To Kill a Mockingbird - Chapters 12-16 Questions

To Kill a Mockingbird - Chapters 12-15 questions

*Chapter 12: "It's not necessary to tell all you know. It's not ladylike- in the second place, folks don't like to have somebody knowin' more than they do" (Lee 126).

1. Why are Jem and Scout so welcome at First Purchase African Methodist Episcopal church?

Hint: Think about what Atticus is doing that “helps” the African American community.

2. What do the children notice about Calpurnia's behavior in her church community?

Hint: How do her attitude/ accent/ dialect change?

3. Do your best to interpret the meaning of the cartoon in the Montgomery Advertiser. Scout doesn't understand the political cartoon. Why does Harper Lee keep inserting these incidents where Scout misses the full meaning of an event she witnesses or a remark she hears?

Hint: Think about the maturity level in the book and how that impacts Scout.

4. Why does Cal speak so differently at First Purchase? The narrator concludes the Cal "lives a double life"; is such a life justified? Defend your answer.

Hint: Recall her accent and attitude.

*Chapter 13: "For no reason I felt myself beginning to cry, but I could not stop. This was not my father"(Lee 134).

1. Why does Aunt Alexandra get angry with Atticus?

2. What does Atticus tell the children about being Finches?

Hint: Think about their family “history” and reputation and what were “expected” of them and their “kind.”

3. How does Aunt Alexandra change the family? More specifically, how does she change Atticus?

Hint: Think about how she is “educating” Scout on being a proper Southern woman. How does Atticus behave with her there?

4. As in the incident with Uncle Jack, Scout teaches an adult something in this chapter. What do you think Atticus learns? *Chapter 14: "From rape to riot to runaways” (Lee 142).

1. "Then (Jem) rose and broke the remaining code of our childhood." What new violation causes Scout to make this comment? What earlier breach of the childhood code can you remember?

Hint: What did he “tell” Atticus that was a grown up decision? How had he already “let Scout down” as a brother?

2. What do you think of Atticus' rule: "You mind Jem whenever he can make you"? What problems might this rule cause? What advantages does such a rule have?

Hint: Think about her might “make” her mind him. Why would that be good/ bad?

3. Dill's answer to the question, "Why do you reckon Boo Radley's never run off?" is only partial. Why do you think he's never run off? Try for a more complete response than Dill's; consider all you know of Boo's life.

*Chapter 15:

GOLDEN LINE: "A nightmare was upon us" (Lee 144).

1. Find 10 passages in this chapter which support the GOLDEN LINE. The passages should be in MLA format and quoted directly from the novel.

Hint: The “Golden Line” is the theme or big idea to focus on…so look for passages that support a “nightmare” or a “nightmare on the way” in the town of Maycomb.

MLA format example: "I began to feel sweat gathering at the edges of my hair; I could stand anything but a bunch of people looking at me" (Lee 154).