Trial Quiz

http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=to-kill-mockingbird-trial

The Start of the Trial: Reflection

To Kill A Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee during the Great Depression era in the 1930s. The story resembles that of a real case, in which a group of black men were falsely accused of raping two white girls, and were sentenced to death in this novel, Tom Robinson, a black man, is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman. During the trial scene of Tom Robinsons case, Lee uses various techniques, such as imagery, metaphors, irony, and false hope, to create mood and importantly, tension.
Before the trial, the mood is already one of danger, threat, and tension. The mood is created during the scene in which the mob approaches Atticus is the holding cell, inside which is Tom Robinson. As the mob approaches, the line, Shadows became substance as light revealed solid shapes moving towards the jail door. Harper Lee shows how the men appear from the darkness, with an eerie and intimidating presence and the way they are described as moving towards, creates a sense of approaching danger, and a mood of uncertainty and tension. As the mob proceeds to carry out their aim, the mood of tension is further enforced, in the line.

Chapter 3

At lunch, Scout rubs Walter’s nose in the dirt for getting her in trouble, but Jem intervenes and invites Walter to lunch. At the Finch house, Walter and Atticus discuss farm conditions “like two men,” and Walter puts molasses all over his meat and vegetables, to Scout’s horror. When she criticizes Walter, however, Calpurnia calls her into the kitchen to scold her and slaps her as she returns to the dining room, telling her to be a better hostess. Back at school, Miss Caroline becomes terrified when a tiny bug, crawls out of a boy’s hair. The boy is Burris Ewell, a member of the Ewell clan, which is even poorer and less respectable than the Cunningham clan. In fact, Burris only comes to school the first day of every school year, making a token appearance to avoid trouble with the law. He leaves the classroom, making enough vicious remarks to cause the teacher to cry.

At home, Atticus follows Scout outside to ask her if something is wrong, to which she responds that she is not feeling well. She tells him that she does not think she will go to school anymore and suggests that he could teach her himself. Atticus replies that the law demands that she go to school, but he promises to keep reading to her, as long as she does not tell her teacher about it.

"You never really understand a person until you . . . climb into his skin and walk around in it."

Chapter 4

The rest of the school year passes grimly for Scout, who endures a curriculum that moves too slowly and leaves her constantly frustrated in class. After school one day, she passes the Radley Place and sees some tinfoil sticking out of a knothole in one of the Radleys’ oak trees. Scout reaches into the knothole and discovers two pieces of chewing gum. She chews both pieces and tells Jem about it. He panics and makes her spit it out. On the last day of school, however, they find two old “Indian-head” pennies hidden in the same knothole where Scout found the gum and decide to keep them.

Summer comes at last, school ends, and Dill returns to Maycomb. He, Scout, and Jem begin their games again. One of the first things they do is roll one another inside an old tire. On Scout’s turn, she rolls in front of the Radley steps, and Jem and Scout panic. However, this incident gives Jem the idea for their next game: they will play “Boo Radley.” As the summer passes, their game becomes more complicated, until they are acting out an entire Radley family melodrama. Eventually, however, Atticus catches them and asks if their game has anything to do with the Radleys. Jem lies, and Atticus goes back into the house. The kids wonder if it’s safe to play their game anymore.

Advanced Revision Questions - Part 1

‘Scout is the narrator however Atticus' role is just as important as he represents the views of Harper Lee'

To what extent do you agree?

How does Harper Lee use the case of Tom Robinson to highlight prejudice in small town society?

Harper Lee uses the character of Boo Radley to teach the children some valuable lessons. How far do you agree with this statement?

Atticus is by far the most important character in the novel.

How far do you agree with this statement?

What do we learn about life in 1930s Maycomb through the female characters in the novel? You should refer to at least two or three characters.

How is Atticus presented as a good father in the novel?

Consider the lessons the children learn in the novel, what impact do these lessons have and why are they important?

Basic Revision Questions - Part 1

How is Atticus presented as a good father to Scout and Jem?

Consider:

• The example Atticus sets for his children
• His role as a single parent
• How Atticus treats his children and other people.

Consider the courtroom scene – How is tension created in this scene?

Consider:

• Scout’s point of view,
• The reaction of Tom Robinson and the Ewell’s,
• How the characters react and interact within the scene.

How does Harper Lee show Atticus as a good parent and citizen?

Consider:

• His relationships with others including his children, the lessons he teaches his children and how he supports the community

Explore two events in the novel which you consider to be dramatic

Consider:

• What makes them dramatic and how the writer makes them dramatic

What is Boo Radley’s role in the novel? Is he there to be feared? Or to be understood?

Consider:

• Who Boo Radley is? 
• What Boo Radley does? 
• How he is treated by others and how he treats other?

Link

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/mocking/

This website is a good source for my studies on the book by Harper Lee 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. It has clear sections for each part of the novel, such as; context, character list and summary/analysis. It gives you all the information you need and all the behind messages for the book. I believe this site is great to use as a revision source and that it will help you to fully understand To Kill a Mockingbird.

Sense of danger in chapter 10

In this passage from chapter 10, Harper Lee builds up a sense of danger by using a range of techniques such as short sentences Which gives the chapter a fast pace to it. The short sentences can also be quite demanding and explosive, 'Take him, Mr Finch' and 'Go on'. These are both sentences that encourage Atticus to shoot Tim Johnson and therefore give the sense of danger. Another method that Lee uses effectively in this passage is the personification of time which 'slowed to a nauseating crawl'. This demonstrates the tension of the situation and the use of 'nauseating' seems to make the narrator feel sick making the danger seem greater. Lee also incorporates a lot of mystery in this passage. For example, the greatest mystery in this chapter is whether or not Atticus can still shoot. The tension grows as the reader realises that Atticus is planning on taking the shot and that he hasn't 'shot a gun in thirty years'. There is a lot of dialogue between the characters you can really understand the feelings of the characters, and how they are handling the situation. It gives them a voice and in this passage the dialogue displays the danger that may occur.

Creative Writing

Childhood Memory

When I was about 3 I didn't really think about what I was doing or what I was about to would end in. I decided to scramble through my mums makeup bag and boom... I found a bright red lipstick right there at the bottom of the bag, inviting me to use it, in whatever way I desire. Intreaged by the outstanding colour, I decided to wiggle the lipstick across my parents brand new cream wardrobe, writing a message that only my brain could understand. I stood back and looked at my 'art' and realised that it all made no sence at all. This got me thinking, I would be in trouble if anybody saw this, and in a cuffuful so instead of getting rid of the lipstick pattern, I decided to hide the evidence (being the lipstick) and hide under my bed surrounded by teddies waiting for my mum to find the message. Being young and a bit spiteful i went and blamed my older sister and it was all a flutter. I felt bad and i had to own up, i got told off and felt as if i was isolated in my own bubble.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It's September and Dill is moving out of Maycomb County to return to the town of Meridian. Meanwhile Scout is growing up and is about to attend her first day at school, she had been eagerly anticipating this but she isn't as please when she arrives and meets her teacher who she agrees deels poorly with children. When Miss Caroline decides that Atticus must have taught Scout before hand how to read. This made Scout feel as if she was in trouble that she was well educated. Scout complains to Jem, but Jem says that Miss Caroline is just trying out a new method of teaching.
Miss Caroline and Scout get along badly in the afternoon as well. Walter Cunningham, a boy in Scout’s class, has not brought a lunch. Miss Caroline offers him a quarter to buy lunch, telling him that he can pay her back tomorrow. Walter’s family is large and poor—so poor that they pay Atticus with hickory nuts, turnip greens, or other goods when they need legal help—and Walter will never be able to pay the teacher back or bring a lunch to school. When Scout attempts to explain these circumstances, however, Miss Caroline fails to understand and grows so frustrated that she slaps Scout’s hand with a ruler.

Chapter 1 - To Kill a Mocking Bird

Chaper 1

In chapter one we find out that the narraor of the book is a young six-year-old girl named scout. she lives in the 1930's in a small place called Maycomb based in Alabama, with her father Atticus, older brother Jem, and cook Calpurnia. People in the Maycomb town relates to one another either by marriage or by blood. They are a closely related community. The story starts when Scout and ten-year-old Jem find a boy called Dill hiding in the turnip greens of their next door neighbour. Dill seemed to become close friends with both Jem and his little sister instantly as their interests linked quite well with the two by revealing that he had seen "Dracula" already, which gives him immediate credibility. Throughout the summer these children had a determination to use differant ways of getting the reclusive neighbour, Arthur (Boo) Radley, out his house. It all became a bit of an obsession for the three. They focus their creativity and fun skills to make Boo Radley come out of the house. Boo lives in the same street where Scout and Jem live. There is a legendary story that Boo never comes out of his house and that all the mysterious events, which include the tiniest crimes in town, are his making. Nobody dares to pass by his house alone after dark. Jem and Dill had an amazingly fun idea. They agreed to run towards Boo's house, touch the house, and then ran back. Dill's first attempt was a success. The characters were happy to still be alive. Jem receiving a lot of teasing from Dill and she spent much time thinking about the act.
Eventhough Scout, Jem ans Dill has their intentions set of this idea of seeing Boo radley out his house, Their fear of him is relativly large.