Study Guide and Vocabulary: To Kill A Mockingbird

INSTRUCTIONS: (1) Write the definitions for each vocabulary word. (2) As you read each chapter,
neatly hand write (do NOT type) your answers to all questions. (3) After reading (and re-reading) each
chapter, write down any questions and comments you have about the chapter. Be prepared to discuss
these in class. (4) The characters are listed by the chapter in which they FIRST appear. As you read,
take and add to your notes about each character. (Take these notes on a series of papers labeled
“CHARACTER NOTES.” They do NOT go on the same page as your vocabulary, study guide
answers, and questions/comments!)

Chapter 1:

Vocabulary: assuaged, apothecary, taciturn, repertoire, vapid, malevolent, predilection, nebulous

1. What was the name of Simon’s homestead?

2. When Atticus went to Montgomery to read law, what tradition was broken?
3. T or F: Alexandra married an ambitious man?
4. How many people lived in the narrator’s house?
5. How did Jem’s mother die?
6. How many houses separated Atticus’s residence from the Radley place?
7. What was Dill’s full name?
8. T or F: Scout was taller than Dill.
9. T or F: The Radley’s were new to Maycomb county.
10. T or F: Arthur is Boo Radley.
11. How did Mr. Radley die, and who took his place when he did?
12. Who wanted to try and make Boo come out?
13. T or F: All three children touched the Radley place with their palms.

Characters: Jem Finch, Simon Finch, Atticus Finch, Uncle Jack Finch, Alexandra, Calpurnia, Mrs.
Finch (deceased), Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose, “Dill,” Boo Radley, Mr. and Mrs. Radley, Nathan
Radley, Mr. Conner

Chapter 2:

vocabulary: condescended, indigenous, wallowing, illicitly, impressionistic, entailment, vexations

1. How did Scout feel about the beginning of school?

2. How did Jem feel about taking Scout to school?
3. What did Miss Fisher have to say about Scout’s reading ability?
4. T or F: Calpurnia taught Scout to read.
5. How does Atticus know Walter’s father?
6. How did the first day of school go for Miss Caroline? What happened?

Characters: Caroline Fisher, Maudie Atkinson, “Scout” Finch (narrator), Walter Cunningham (Jr. and
Sr)
 Chapter 3:

vocabulary: dispensation, cordially, tranquility, iniquities, flinty, contemptuous, contentious,

diminutive, judiciously, disapprobation

1. T or F: Scout promised not to jump on Walter again.

2. Why hasn’t Walter Cunningham passed the first grade?
3. Why did Calpurnia request Scout’s presence in the kitchen?
4. Where did Scout finish her dinner?
5. T or F: Atticus was swayed by Scout’s petition to have Calpurnia fired.
6. What crawled out of Burris Ewell’s hair?
7. Who else besides Miss Caroline told Burris to go home?
8. What did Calpurnia do to make up with Scout?
9. According to Atticus, when does one understand a person?
10. Name two favors that Maycomb County cut the Ewells.
11. State the bargain that Atticus struck with Scout

Characters: Little Chuck Little, Burris Ewell, Bob Ewell

Chapter 4:

vocabulary: auspicious, arbitrated, melancholy

1. To what extent was Scout favorably impressed with the Maycomb County school system?
2. What was in the knot-hole of one of the oak trees?
3. T or F: One of the Indian-heads was for Cecil Jacobs.
4. Who was the meanest old woman who ever lived?
5. Who was president of the L & N railroad?
6. Who played the part of Boo?
7. Who had the most to say about the Radley’s than anybody in Maycomb?
8. What was Scout’s first reason for wanting to quit the Boo-Radley game?

Character: Cecil Jacobs

Chapter 5:

vocabulary: benign, tacit, pestilence, benevolence, placidly, asinine, edification

1. How did Jem justify continuing to play their game?

2. What was Jem’s plan to get Boo to come out?
3. What happened before the plan could be carried out?
4. What did Atticus tell the kids about their “plan”?

Characters: Dr. Frank Buford, Miss Stephanie Crawford

 Chapter 6:

1. Why did the kids spit themselves dry?

2. What sound shattered the neighborhood?
3. How did Dill explain the loss of Jem's pants to the crowd in front of the Radley place?
4. T or F: Scout protested against Jem going after his pants.
5. T or F: Mr. Nathan Radley had to use the other barrel before the night was over.
6. T or F: Jem's mission to retrieve his pants was successful.

Characters: Miss Rachel, Mr. Avery

Chapter 7:

1. What did Jem find unusual about his britches?

2. T or F: After a three-day waiting period, Jem and Scout considered everything they found in the
knot-hole to be their property.
3. Why wasn't the letter delivered?
4. What was Nathan Radley's ulterior motive for cementing the knot-hole?

Characters: (none to add)

Chapter 8:

vocabulary: unfathomable, aberrations, morphodite

1. T or F: Mrs. Radley's death was a disappointment to Jem and Scout.

2. Why was school closed?
3. What was the "slushy operation"?
4. The snowman was a caricature of which neighbor?
5. T or F: After her house burnt to the ground and the fire trucks left, with whom did Miss Maudie
stay?
6. Who put the brown woolen blanket around Scout?

Character: Eula May

 Chapter 9:

vocabulary: deportment, obstreperous, invective

1. T or F: Atticus had warned Scout to hold her temper in and refrain from fighting.
2. Which black man is Atticus defending?
3. T or F: Scout withstood Cecil's name calling and felt noble about it.
4. What words did Uncle Jack not want to hear from Scout?
5. What did Jem and Scout get for Christmas?
6. Talking to Francis gave Scout what kind of sensation?
7. Why did Scout split her knuckle to the bone on Francis's front teeth?
8. T or F: Uncle Jack gave Scout a spanking without hearing her side of the story.
9. T or F: Atticus knew Scout was eavesdropping when he spoke of the prejudice in Maycomb.

Characters: Tom Robinson, Cousin Ike Finch, Francis, Uncle Jimmy, Henry, Rose Aylmer, John
Taylor

Chapter 10:

vocabulary: rudiments

1. T or F: Atticus was reluctant to be tackled by Jem.

2. Why was it a sin to kill a mockingbird?
3. Which neighbor spoke highly of Atticus's legal talents?
4. T or F: Atticus out-did Cecil Jacobs's father in the touch football game.
5. Who informed Atticus about Mr. Harry Johnson's mad dog, old Tim Johnson?
6. Who informed Miss Rachel and Miss Stephanie Crawford about the mad dog?
7. Who was the first to address Atticus by his old nickname?
8. T or F: Atticus didn't want Scout bragging about his marksmanship at school on Monday.
9. T or F: Scout and Jem had renewed respect for their father.

Characters: Tim Johnson, Harry Johnson, Heck Tate, Zeebo

Chapter 11:

vocabulary: apoplectic, philippic, umbrage, rectitude, palliation, undulate

1. How does Atticus advise Jem to react to Mrs. Dubose’s taunts?

2. What does Mrs. Dubose say about the children’s mother? How does Jem feel about this?
3. What request does Mrs. Dubose make of Jem? Is this a fair punishment for his “crime”?
4. Explain in your own words what Atticus thinks of insults like “nigger-lover.” How far to you agree
with him?
5. Why, in Atticus’s view, was Mrs. Dubose “a great lady”?
6. Atticus says that Mrs. Dubose is a model of real courage rather than “a man with a gun in his hand.”
What does he mean? Do you think he is right?
7. Chapter’s ten and eleven are the last two chapters in the first part of the book. Explain why Harper
Lee chooses to end the first part here.

Characters: Mr. Link Deas, Jessie, Dr. Reynolds

 Chapter 12:

vocabulary: habiliments, denunciation, austere

1. Comment on Jem’s and Scout’s visit to First Purchase church.

2. What new things does Scout learn here about how the black people live?
3. What does Scout learn from Calpurnia’s account of Zeebo’s education?
4. Explain why Calpurnia speaks differently in the Finch household, and among her neighbors at
church.

Characters: Eunice Ann Simpson, Lula, Reverend Sykes, Helen, Miss Buford

Chapter 13:

vocabulary: formidable, obliquely

1. Why does aunt A. come to stay with Atticus and his family? What is she like?
2. How does Aunt A. involve herself in Maycomb’s social life?
3. Comment on Aunt A’s ideas about breeding and family. Why does Atticus tell them to forget it?
Who do you think is right?

Characters: Cousin Joshua

Chapter 14:

1. Comment on Atticus’s explanation of rape. How suitable is this as an answer to Scout?

2. Why does Alexandra think Atticus should dismiss Calpurnia? How does he respond to the
suggestion?
3. Why is scout pleased when Jem fights her back? Why is she less pleased when he tells Atticus about
Dill?
4. What do we learn from Dill’s account of his running away?

Characters: (none to add)

Chapter 15:

vocabulary: acquiescence

1. What is the “nightmare” that now descends upon the children?

2. What was (and is) the Ku Klux Klan? What do you think about Atticus’s comment on it?
3. How does Jem react when Atticus tells him to go home, and why?
4. What persuades the lynching party to give up their attempt on Tom’s life?

Characters: Sam Levy, Mr. Underwood

 Chapter 16:

vocabulary: elucidate

1. What “subtle change” does Scout notice in her father?

2. What sort of person is Dolphus Raymond?
3. How does Reverend Sykes help the children see and hear the trial?

Characters: Braxton Bragg, Dolphus Raymond, X. Billups

Chapter 17:

vocabulary:

1. What are the main points in Heck Tate’s evidence? What does Atticus show in his cross-
examination of Sheriff Tate?
2. What do we learn indirectly of the home life of the Ewell family in this chapter?
3. What do you learn from Bob Ewell’s evidence?
4. Why does Atticus ask Bob Ewell to write out his name? What does the jury see when he does this?

Characters: Mr. Gilmer, Mayella Ewell

Chapter 18:

vocabulary:

1. Is Mayella like her father or different from him? In what ways?

2. What might be the reason for Mayella's crying in the court?
3. How does Mayella react to Atticus's politeness? Is she used to people being polite?
4. How well does Mr. Gilmer prove Tom's guilt in the eyes of the reader (you) and in the eyes of the
jury? Can you suggest why these might be different?

Characters: (none to add)

Chapter 19:

vocabulary:

1. What made Tom visit the Ewell's house in the first place?
2. Why does Scout think that Mayella Ewell was “the loneliest person in the world”?
3. In your own words explain Mayella's relationship with her father.
4. How does Dill react to this part of the trial? Why is this, in your opinion?

Characters: (none to add)

 Chapter 20:

vocabulary: temerity

1. Scout says that “Mr. Dolphus Raymond was an evil man”. Is she right?
2. In most states of the USA people who drink alcohol in public places are required to hide their bottle
in a paper bag. Why does Dolphus Raymond hide Coca-Cola in a bag?
3. What, according to Atticus, is the thing that Mayella has done wrong?
4. Explain, in your own words, Atticus's views on people's being equal.

Characters: (none to add)

Chapter 21:

vocabulary:

1. What does Jem expect the verdict to be? Does Atticus think the same?
2. What is unusual about how long it takes the jury to reach a verdict? Is the verdict predictable or
not?
3. As Scout waits for the verdict, she thinks of earlier events. What are these and how do they remind
us of the novel's central themes?

Characters: (none to add)

Chapter 22:

vocabulary:

1. Although Atticus did not want his children in court, he defends Jem's right to know what has
happened. Explain, in your own words, Atticus's reasons for this. (Look at the speech beginning, “This
is their home, sister”).
2. Miss Maudie tells Jem that “things are never as bad as they seem.” What reasons does she give for
this view?
3. Why does Dill say that he will be a clown when he grows up? Do you think he would keep this
ambition for long?
4. This story is set in the 1930s but was published in 1960. Have attitudes to racism remained the same
or have there been any changes (for the better or worse) since then, in your view?
5. Why does Bob Ewell feel so angry with Atticus? Do you think his threat is a real one, and how
might he try to “get” Atticus?

Characters: (none to add)

 Chapter 23:

vocabulary: furtive

1. What do you think of Atticus's reaction to Bob Ewell's challenge? Should he have ignored Bob,
retaliated or done something else?
2. What is “circumstantial evidence”? What has it got to do with Tom's conviction?
3. What does Atticus tell Scout about why the jury took so long to convict Tom?
4. Why does Aunt Alexandra accept that the Cunninghams may be good but are not “our kind of
folks”? Do you think that people should mix only with others of the same social class? Are class-
divisions good or bad for societies?
5. At the end of this chapter, Jem forms a new theory about why Boo Radley has never left his house
in years. What is this? How likely is it to be true, in your opinion?

Characters: (none to add)

Chapter 24:

vocabulary:

1. Do you think the missionary ladies are sincere in worrying about the “Mrunas” (a tribe in Africa)?
Give reasons for your answer.
2. Compare the reactions of Miss Maudie and the other ladies when Scout says she is wearing her
“britches” under her dress.
3. What is your opinion of the Maycomb ladies, as depicted in this chapter?
4. Explain briefly how Tom was killed. What is Atticus's explanation for Tom's attempted escape. Do
you think agree with Atticus?
5. How, in this chapter, do we see Aunt Alexandra in a new light? How does Miss Maudie support
her?

Characters: Mrs. Grace Merriweather (mentioned earlier), J. Grimes Everett, Gertrude Farrow (others
described in the chapter are too minor to appear on any test)

Chapter 25:

vocabulary:

1. How does Maycomb react to the news of Tom's death?

2. Comment on the idea that Tom's death was “typical”?
3. Explain the contrast Scout draws between the court where Tom was tried and “the secret courts of
men's hearts”. In what way are hearts like courts?
4. Why did Jem not want Scout to tell Atticus about Bob Ewell's comment? Was this a wise thing to
ask her to do?

Characters: (none to add)

 Chapter 26:

vocabulary:

1. In her lesson on Hitler, Miss Gates says that “we (American people) don't believe in persecuting
anyone.” What seems odd to the reader about this claim?
2. Why is Scout puzzled by Miss Gates' disapproval of Hitler?
3. Why does Scout's question upset Jem? Is there a simple answer, or any answer, to the question
(“How can you hate Hitler an’ then turn around an be ugly about folks right at home?”)?

Characters: (none to add)

Chapter 27:

vocabulary:

1. What three things does Bob Ewell do that alarm Aunt Alexandra?
2. Why, according to Atticus, does Bob Ewell bear a grudge? Which people does Ewell see as his
enemies, and why?
3. What was the purpose of the Halloween pageant? What practical joke had persuaded the grown ups
to have an organized event?

Characters: (none to add)

Chapter 28:

vocabulary: mortification

1. Comment on the way this chapter reminds the reader of earlier events in the novel.
2. Why does Jem say that Boo Radley must not be at home? What is ironic about this? (Is it true?
Does he really mean it? Why might it be important for him and Scout that Boo should not be at home?)
Scout decides to keep her costume on while walking home. How does this affect her understanding of
what happens on the way?
3. Why had Atticus not brought a chair for the man in the corner? Who might this stranger be?

Characters: (none to add)

Chapter 29:

vocabulary:

1. What causes the “shiny clean line” on the otherwise “dull wire” of Scout's costume?
2. What explanation does Atticus give for Bob Ewell's attack?
3. What does Heck Tate give as the reason for the attack?
4. Do you think the sheriff's explanation or Atticus's is the more likely to be true?

Characters: (none to add)

 Chapter 30:

vocabulary:

1. Who does Atticus think caused Bob Ewell's death?

2. Why does Heck Tate insist that Bob Ewell's death was self-inflicted? In what way is this partly true?
3. Is Heck Tate right to spare Boo then publicity of an inquest? Give reasons for your answer.
4. How does the writer handle the appearance, at the end of the story, of Boo Radley?

Characters: (none to add)

Chapter 31:

vocabulary:

1. How do the events of the final chapters explain the first sentence in the whole novel?
Comment on the way the writer summarizes earlier events to show their siginificance.
2. How does Scout make sense of an earlier remark of Atticus's as she stands on the Radley porch?
3. How much of a surprise is it fo find what Boo Radley is really like? Has the story before this point
prepared the reader for this discovery?
4. At the end of the novel, Atticus reads to Scout. Comment on his choice of story. Does it have any
connection with themes earlier in the novel and in its ending?

Characters: (none to add)