Reading Guide 1 5 To Kill a Mockingbird

Chapter 1
1a. A sentence which illustrates pride in ancestry and “tradition is, “. . . source of shame. . . we had no recorded ancestors. . . All we had was Simon Finch . . . who lived to an impressive age and died rich.”
1b. A sentence which illustrates pride in conformity and distrust of those who are different is, “The Radleys kept to themselves and kept their shutters and doors closed on Sundays.”
1c. A sentence which illustrates awareness of difference in social classes is, “The Cunninghams from Old Sarum were the nearest thing to a gang in Maycomb. ‘the wrong crowd’.”
2. The time is the early 1930s. I inferred this because the movie Dracula and the reference to FDR’s address “. . . nothing to fear but fear itself.” Helps show the time of the book.
3. We know Boo had been kept a virtual prisoner in his home since misdemeanors in his teens.
4. Boo is fascinating to the children because he lives in a run-down, spooky house and there are many rumors about him. The kids have also never seen him, and the children are fascinated with pretending about Boo.

Chapter 2
1. On the first day of school, Scout reads, writes, and attempts to explain to Miss Caroline the kind of poor people the Cunninghams are, which makes her feel inadequate.
2. Professional people are poor because the farmers were poor; Maycomb is farm country.
3. WPA was the Works Progress Administration, a government-sponsored agency which created jobs constructing public buildings. It was part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Mr. Cunningham apparently disagreed politically.

Chapter 3
1. Cal believes anyone who is a guest in one’s house should be treated with courtesy, which Atticus supports..
2. The instinctive courtesy of Chuck Little and the steely pride of Walter Cunningham contrast with the filthy, foul-mouthed Burris Ewell. This may be a result of different attitudes and examples set for them by their parents.
3. Scout has learned to try to look at things from another person’s point of view.
4. Atticus explains that the Ewells will never change; therefore, the law permits them to stay out of school and allows their father to hunt out of season so the children can have food.
5. Atticus suggests a compromise of Scout’s attending school in return for being able to go on reading every night as they always have.

Chapter 4
1. Scout hates going to school. She criticizes “…its well-meaning but fruitless efforts to teach me Group Dynamics”. Scout thinks that forced group work is pointless and wasting her time.
2. Boo must have left the gifts there. It’s his yard and Scout had heard someone laughing in the house when she rolled into the yard in her tire. Boo must be feeling a connection to these young kids.
3. At the end of chapter 4 Scout says there were two reasons she wanted to quit playing the "Radley game." One was because Atticus showed up and caught them. Jem doesn't think that Atticus knew what they were doing, but in chapter 5 we find out that Atticus did know. The second thing that Scout was the laughing she heard in the Radley house.

Chapter 5
1. Scout knows that Miss Maudie Atkinson is not only a neighbor but a person she can consider a friend. A widower like Atticus, Maudie has also chosen to remain single, and she maintains an independent nature throughout the novel. Like Atticus, she is intelligent and wise, and she doesn’t mind sharing it with Scout. However, she always treats Jem and Scout as equals as a good friend should. She shows her moral strength on several occasions, particularly after her house burns to the ground. She stands up to the religious folks who condemn her garden and to those who condemn others under the guise of the church. She reserves sharp words for those who deserve them (the ladies of the Missionary Circle), and shows her dedication to her true friends (Atticus and his defense of Tom Robinson).
2. She is just putting down a -particular point of view (that all enjoyment is a sin), which is what Boo Radley believes in and she criticizes him for it.
3. She meant that if Atticus did drink, he wouldn't be as hard as some men who did drink at their best
4. Atticus is saying all people have the right to privacy. I agree with his point of view because all people deserve privacy and if they don't want to do something people should respect that.