Characters
Who narrates the novel?
Jean Louise Finch (Scout)
What does Scout say to Walter Cunningham that gets her into trouble in her own home?
She asks what in the “sam hill” he is doing when he pours syrup all over his lunch. Calpurnia takes her into the kitchen and lectures her about treating guests with courtesy.
What does Jem finally tell Atticus at the end of Chapter 8?
Jem tells Atticus all of the children’s secrets about Boo Radley – the gifts they have found in the knothole and the truth about the pants he lost.
What time period does the novel take place in?
Great Depression
Who is the Finch family's cook/housekeeper?
Calpurnia
Why does Mr. Radley fill the hole with cement?
He says that he has filled the hole because the tree is dying (though Atticus later tells Jem there is nothing wrong with the tree).
How does the weather change in Chapter 8?
It snows for the first time in over 50 years.
What is the name of the town?
Maycomb
Why does Atticus want the children to leave the Radley's alone? What does this illustrate about his character?
Atticus is a compassionate and considerate person. He tells them the Radleys have a right to privacy, that trying to poke a note through the Radleys’ window is not a civil way to communicate with others, that they need to wait for an invitation, and that it is hurtful to make fun of people in front of the neighborhood. He reminds them that if he did any of these things to them, they wouldn’t like it.
What does Scout hear when she rolled into the Radley yard in the tire?
She could hear someone laughing inside the house.
How did Jem find his pants when he returned for them at the Radley place?
When he went back to the Radley Place to get his pants, they were neatly folded and waiting for him on the fence. Someone had mended the tear, but crudely, as if they were unskilled at sewing.
What state does the novel take place in?
Alabama
Why are the Ewells allowed special privileges?
The Ewells are such nasty people that the other townspeople want to avoid a run-in with them. In addition, the townspeople know Bob Ewell is a drunk, so they don’t want to keep his children from getting food, which is why they allow Bob to go hunting out of season.
Why does Scout get in trouble on the first of school and placed into the corner?
She embarrasses Miss Caroline by trying to explain that Walter Cunningham forgot his lunch because his family is poor, but that the Cunninghams don’t take charity.
Why does the Radley Place fascinate Scout, Dill and Jem?
The town is full of rumors about the Radley family, particularly Boo, a “malevolent phantom” who sneaks out at night to wreak havoc on the neighborhood. Boo never comes out and the family doesn’t interact with the townspeople, so there is a lot of mystery about them.
How is the Radley place described?
Creepy, dark, and anything that grows in the yard is poisonous.
What is the recluse, Boo Radley, rumored to have done when he was little?
He stabbed his father with a pair of scissors (in the leg).
Whose house caught on fire in Chapter 8?
Miss Maudie Atkinson's
Name 3 things found in the tree knothole.
The children find two pieces of gum, two Indian-head pennies (in a box wrapped with gum wrappers), a ball of twine, two dolls (a boy and a girl) carved out of soap, a spelling bee medal, and a broken pocket watch on a chain with a knife attached.
Fill in the blank: “Being Southerners, it was a source of ________ to some members of the family that we had no recorded ancestors on either side of the Battle of Hastings.”
shame