To Kill a Mockingbird Chapters 23-26

1. To Kill a MockingbirdChapters 23-26 Dr. Good English 10 Arleta High School

2. Bob Ewell’s Threats • Bob Ewell spits in Atticus’ face and “told him he’d get him if it took the rest of his life.” (290) • The children are afraid, and want Atticus to carry a gun, which he refuses to do. • “Jem, see if you can stand in Bob Ewell’s shoes a minute. I destroyed his last shred of credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin with. The man had to have some kind of comeback, his kind always does. So if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take.” (293)

3. Circumstantial Evidence • Jem is upset at the injustice of Tom being sentenced to death on flimsy circumstantial evidence. • “There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads – they couldn’t be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life.” (295) • THINK/PAIR/SHARE: What has changed since this book was written? What was the author’s goal in including this speech from Atticus?

4. Class Distinctions • Scout wants to befriend Walter Cunningham, but Aunt Alexandra discourages her. • “Jean Louise, there is no doubt in my mind that they’re good folks. But they’re not our kind of folks.” (299) • What is the social makeup of Maycomb? Who is at the top? At the bottom?

5. Jem Explains • “There’s four kinds of folks in the world. There’s the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there’s the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes… the thing about it is, our kind of folks don’t like the Cunninghams, the Cunninghams don’t like the Ewells, and the Ewells hate and despise the colored folks.” (302) • THINK/PAIR/SHARE: Are class/race divisions good or bad for societies?

6. Beginning to Mature • Jem shows Scout that he is starting to get hair on his chest and under his arms. • What does this tell you about Jem? • In what other ways is Jem maturing?

7. A Missionary Tea • Aunt Alexandra invites the ladies of Maycomb for tea. While they are there, they study the African Mruna tribe, and the missionary efforts to convert them to Christianity. • The ladies also discuss their house servants in Maycomb. Mrs. Merriweather especially is concerned that her maid is “sulky” since Tom Robinson’s trial. • THINK/PAIR/SHARE: What is ironic about the fact that the ladies are concerned about how to help an African tribe?

8. Standing Up for Atticus • “I tell you there are some good but misguided people in this town… thought they were doing the right thing a while back, but all they did was stir ‘em up.” (311) • Who are the people Mrs. Merriweather is referring to? • What does Miss Maudie mean when she says “His food doesn’t stick going down, does it?” (312) • Why does Aunt Alexandra give Miss Maudie “a look of pure gratitude?” (312)

9. News about Tom • Atticus returns home with news about Tom Robinson. • He has been shot and killed while trying to escape from prison. He was shot seventeen times. • THINK/PAIR/SHARE: Why did Tom try to escape from prison?

10. The Editorial • Mr. Underwood writes an editorial in The Maycomb Tribune about Tom’s death. • “Mr. Underwood simply figured it was a sin to kill cripples, be they standing, sitting, or escaping. He likened Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children…” (323) • THINK/PAIR/SHARE: How is the symbolic meaning of the title of the novel revealed in this chapter?

11. Ewell Again • When he hears the news of Tom’s death, Bob Ewell said “it made one down and about two more to go.” (323) • What do you think this means? • What sort of literary device is the author using here?

12. Scout Grows Up • “I was now in the third grade, and our routines were so different I only walked to school with Jem in the mornings.” (324) • “The Radley Place had ceased to terrify me… I sometimes felt a twinge of remorse, when passing by the old place, at ever having taken part in what must have been sheer torment to Arthur Radley – what reasonable recluse wants children peeping through his shutters…” (324) • How does this show that Scout is maturing?

13. A Lesson in School • Scout’s class is studying about Hitler. The teacher, Miss Gates, says that Hitler is cruel to the Jews, and that his treatment of them is wrong. • Scout is confused by Miss Gates’ defense of the Jews because “…coming out of the courthouse that night Miss Gates was – she was talking with Miss Stephanie Crawford. I heard her say it’s time somebody taught ‘em a lesson, they were gettin’ way above themselves, an’ the next thing they think they can do is marry us. Jem, how can you hate Hitler so bad an’ then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home –” (331) • What does this show about Miss Gates (and by extension, about all of the people of Maycomb)?

14. Jem’s Reaction • “I never wanta hear about that courthouse again, ever, ever, you hear me? You hear me? Don’t you ever say one word to me about it again, you hear? Now go on!” (331) • THINK/PAIR/SHARE: Why do you think Jem reacts so strongly? What does Atticus mean when he says that Jem is trying hard to forget something?

15. What is the POINT? • Why did Harper Lee include the story of Miss Gates and her reaction to Hitler in this story? • What is the author trying to tell us about ourselves? • How does this relate to the theme of the novel?