Chapters 21-25 Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper to receive credit.

  1. What does Jem expect the verdict to be? Does Atticus think the same?
  2. What is unusual about how long it takes the jury to reach a verdict? Is the verdict predictable or not?
  3. As Scout waits for the verdict, she thinks of earlier events. What are these and how

do they remind us of the novel’s central themes?

4. At the end of chapter 21, why do the people in the balcony stand up?

5.What does Atticus mean at the beginning of chapter 22 when he tells Aunt Alexandra “This is their home sister…we’ve made it this way for them, they might as well learn to cope with it.”

6. Why do Atticus’s eyes “fill with tears” when he sees all the food that the black community of Maycomb has delivered to his house?

7. When discussing the verdict with the children, Miss Maudie tells Jem that “…things are never as bad as they seem.” What reasons does she give for this view? Are these reasons valid?

  1. Why does Bob Ewell feel so angry with Atticus?
  2. What do you think about Atticus’s response to Ewell’s threat? Why does Atticus claim that Ewell’s threat is something he’d “gladly take?”
  3. What is “circumstantial evidence?” What has it got to do with Tom’s conviction?
  4. What does Atticus mean in chapter 23 when he says to Jem, “Don’t fool yourselves – it’s all adding up and one of these days we’re going to pay the bill for it.”
  5. What does Atticus tell Scout and Jem about why it took so long for the jury to convict Tom?
  6. Why does Aunt Alexandra say that the Cunninghams may be “good,” but that they are not “our kind of folks.” Are class divisions good or bad for society? Explain your reasoning.
  7. At the end of chapter 23, Jem forms a new opinion on why Boo Radley has never left his house. What is his new theory? Do you think Jem is right? Why or why not?
  8. In chapter 24, do you think the Missionary ladies are sincere in worrying about the “Mrunas” (the tribe in Africa)? Give reasons for your answer.
  9. Compare Miss Maudie’s reaction versus the other ladies at Aunt Alexandra’s house when Scout said that she was wearing “britches under her dress.” What does this tell you about Maudie and the others?
  10. Explain briefly what happened to Tom. What is Atticus’s explanation for Tom’s actions?
  11. In chapter 24, do we see Aunt Alexandra in a new light? How does Miss Maudie support her?
  12. How does Maycomb react to the news about Tom? How does Mr. Underwood react?
  13. What is meant by the quote at the end of chapter 25 that “in the secret court of men’s hearts, Atticus had no case...”