Summer Reading 2013
Lee Zorn
April 16, 2013
Welcome to Lee County High School—9th Grade Campus!!!!!
For summer reading you are to read the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. After completion of
the novel, complete the attached worksheets. Please either type or write your answers
neatly in blue or black ink.
The novel will be ordered for you at Books-A-Million in Albany by May 31st. You are
responsible for purchasing the novel. (You may also purchase the novel from Amazon.com.)
When you return to school in August, your assignment is due the first day you are in my
class. Also that first week you will have a final test on To Kill a Mockingbird. After we
have discussed the novel, you will write an in-class essay, based on the novel. Have a
wonderful, safe, and restful summer, and come prepared to work in August as you begin your
career as a freshman at Lee County High School: Ninth Grade Campus!
If you need to contact me over the summer, please call me at 334-740-0811, e-mail me at
[email protected] or write me at Lee Zorn, 392 Hwy 30, Eufaula, AL 36027.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Name____________________________
Chapters 1 – 6
1.
Identify the following characters (their relationships to other characters, roles in
the community, personality traits, etc.):
Scout –
Jem –
Atticus –
Calpurnia –
Dill –
Boo Radley –
Miss Maudie –
Miss Caroline –
Walter Cunningham –
Alexandra Hancock –
Uncle Jack –
2. At the beginning of the “what happened” story, how old are Jem and Scout? How
old is Dill?
3. Describe some of the ways the children entertain themselves – be specific!
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Why is the Radley place so fascinating to the children?
What did Boo do long ago which made him something of a small-town legend?
What is Atticus’s attitude toward their curiosity about the Radleys?
What dare did Dill make to Jem? How did Jem react? What happened?
What was Miss Caroline’s reaction to Scout’s being able to read? What do you think
about her reaction?
What does Scout (both as narrator and in her words to Miss Caroline) say about her
ability to read?
Summarize Scout’s explanation of the Cunninghams to Miss Caroline.
What reaction does Miss Caroline have to Scout’s explanation? Why do you think
she reacts this way?
What “treasures” do Scout and Jem find in the knothole of the tree? What do they
think of the things they find?
What “adventure” do the children go on in chapter 6? What happens? What
problem arises for Jem?
Chapters 7 – 11
1. What does Jem tell Scout about “that night”?
2. Whom do the children think might have left the things? What happens to the knothole?
3. Describe the night of the fire – whose house burns, who does what, etc.?
4. What explanation did Atticus give for his taking Tom Robinson’s case?
5. What do Scout and Jem get from Uncle Jack for Christmas?
6. About what did Scout and Francis fight?
7. At the beginning of chapter 10, how old is Atticus? How does Scout seem to feel
about this?
8. Why is it a sin to kill a mockingbird?
9. Summarize the rabid dog scene. How does Atticus surprise his children? What do
they learn about him?
10. What does Jem do to Mrs. Dubose’s camellia plants? Why? What is his punishment?
11. What happens to Mrs. Dubose? What surprising thing does Atticus say about her?
Chapters 11-19
1. What does Jem do to Mrs. Dubose’s camellia plants? Why? What is his
punishment?
2. How does Calpurnia make the children dress for church? What does Scout find
unusual about Calpurnia’s manner of speaking at her church?
3. How did Calpurnia’s son learn to read?
4. Why does Aunt Alexandra come to stay with the Finches “for a while”? How do the
children feel about this? With what is she preoccupied?
5. Who is hiding under the bed? Why, according to him, is he there? How did he get
there?
6. What does Sam Levy tell the KKK when they parade past his house?
7. Why does Atticus go sit outside the jail house? Who shows up? What happens?
8. What does Atticus say about the men who come to the jail (in explaining their
behavior)?
9. Who is Mr. Dolphus Raymond? What is said about him?
10. What is Miss Maudie’s reaction to everyone going to watch the trial?
11. From where and with whom do the children watch the trial?
12. Why is Atticus so concerned to know whether a doctor had examined Mayella after
the alleged attack by Tom Robinson?
13. Summarize the testimonies of the witnesses (also note anything interesting about
their actions/reactions):
Sheriff Tate –
Mr. Ewell –
Mayella Ewell –
Tom Robinson –
14. What makes Dill cry?
Chapters 21-31
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
What does Jem’s certainty about Atticus’s victory reveal about Jem?
When the jury returns to the courtroom, why does Scout anticipate a guilty verdict?
Why is it important that the jury stayed out so long before delivering the verdict?
What verdict does the jury reach? How do Scout, Jem, and Dill feel about the
verdict?
What does Bob Ewell do to Atticus in front of the courthouse? How does Atticus
respond?
Who is the one juror who votes for an acquittal? Why is this significant?
In what way are the ladies at the Missionary Society meeting hypocritical?
What argument does Scout have with Aunt Alexandra about Walter Cunningham?
What happens to Tom Robinson? Why do you think he didn’t listen to Atticus?
How does Miss Gate’s perspective on the persecution of the Jews contradict her
view of Tom Robinson’s trial?
What problem does Helen Robinson have in getting to work every day? How is this
resolved?
What happens to Scout and Jem on the way home from the Halloween pageant?
What does Sheriff Tate find at the scene of the attack?
Who is the hero in this incident? Did this surprise you? Why or why not?
Why does Sheriff Tate insist that Bob Ewell fell on his knife?
To which character in the novel can you most relate? Why?
Choose three of the following characters to describe and identify: Atticus Finch, Scout Finch,
Jem Finch, Miss Maudie, Calpurnia, Boo Radley, Aunt Alexandra. Your description should
include both physical and personality features, relationships to other characters, and role &
importance in the story (what does the character learn/what can we learn from the character).
Character
Basic info
(age,
physical
features)
Personality
Relationships
Role/importance in
story
Discussion Questions
Directions: Answer the following questions in well-developed paragraphs. (5-8 sentences
per paragraph. 
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Discuss the use of the first-person point of view in this novel. Was it
effective? Was Scout reliable or truthful narrator? Why or why not? How
might the novel have been different if the story were told from the third
person point of view, or even from the point of view of another character,
such as Jem or Atticus?
Analyze Atticus’s role in the novel. Consider his role as a father, attorney, as
well as friend and neighbor. Is he a good father, friend, etc.? Why or why
not? How does he change throughout the novel? How do think the Rom
Robinson case will change him as a person? How do think it will affect the
way he raises his children?
Explore the relationships between parents (or parental figures) and children
in To Kill a Mockingbird. Look at the relationship between Atticus and Jem
and Scout, Calpurnia and the children, Bob and Mayella Ewell, The Radley
family, Dill’s relationship with his family, and the Cunningham family. What
do they all have in common? What differentiates them?
Explore the influence and importance of church and religion in Maycomb.
Who is “accepted” and why? What is your reaction to the Missionary
Society? What does this reveal about Maycomb? Is religion important? Is
spirituality important? How?
Atticus states that it is his moral obligation to defend Tom Robinson: “. . .
before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The thing
that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.” What does it
mean to have integrity, honesty, or a conscience? How important are these
characteristics?
Discuss the possible themes of the novel.
Discuss the idea of hypocrisy in the novel?
What changes would you suggest for To Kill a Mockingbird? Explain how
these changes would improve the novel.
If given the opportunity, what questions would like to ask Harper Lee?
Why do you think the novel is divided into two parts? How do these parts
end up being “related” in the theme?