To Kill A Mockingbird Study Guide Chapters 10-11

Annalise Gutenberger, James Musngi, Noah Trout

Chapter 10

Main Character: ● Atticus Finch Chapter 10 focuses on the character of Atticus Finch, the father of Jem and Scout. In Scout’s perspective her father is not a very outgoing or interesting man. He says he is too old for sports, which is a disappointment to Jem who has grown an interest in football, and he does not have an interesting occupation. Atticus is an elderly man who wears glasses and reads as a leisure activity and his children are, to an extent, embarrassed by their father. Jem had wanted Atticus to try out for the Methodist and Baptist football game, but Atticus told him that he was simply too old and he would break his neck.

Important quote:

● Their father refused to teach them how to use their air rifles but he said something that is very important to the story. He said “you can shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit em, but remember it is a sin to kill a mockingbird.” When Scout asked Miss Maudie what that meant, she explained that Atticus was right, that mockingbirds do not do anything except sing their hearts out for people. Scout went on to ask Miss Maudie what Atticus can do, and she said he do many things, such as play a jews harp or make an airtight will, but Scout found these to be very modest accomplishments. We see Atticus here as a very mild and quiet character, but has a very deep meaning in him.

Tim Johnson, the Rabid dog:

● In the next part of the chapter we are introduced to the pet of Maycomb, Tim Johnson. Tim Johnson was the property of Mr.Harry Johnson who drove the mobile bus. Scout and Jem spotted him walking up the street in a strange manner, he was lopsided, limping, and inching ever so slowly down the road. Jem went to get Calpurnia to help the poor creature, and when Calpurnia saw him, she realized Tim had rabies despite it was February and mad dogs are usually seen in August. Calpurnia immediately brought the children inside the house and called Atticus and told Miss Eula May, the woman who makes public announcements over the phone, to alert the entire street. Atticus came with the county sheriff Mr.Heck Tate. He was as tall as Atticus, but thinner and with a hooked nose. Mr. Tate carried a rifle with him to shoot Tim Johnson. Mr. Tate handed the rifle to Atticus telling him he needed to shoot Tim Johnson because it was a one shot job. If the dog was shot but not killed he would have attacked the neighborhood. Atticus was arguing with the sheriff that he could not shoot the dog, but Mr. Tate forced the weapon into Atticus's hand. Atticus took the gun in hand and aimed it at Tim Johnson and shot him dead. Both Jem and Scout were shocked at how Atticus shot the dog so easily and how the gun became a part of him. Miss Maudie told Scout that Atticus was also the deadest shot in Maycomb County. This part of chapter 10 shows us that there is more to Atticus than a quiet, mild mannered lawyer. We see a deeper Atticus and practically an all different person.

Chapter 11

Main Characters:

● Jeremy “Jem” Finch This entire chapter was generally Jem’s fault. His role in this chapter remains crucial as he is the one who gave Mrs. Dubose an excuse to have the Finch children read to her. He was the receiver of Mrs. Dubose’s role model of Courage. This chapter, in fact, seemed to influence Jem the most heavily as it shows his emotional breakdown after receiving Mrs. Dubose’s Snow-on-the-Mountain Camelia - a keepsake gift of her life. As he grows older, Jem takes part in his maturity by learning about what real courage was. Before thinking it was a man with a keen aim with a gun, now it being an old, fighting woman who was fighting her morphine addiction.

● Mrs. Dubose (first name is not mentioned) Chapter 11 revolves around the character of Mrs. Dubose. Infamous for her short-fused personality, Dubose plays a key role in this chapter by using Jeremy Finch as a decoy from her everyday life. After hearing of her terminal sickness, she wants to die without her addiction to a daily painkiller, morphine. Nearing the end of the chapter, Dubose died freed from her addiction to the prescription. Atticus uses Dubose as a message the maturing Jem as he depicts her as a symbol of courage. He wanted to show Jem what “real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand” (referencing his capability to shoot with precise accuracy).

● Atticus Finch Though not making a large appearance in chapter 11, Atticus has significance to the chapter by clarifying the situation with Mrs. Dubose. When being sent to Dubose house after Jem’s last reading, Atticus prepares her will and witnesses her death. Sending home a sentimental camellia, Dubose tries to message Jem one last farewell. It was Atticus that fully explained her addiction to Jem and that she was only her irritable self when she’d been under withdrawal from morphine. It was also Atticus that clarified the chapter’s theme, which is courage. He wanted to teach Jem that Mrs. Dubose’s fight against the drugs was quite brave rather than when Atticus had shot Tim Johnson. Theme

● The chapter mostly revolves around the ideas of courage as stated by Atticus (page 112, third paragraph). It shows the understanding that the Jem and Scout endure in order to grow up as a person. Although Jem is the one going through puberty, it was a general lesson to the children that courage is “when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.” This sentence stated by Atticus conveys the message that something is only an act of bravery when you do it with a low to zero possibility of succeeding with positive results - to know your going to fail but you go through with it regardless.

Allusion

● Though not thoroughly having significance in Chapter 11, there was a reference made earlier in the chapter when a rumor that Mrs. Dubose hid a CSA pistol within her household. This reference may not only indicate a fighting side to Dubose, but an explanation for the hatred she had behind negroes as well as most of the Confederate southerners. The withdrawal from morphine may have allowed such feelings to escape her mind in rage as she shouts at Jem and Scout as they pass her house. Characters

● Chapter 10 The main characters in this chapter are Atticus and Heck Tate, who is introduced in this chapter.

● Chapter 11 The main characters in this chapter are Mrs. Dubose, Scout, and Jem.

Literary Terms

● Foreshadowing (discussion of shooting, sins, and mockingbirds [page 90, 2nd and 4th paragraphs]) ● Theme (courage) ● Allusion (It was rumored that Mrs. Dubose had a PSA pistol) ● Kennings (Atticus’ nickname, One Shot Finch)

Plot Summary

● Chapter 10- Tim Johnson, the dog of Harry Johnson (the Mobile bus driver) had rabies in the month of February (which was rare) and Heck Tate (the county sheriff) asked Atticus to shoot the dog before it harmed anyone. We soon learn that Atticus had the nickname of One Shot Finch. Prior to this, Scout thought her father was not good at doing anything. ● Chapter 11- Mrs. Dubose, the neighbor of Scout and Jem, is a morphine addict. She has Jem (and Scout) come to her house everyday for a month and read to her. She does this to distract her from her drug addiction. At the end of that month, she died due to her addiction to morphine. The theme of the story is revealed here, and that theme is courage.