Chapter Questions
1) What do we learn about Atticus Finch, his children and the town of Maycomb in the first chapter?
a) Atticus Finch is a wise, single father. He is a qualified, intelligent and distinguished lawyer practising in the south of Alabama in a rural town named Maycomb. Atticus has a high moral integrity and is bred from an upper-class background. He has a brother named Jack Finch and a sister named Alexandra. Atticus has two children named Jean-Louise Finch and Jem Finch. Jem is a quiet, studious boy who loves reading and football. Scout (Jean) is a tomboyish, confident girl who loves rolling in mud in her overalls and reading any book she can get her hands on. Maycomb is a close knit, old and rural town where everyone knows everyone. Its temperatures are always high and oak trees border its many long red dirt roads.
2) What game did the children play most of the summer? What was Atticus' attitude when he suspected what they were playing? How is this incident suggestive of the issues that are raised in the novel as a whole?
a) The children (Jem, Scout and Dill) played a game called 'Boo Radley'. When Atticus discovered what the children were playing he voiced his disapproval of the game and told them that it was unnecessary and harsh to tease, mock or disturb Mr Arthur (Boo) and that they must cease to do so. The incident is suggestive of the issues written throughout the book on the lack of knowledge and experience with any kind of disorder and not knowing how to treat someone with a mental illness or social difference.
3) What purpose do you think the author has in telling about the children's escapades?
a) I think the purpose is to help show the children's innocence and naivety to the world, it helps us really understand just how young they are but also surprisingly, just how much they manage to learn and understand as they grow and are faced with issues which force maturity and awareness.
4) After