Complete this study guide as you read Part 1 of To Kill a Mockingbird.
This will help you prepare for a quiz in the first week of class.
To Kill a Mockingbird Reading Guide Ch. 1-11
Name:_____________________________
Period:_______
9. What did Boo Radley do at age 33 that landed him in jail?
Chapter 1
1. In what state does the novel take place?
2. Why does the narrator give so much information about her family and
background?
3. What is the general attitude in Maycomb?
4. What is the economic development that is referenced through the
famous allusion on the top of p.6?
10. Based on Sheriff Tate’s reason for not keeping Boo in jail, how do
you think the townspeople feel about black people?
11. What does Atticus mean by “there are other ways of making people
into ghosts?”
12. How does Jem describe Boo?
13. Review this quote: “But by the end of August our repertoire was
vapid from countless reproductions” (8). What does this mean and how
does it affect the action in Chapter 1?
5. Give three characteristics of the Finch family’s cook, Calpurnia:
6. How old are Scout and Jem at the beginning of the novel?
Chapter 2
1. Give three quotes that describe Miss Caroline, using three of the
methods of characterization:
a. Something that Miss Caroline says that reflects her character:
7. Who is Dill, and what is he like?
8. Why are the Radleys a curiosity in Maycomb?
b.
Something that someone else says that reflects her character:
c.
A physical description of Miss Caroline:
2. Why does Scout get in trouble on the first day of school?
3. What advice does Atticus give Scout that applies to both dealing
with Miss Caroline, but with people in general?
3. What does the reader learn about the Cunningham family?
4. What kind of parenting style does Atticus seem to have?
4. How does Scout feel the teacher feels at the end of the chapter?
How does Lee let the reader know this?
5. What is the Dewey Decimal system according to Jem? What is the
real meaning of the Dewey Decimal system? What point is the author
trying to make about Miss Caroline’s teaching?
Chapter 4
1. Give a brief summary of the activities of the children in this chapter.
Include the mystery of the tree, the children’s new “game,” and
comment on the importance of this chapter in terms of theme or
conflict,
Chapter 3
1. In this chapter, the reader learns about the social hierarchy in
Maycomb. On a line scale of 1-10, with 1 = least respected and 10 = most
respected, mark each family to a point on the line. (Consider the
Cunninghams, the Ewells, and the Finches.)
-----------------------------------------------------------1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
2. Which three scenes/details from the novel so far would you use to
justify your answer above?
Chapter 5
1. What is an additional conflict for Scout in the opening of this
chapter?
2. Who is Miss Maudie, and what is she like? List several
characteristics.
2. Why does Jem become interested in the contents of the knothole,
especially since the items are not valuable?
3. Although they are both Baptists, what differences are evident
between the Radleys’ beliefs and Miss Maudie’s?
3. Why will there be no more surprises in the knothole of the tree?
How does Mr. Radley explain this? What do you think is the real
reason?
4. After considering both Miss Maudie’s discussion of the Radley family
and Atticus’ reaction to the children’s activities, what feeling about the
Radleys does the author want us to have?
4. Why do you think Jem cries at the end of the chapter?
Chapter 6
1. Jem has a conflict with his father (from the end of Chapter 5), and
of course, the conflict concerning the Radleys. How do these conflicts
come together in this chapter?
Chapter 8
1. What is the author’s purpose in mentioning that old Mrs. Radley has
died? (Look at the comments of both Atticus and the children.)
2. What “aberration of nature” worries Scout?
2. At whom does Mr. Nathan think he has fired his gun?
Chapter 7
1. What does Jem find when he returns to the Radley yard that
night? What explanation would you give for this surprise?
3. What method does Jem devise to make a snowman? What was funny
about the snowman?
4. Where does the blanket come from? What is ironic about this?
5. How does Miss Maudie react to the loss of her house? How does this
scene further develop her character?
Chapter 9
1. Why is Atticus defending Tom Robinson? What does that show
us about his character?
2.
How do we see the children teaching and being “smarter” than
the adults in these chapters?
3.
Aunt Alexandra and Francis are related to the Finch family of
Atticus, Scout and Jem. Fill in this Venn Diagram comparing the
two different family parts from these chapters:
Aunt Alexandra/Francis
Chapter 10
How does the relationship between Atticus and his children change in
this chapter? Does this change the way you see Atticus too? Why or
why not?
Atticus/Jem/Scout
Chapter 11
Create a cohesive summary of this chapter starting with a one-sentence
re-cap of the chapter. Then think in terms of a plot diagram to map out
the rest of the chapter. Have a few sentences that reflect conflict and
rising action, one –two sentences for the climax of the chapter, and
follow with several sentences of falling action. Your summary should end
with a theme statement. As a guideline, you will probably have about 1012 sentences in your summary.
Review Characters: You should be able to identify the following
characters:
Scout
Jem
Atticus
Calpurnia
Dill
Aunt Rachel
Nathan Radley
Boo Radley
Miss Maudie
Miss Stephanie
Mrs. Dubose
Mr. Avery
Miss Caroline
Little Chuck Little
Walter Cunningham
Burris Ewell
Little Chuck Little
Cecil Jacobs
Uncle Jack
Aunt Alexandra
Francis Hancock
Heck Tate