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Characters
Events
The Trial
The Attack
100
Why are mixed children sad?
They are not black and they are not white, so they don't really fit in anywhere.
100
Why is “Do you really think so?” a dangerous question when Atticus asks it?
Usually when Atticus asks the question, he already knows a way to beat you. For example when playing checkers with Scout, he would always say "Do you really think so?" when he knew exactly how to beat her from that particular move.
100
Why did Dill run away from home?
Dill ran away from home because he felt neglected by his mother and new stepfather. Although they were supposed to do things together, his mother, as a newlywed spent a lot of time with her new husband alone.
100
During the trial, where do the kids end up sitting? Who invites them to sit with him?
They sit with the colored people because Reverend Sykes invited them to sit with him.
100
Where are the kids walking from when they are attacked by Bob Ewell?
They are walking back from the pageant/school after their performance.
200
In Maycomb, race plays a huge role, however, there are other aspects of people's lives that make a difference as well. Discuss possible reasons Scout and Jem could potentially be seen as just as sad as mixed children.
Although Scout and Jem are white and from a fine family, they still have an issue with fitting into Maycomb in some ways. Dolphus and Miss Maudie point out that Atticus is a very different kind of guy, but before they speak up the kiddos don't even realize that their father is different. At the same time they fight against persecution from their peers and get into some fist fights defending Atticus's honor.
200
Describe Mr. Underwood and how he changes throughout part 2.
Mr. Underwood is well known for his dislike of the Negros. Pretty much everyone knows that, and he has probably said something to that effect in his newspaper. However, when Tom is put in the Maycomb jail the night before the trial, Mr. Underwood stays up late with Atticus to protect Tom from his window. Showing that even if he doesn't always like Negros, he believes in justice. Later on he shows this once again when he writes about the death of Tom Robinson being like killing a mockingbird. Mr. Underwood, like several characters in this book may not always be perfect, but they still believe in what is at least somewhat right.
200
Describe the "code of childhood" that Jem broke between him and Scout.
Now that Jem is older and a bit more mature he realizes that Dill's mother is probably really worried. Rather than just letting him hide out, he breaks the code of childhood and tells Atticus. This is him in a sense saying, I know we used to protect each other from getting in trouble, but this is more important now.
200
During Heck's cross examination by Atticus, he asked several times why no one called a doctor. Why was it so important for Atticus to make it clear that no one even thought about calling a doctor?
It is important for several reasons. Typically people who are not used to violence, have a strong reaction to it when it happens to them. Clearly Mayella had been abused before. It is also a situation where Bob shows that he was not a good father because he was not willing to spend five dollars to make sure his daughter was safe and healthy. Further more it was possibly one way that they could look back and see some of the biases that went into this case and provide hints at how poorly this investigation was handled.
200
Why did Scout keep her costume on even on the way home?
She was mortified about "ruining" the play, so she decided that she was basically going to hide in her costume on the way home.
300
What is the significance of Miss Maudie giving Jem a piece of cake from the adult cake rather than giving him a small kid cake?
It is one of Miss Maudie's ways of saying she knows he went through something hard, but things will get better. It was also a sign of respect for him because he had been forced to grow up a little bit with the trial when he saw the truth about adults.
300
Mob 1 or the mob that showed up during the day made Jem nervous. What did the men want from Atticus? What was the result?
Heck Tate and the other men of Mob 1 showed up during the day to let Atticus know that Tom Robinson was being moved back to Maycomb and the Ol' Sarum bunch had been talking about a lynching. They wanted to let Atticus know there could be trouble. They let him know what they needed to in order to provide Tom with a little bit of extra help from Atticus/ prepared Atticus for some of the trouble ahead.
300
Why does Dolphus Raymond pretend to be corrupted? Why does he decide to tell the kids the truth?
Dolphus pretends to be corrupted by a constant drunken state because he has figured out that people in this current society cannot deal with the fact that he likes living with African Americans and actually loves them. He decides to tell the kiddos because he knows that they have not been tainted by life and the views of adults, so they can understand that it helps other people, so even though it is wrong to lie, it is for the better good.
300
According to Atticus' closing speech, what code did Mayella break? What was the result?
Mayella broke a code of society, the code that keeps blacks and whites separate. If people go go against that code, the person who breaks that code is basically considered unfit to live with or around. Mayella wanted Tom Robinson's affection, which was not considered right at this time. When she was rejected and her father found out he beat her and she wanted nothing more than to get rid of any evidence of what she did.
300
How did the kids figure out Bob was behind them?
Jem is a very observant person and heard Bob's pants rubbing together as they were walking. When they stopped, so did Bob, until Bob ran in to attack.
400
Describe Judge Taylor, some of his habits, and his strength as a judge.
Judge Taylor is an older guy. He seems to be lazy, and he also seems to sleep through some of the cases. However, he always knows what is going on, which proves he pays a lot more attention than people give him credit for. This is also proven in the fact that his judgements are never overturned. Even though he is a good judge, he has weird habits. He seems to be sleeping (probably just listening really closely), he chews cigars until there is nothing left, he cleans his nails during cases, etc.
400
What made Bob better than Tom? How did Atticus make Bob prove that his left hand was his dominant hand?
Bob is white, when he is clean. Atticus asked Bob if he knew how to write. Bob took it as an insult to show that Bob was not as good as Atticus. He quickly offered to write just to prove he could not realizing the consequences of his actions.
400
Atticus may have gone through a lot during the trial and the months leading up to the trial. However, now there are several people who have a strong respect for him after the trial. Name two things people do to show him respect.
They stand for him as he leaves the court house and they bring him food despite the current hard times.
400
What kind of questions did Atticus ask Mayella? Why would he want that kind of information?
Atticus asked Mayella about how her father treats her, what her life is like, who her friends are, etc. He asks about these things to show the jury just how bad her life is on a daily basis proving that life with Bob is rough. In some ways it helps him lead the jury to the idea that Bob was probably the culprit who beat Mayella. It could have also been a way to make Mayella more comfortable on the stand.
400
What is the story that Heck will tell about the attack and why?
Heck will say that on the way home from the pageant, Jem and Scout were attacked by Bob Ewell. Although Bob tried to kill the kids, he was only able to break Jem's arm before tripping over a root and stabbing and killing himself. He knows that telling the full truth would cause a lot more problems than it is worth and honestly, Boo did the world a favor by getting rid of Bob. Putting him into the limelight would be a sin.
500
How does Bob show his grudge against the people from the trial?
He tries to break into Judge Taylor's house (until he realizes Judge Taylor is home then he cowers away). He chunks at Helen and harasses her until Link threatens to get Bob thrown in jail. He threatens Atticus and spits in his eye. He also eventually attacks Atticus's kids.
500
Mob 2: At night, the Ol' Sarum bunch comes out for a different reason that Heck's mob. What is their reason for going to town? How are they stopped from completing their mission?
The Old Sarum bunch comes out to Lynch Tom Robinson for "raping Mayella." They spent the day drinking and were going to get him back for what he allegedly did. During their discussion with Atticus, Scout overhears Atticus ask "Do you really think so?" On hearing that, she thought Atticus had just made a fool of one and wanted to see up close. When she realized she didn't know anyone she got uncomfortable for a minute. Then she noticed Walter. She talked to him and made him realize for a minute what Atticus must be going through. By making Walter step into Atticus's shoes for a minute, she was able to convince him he was wrong. He then made the other men leave too.
500
Why was the jury out for so long? Name two people who led to the jury being out for so long in a case like this.
Atticus and one of the Cunninghams helped keep the jury out for so long. Atticus pointed out how wrong the Ewell's story was and he made them realize that maybe they should side with Tom despite his skin color. Thanks to him, they were willing to actually take time to go over evidence (at least in theory). The second person to make them stay out for a while was one of the Cunninghams. Once you gain the respect of a Cunningham like Atticus had done the night before with the mob, they fought tooth and nail for you. Even though this Cunningham was not able to sway the others, he helped keep them out a bit longer.
500
How was Mr. Gilmer trying to portray Tom to the jury?
He was trying to point out how strange it was that a person would be willing to do something for nothing. If he was doing such nice things it was probably done to get close to her and from there he would eventually take advantage of her like Mayella claimed. He was also trying to see if Tom would say something wrong, which he did.
500
After the attack, why did everyone go to talk on the porch rather than talking inside the living room?
They decided to go to talk on the porch because everyone knows and understands that Boo/Arthur is really shy and nervous around other people, and would be much happier outside in the shadows.
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