To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbirdby Harper Lee Chapters 4 – 8 Discussion Questions

Ch. 1 – 5 QUIZ • Get out a piece of notebook paper • Write your name, the date and class period in the top right corner • Title the page: TKM Ch. 1 – 5 Quiz • Number the page 1 – 15, skip a line between numbers

TRUE or FALSE? FILL IN THE BLANK • Scout is Dill’s sister. ______ • Atticus refuses to break tradition and leave Finch’s Landing. ______ • Jem reluctantly accepts Dill’s dare to run up and touch the Radley house. ______ • Atticus refuses to let Calpurnia discipline the children. ______ • Mr. Cunnigham pays Atticus for work on his entailment by providing him with items he produced on his farm. _____ • Even though Burris Ewell is poor, he is a gentleman. _______ • The Finch Family live in Maycomb, Mississippi. _______ • Jem is honest with Atticus about the Boo Radley game with the scissors. _______ • Miss Maudie is a widow who wears a straw hat and loves to work in her yard. _______ • Jem and Dill plan to contact Boo Radley using a letter and a fishing pole. ______ • Miss Maudie feels Boo Radley is a victim of his father’s sternness and religious obsession. _______ • The first thing found in the knot hole of the tree was ___________________________. • Miss Caroline punished Scout because Scout knew how to __________________ and ___________________. • Jem pushed Scout in a ____________________, and it ended up in the Radley’s front yard. • Dill lies about having a ______________________.

Don’t forget… • …to name the chapters! • Chapter 4 • Chapter 5

Discussion Questions – Ch. 4 • What is learned about Jem and Scout from their diverse reaction to the pennies in the knot-hole? • Both Jem and Scout are curious about who is leaving the trinkets in the knot-hole. However, more importantly, the reader gets a better sense of Jem’s immaturity (that he still has a lot to learn) when he references superstitions, highly appraises the pennies, and places the treasures in his trunk.

Discussion Questions – Ch. 4 • What characteristics of children in general are revealed through the Boo Radley game? Why doesn’t Scout enjoy the game as much as the boys do? • The game demonstrates that, although children are imaginative, they are often unintentionally cruel because they are sometimes insensitive to others (lack empathy and compassion). Scout fears getting caught and is more concerned about Atticus’ disapproval and hurting Boo’s feelings.

Discussion Questions – Ch. 5 • What functions does Miss Maudie Atkinson serve in the novel? • Through Miss Maudie’s comments and interactions, she characterizes others. Scout befriends Miss Maudie more when Jem and Dill start excluding her. Miss Maudie is a positive female role model for Scout. • Annotate in the chapter when Scout talks about Miss Maudie

Discussion Questions – Ch. 6 • What is significant about Jem’s decision to make a lone, nocturnal return to the Radley Place? What is the significant outcome of the return? • Jem’s decision to return to the Radley Place for his pants is a moment of high suspense in the novel. It reveals his respect for his father. Jem says that Atticus has never whipped him and that’s the way he wants to keep it. He also faces his fears and asserts his independence. The significant outcome of his return is that the pants were mended and folded, waiting for Jem to return and get them.

Discussion Questions – Ch. 6 • What is significant about the town’s conclusion regarding the disturbance at the Radley Place? • The town’s conclusion exemplifies its racial prejudice. It is simply assumed by the town that only a black person could be guilty of anything. • Foreshadowing the outcome of the Tom Robinson trial

Discussion Question – Ch. 7 • What bewildering incidents occur to Jem and Scout? • Jem’s week-long moody spell demonstrates his confusion over finding his pants fixed and folded; Scout is bewildered by Jem’s behavior. • When school starts again, Jem and Scout start finding more things in the knot-hole of the tree. • Nathan Radley tells Jem that he put cement in the hole because the tree was dying, but Atticus says the tree looks perfectly healthy.

Discussion Question – Ch. 7 • Why is it significant that Jem had been crying? • Jem’s tears reveal that, unlike Scout at this point, he is sensitive to understand that it is Boo Radley trying to make contact with the children out of loneliness and his only form of communication has been severed by his brother. Jem feels bad (sympathy bordering on empathy…he’s learning!) for Boo Radley.

Discussion Questions – Ch. 8 • How do people react to the fire at Miss Maudie’s house? • Atticus remains calm. Jem cites Atticus as a model for Scout when she asks what should be done to help. Miss Maudie is brave and optimistic. Townspeople from all over come out to help. • Jem and Scout, standing near the Radley house, experience Boo Radley’s version of “help” when he wraps a blanket around a shivering Scout without her even noticing.

Discussion Questions – Ch. 8 • What characteristics does Miss Maudie show following the fire? • Miss Maudie shows that she has an invincible spirit. She decides to see the fire as a “blessing” which has given more room and a reason to spend more time outside. She also proves to not be materialistic and be more optimistic. In a time when she could be very self-absorbed, she takes more of an interest in Scout and Jem’s affairs.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee