Caroline Fisher

Walter Cunningham

2. Share a little about Scout’s interpretation of the Maycomb educational system.

3. Lee uses a flashback in this chapter. Describe what a flashback is and what purpose it serves in this chapter.

4. Scout gets into trouble with Miss Caroline three separate times on the first day of school. What were they?

Chapter 3

1. We meet new characters or become more familiar with some we have already met in this chapter. Give a brief account of each and our encounters with them in the story.

Calpurnia

Little Chuck Little

Burris Ewell

Bob Ewell

Atticus

2. Discuss the scene when Walter comes home with Scout and Jem to dinner.

3. What is “southern hospitality” and how is it demonstrated in this chapter?

4. There are several quotes in the novel that are very meaningful and tend to summarize some themes in the story. Find a couple of quotes in chapter 3 that are indicative of some themes in the novel and briefly explain each.

5. Discuss Atticus’s handling of his children.

6. Discuss Atticus’s explanation of the law, of school, and of people to Scout on pages 30-31.

Chapter 4

1. Find an example of personification on page 33.

2. Find a metaphor on page 33.

3. Find an example of hyperbole on page 33.

4. Find an example of anaphora on page 34.

5. Find an example of foreshadowing on page 36.

6. Superstition is a secondary theme and lends itself as the basis for some of the humor in the novel. Discuss some of the superstitions that the children have.

7. Seasons and their symbolism are a theme in much of literature. What are the usual themes for the seasons of the year? How are the seasons defined and described by Scout? (song)

8. Find a good quote about summer.

9. There are examples of foreshadowing on pages 36 and 38. Find them.

10. We finally get to part of the plot in chapter 4. Discuss the children’s fascination with the Radley place and Boo Radley himself.

Chapter 5

1. We meet another new character. Describe Miss Maudie.

2. Many authors use flashback to give us needed information regarding the story. What information about Uncle Jack do we get from the flashback in this chapter?

3. What does it mean for a character to be static or dynamic? Major characters are usually dynamic. In what ways is Scout already changing and what brings about those changes?

4. Religion is another major theme in the novel. Maudie presents her view of religion and its role in people’s lives. Find a couple of good quotes that summarize her feelings and explain them. Would you say Miss Stephanie Crawford or Miss Maudie is more “religious” and why?

5. What does Miss Maudie mean when she says, "Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whiskey bottle in the hand of another"?

6. What does Maudie mean when she states, "There are just some kind of men who are so busy worrying about the next world, they've never learned to live in this one"?

7. How about the line, "Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets"? What is Maudie saying about Atticus?

8. What, in your belief, defines a good person?

9. Respecting others’ differences is yet another theme addressed in this chapter. What happens toward the end of the chapter that presents a teaching opportunity for Atticus to instill this in the kids, and what lesson is he trying to teach them?

Chapter 6

1. Scout relates a story about Mr. Avery, their neighbor. What is it and what contest ensues between Jem and Dill?

2. Jem and Dill have a plan in this chapter. What are they going to do? What time of year is it? What reasons do they give as to why they wait until this particular night?

3. Mr. Radley says he shot at whom? How does this tie in to some of the topics we shared in class?

4. On page 54, Miss Stephanie is explaining what happened in the Radley yard. What is the double entendre about her last line "…and the next time he won't aim high, be it dog, nigger, or - Jem Finch!"?

5. How do the children explain the fact that Jem has no pants? What is significant about the line, "Matches were dangerous, but cards were fatal"?

6. Why is it that Jem goes back for the pants? What is his real motivation?

7. What does Scout mean when she says on page 56, “It was then, I suppose, that Jem and I first began to part company”?

Chapter 7

1. What does Jem tell Scout about the night that he went back to get his pants?

2. The knothole has become a source of various items of pleasure for Scout and Jem. What are some things they have found so far? What is your theory on the things they have found there?

3. Another quote about the seasons is found on page 59. What is it? How is it significant to the symbolic references that normally accompany the four seasons?

4. What happens to the knothole? What is the reason Mr. Radley gives for what he does? How does Jem use Atticus’s own lawyer trick to get an answer?

Chapter 8

1. There are several extraordinary things that happen in Maycomb in this chapter. What are they? How are they all related?

2. The quote, “It ain’t time to worry yet,” is spoken a couple of times again in this chapter. Who says it and why?

3. What causes Jem to completely empty his conscience out to Atticus, telling him everything about the pants, the knothole, the games, everything?

Chapter 9

1. Scout gets into two fights in this chapter. With whom does she fight and for what reason?

2. Who is Atticus defending and what are his reasons for defending him?

3. Find an idiom on page 75.

4. Another good quote is spoken by Atticus on page 75. See if you can determine which quote ties in Hamlet’s advice to Polonius that we read at the beginning of the novel. Write down the quote and explain it.

5. What is ad hominem and how might it relate to Atticus’s reminder to Scout, “This time we’re not fighting the Yankees, we’re fighting our friends”?

6. We get to meet Uncle Jack for the first time. Briefly describe him. How is he different from Atticus? What are Scout's feelings about Uncle Jack? Describe Aunt Alexandra? What is she like? How does Scout feel about her?

7. Describe Francis? How is he very different from Scout and Jem?

8. What is it that Francis says that angers Scout so much?

9. Discipline is addressed at length in this chapter. Both Aunt Alexandra and Uncle Jack’s forms of discipline are juxtaposed next to the way Atticus handles discipline. Compare and contrast the various forms of discipline and expectations that the adults have in this chapter particularly when it concerns Scout and Jem.

10. Uncle Jack makes a couple of mistakes with Scout when it comes to disciplining her in this chapter. What are they and how might he have handled the situations differently? Why doesn't Scout want Uncle Jack to tell Atticus why she and Francis were fighting?

11. Find the allusion on page 88.

12. Briefly explain the conversation between Atticus and Uncle Jack at the end of the chapter. What is Atticus saying, all the time knowing that Scout is around the corner listening? What is it that he wants her to hear?

13. Compare Atticus as a parent to Aunt Alexandra and Uncle Jack. Is he a better parent? Why or why not?

Chapter 10

1. Within a small group, discuss your fathers. At what are they really good? What things can’t they do so well? What are some things for which you are proud of them?

2. What was Jem and Scout’s attitude towards Atticus at the beginning of this chapter? How and why does it change? Which things are important for a father to be able to do?

3. Chapter 10 also includes the quote about mockingbirds. What is the quote and who said it? Explain why this idea may be an important theme to the novel.

4. Maudie comes up with another of her explanations to the kids about Atticus at the end of the chapter. What is it she says about Atticus that helps them understand why Atticus never told them about one of his hidden talents?

Chapter 11

1. In this chapter we meet another new character, Mrs. Dubose. Describe Mrs. Dubose as the children see her.

2. Time and seasons are such an important aspect of the novel. How much time has already passed since the beginning of the novel?

3. Scout relates the story to us, “In later years, I sometimes wondered exactly what made Jem do it, what made him break the bonds of ‘You just be a gentleman, son.’ At the time, however, I thought the only explanation for what he did was that for a few minutes he simply went mad.” Explain the events leading up to this quote and the disaster that occurred because of them.

4. On page 103, Scout says about Atticus when he came home, “His voice was like the winter wind.” What did she mean and why?

5. Another famous quote comes from Atticus on page 104 when he talks about how we conduct ourselves. Write it down and explain why it is so important.

6. What do Jem and Scout have to do every day after school? Why, what is the purpose?

7. What was the real problem with Mrs. Dubose? What did she want to accomplish before she died?

8. Atticus gives a great definition of courage in this chapter? What is it and who does he think represents it? Do you agree or disagree? What is your definition of courage?

Chapter 12

1. At the beginning of chapter 12, how old are Jem and Scout?

2. Describe the relationship between Jem and Scout in this chapter.

3. How is this summer different from summers past?

4. Describe some things that happen when Scout and Jem visit Calpurnia’s church.

5. What are some things that may be unusual?

6. What is the reaction of the people to Jem and Scout?

7. Describe the sermon.

8. Describe the offering/collection.

9. What is “linin”?

10. How is Calpurnia different when with her own people?

11. Who is waiting for them when they return home?

12. What is Cal’s reasoning for being/speaking differently when she is with her?

Chapter 13

1. Why does Aunt Alexandra come?

2. Describe Aunt Alexandra. How does she fit in at Maycomb? What are her priorities?

3. Describe the caste system in Maycomb. How is Maycomb like any small town?

4. What information is given to us about the Finch family? Cousin Joshua?

5. What does Aunt Alexandra try to get Atticus to do?

6. Describe the events that unfold when Atticus makes his only real “slip” in the novel – his discussion with Jem and Scout in the bedroom.

7. What does Scout mean when she says, “I know now what he was trying to do, but Atticus was only a man. It takes a woman to do that kind of work”?

Chapter 14

1. Scout gets a lesson from Atticus about obeying those in authority. What does Atticus tell Scout about authority and whom does she have to obey?

2. Aunt Alexandra and Atticus get into an argument concerning Calpurnia. What does Atticus say about Cal?

3. Dill returns to Maycomb. What is it that Jem does that causes Scout to feel like he has broken the last remaining code of their childhood?

4. What does Dill tell Scout is the real reason he ran off? How does Scout feel about that? What really is family and what really is love?

5. Scout makes the connection to Boo Radley? What does Dill say is the reason Boo has never run away?

Chapter 15

1. This is an important chapter in the novel. Scout says, “We had a week of peace together. After that, little it seemed. A nightmare was upon us.” This quote is a foreshadowing of some terrible things to come. Before reading the remainder of the novel, make some conjectures or guesses as to what you think is going to happen.

2. It is the evening before the trial. Who comes to visit the Finch house and why?

3. Describe the scene down at the courthouse. What is Atticus doing? Who comes driving up? What do they want? Why are the kids there? What happens during this scene and how is it resolved? Who else is there watching over Atticus?

4. Find a Bible verse from Isaiah that symbolizes what happens at the courthouse?

Chapter 16

1. What change does Scout see in the way Atticus communicates with Aunt Alexandra?

2. Why does Atticus say the mob at the jailhouse broke up the night before?

3. We get to meet Mr. Dolphus Raymond. Describe him. What does he do? With whom does he associate and why? What do we learn about his history? What happened to him years earlier? What about his children?

4. Describe Judge Taylor, the man who will be presiding over the Tom Robinson trial. Will he be a good judge do you think? Why or why not?

Chapter 17

1. Who is the first person to take the stand to testify?

2. About what does Atticus spend much of his time asking Sheriff Tate?

3. Where do the Ewells live and what does this say about their social position in Maycomb County?

4. How does Mr. Ewell react when he first takes the stand, and how does Judge Taylor react to him?

5. What is Mr. Ewell's version of what happened to his daughter?

6. Why did Atticus ask Bob Ewell to write his name?

Chapter 18

1. What is Mayella's version of what happened?

2. Why did Mayella think that Atticus was mocking her?

3. What was Atticus's strategy in questioning Mayella?