how to kill a mocking bird

Graded Assignment
Journal Part 1: To Kill a Mockingbird
The questions in this assignment cover readings in Lessons 1–7 of the To Kill a Mockingbird unit (Chapters 1–13 of the text). You may answer each question as you are prompted to do so, or you may want to wait until after Lesson 7 to answer them. Keep the questions in mind as you work on Lessons 2–7.
You will need to turn in this assignment after you complete all of your work in Lesson 7 of this unit. As always, be sure to submit this assignment to your teacher by the due date for full credit.
(10 points)
1. Dill lies about his father—and many other things. What is probably his motivation? What does Dill add to the children’s lives?
Answer:

Dill lies about his father and the rest of the family because he doesn't want anyone to know that he is not treated as well by his family as Atticus treats his children. He wants to be thought of as a "normal" child. Although he is not abused, he's ignored by his family and left to his own devices. Because of this, he's seen almost every horror movie and delights in telling the details to others. He adds imagination, color, and, at times, drama to Scout and Jem's lives. He is the one who often begins much of the mischief the children get into. He dares Jem to approach the Radley house and makes up the "Boo Radley" game. He even runs away one from his own house and is found under Scout's bed.In "To Kill a Mockingbird", Dill's antics serve as a welcome comic relief to the grim story surrounding Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell.

(10 points)
2. Miss Maudie discusses some of the town’s problems with the children. She says: “The things that happen to people we never really know. What happens in houses behind closed doors, what secrets—“ Secrets seem to be a theme in the novel. Even a small town holds many secrets. What are some of the secrets from the story thus far? How might the secrets affect the story?
Answer:

A few of the secrets in the story are: Dill’s Aunt Rachel is a closet drinker- she drank a pint for breakfast every morning, the knothole in the Radley tree and the gifts the Jem and Scout received, Mrs. Dubose has a morphine addiction, Mr. Avery’s long distance peeping addiction, and the actual reason why Jem lost his pants in the Radley collard patch. The secrets are symbolic of the themes in the story.

(10 points)
3. Miss Maudie says to Scout: “Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets.” What does this mean? What is the significance of the difference between Atticus and others in the town?
Answer:

Atticus doesn’t have any secrets and he isn’t two-faced, he acts with integrity, and he acts the same way that he does in public as he does in public. So what that mean is Atticus becomes the symbol of honesty and justice in a town full of secrets.

(10 points)
4. How do the children feel at Calpurnia’s church? What do they learn from this visit?
Answer:

The children aren’t warmly accepted at the church at all. Considering they are in a black church they realize how discrimination feels from the other side. They learn how bad that feels, and that many people in the church can’t read so they came up with their own way in learning the hymns. They also learned that Calpurnia was forced to compromise in order to survive in the black and white societies that she lived in, despite the fact that she could speak and read English.

(10 points)
5. Consider Atticus’s interactions with Miss Maudie and Mrs. Dubose. How does he treat them?
Answer:

Atticus Finch treats Miss Maudie and Mrs. Dubose--with the utmost respect. Atticus has a true friend and kindred spirit in Miss Maudie who, like Atticus, has lost her spouse and has remained unmarried. They are old friends and Atticus shows his humorous side often with his neighbor, particularly with the "morphodite snowman" and when Jem has practiced his aim on her bottom.