Chapter 8
To Kill a Mockingbird
1. The Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone
What is the Rosetta Stone?
The Rosetta Stone is a stone with writing on it in two languages (Egyptian and Greek), using
three scripts (hieroglyphic, demotic and Greek).
Why is it in three different scripts?
The Rosetta Stone is written in three scripts because when it was written, there were three scripts
being used in Egypt.
The first was hieroglyphic which was the script used for important or religious documents.
Detail of hieroglyphic and demotic script on the Rosetta Stone
After reading the definition for The Rosetta Stone, re-read the first paragraph of Chapter 8. Why do you
think the author chose to use The Rosetta Stone as a basis for rules of society?
a.
b.
c.
d.
she couldn’t think of anything else
The Rosetta Stone is another symbol of Egyptian (African) civilization
No reason
None of the above
2. Why does Jem “restrain” Scout from asking further questions about seeing Arthur Radley?
a. Atticus is too tired
b. Scout annoys Atticus
c. Jem doesn’t want Atticus to get suspicious about the children’s continued interest in Boo.
d. None of the above
3. Which of these words: command, forbid, prevent, stop, is a synonym for the word bade, as
used in the lines, “When Atticus finally called us to order…instead of out the windows…” near the
beginning of chapter 8?
4. How does the first snowfall affect the town’s daily operation? School closes
5. Why does Atticus tell Jem that Jem has “committed a near libel in the front yard” and ask that
Jem disguise the snowman? Because the snowman looks remarkably like Mr. Avery
6. Using a dictionary, define the word MORPHODITE: (Students may have trouble with this; tell
them to look at the root word “morph”: defines change in form or shape.
7. Scout refers to the snowman as an “Absolute Morphodite.” Why? Because that is what Miss
Maudie had called it, and Scout had no clue of the meaning.
8. Scout’s reaction to the discovery of the blanket around her shoulders can best be described as:
a. Fear
b. Surprise
c. Anger
d. None of the above
9. What would Scout have seen had she just turned around at the right moment during the fire?
She would have seen Boo Radley
10. The fire is a symbol in this book. It consumes Miss Maudie’s house. What could it possibly
foreshadow?
a. Happy times
b. Troubling times
c. A carnival
d. None of the above