TKAM Questions CH 4-6
Why does Jem want to go back to get his pants? What does his reason tell you about his relationship with his father? Cite a specific quote to support your answer.
He does not want to get in trouble with his dad once he finds out that he didn't get his pants back from "Dill" (The fence). Their relationship is built on trust and respect for one another and Jem never gets in trouble. "Atticus ain't ever whipped me since I can remember. I wanta keep it that way." (Lee 63)
What is the first thing that Scout finds in the oak tree on the edge of Boo Radley's property? How does Jem react when he learns about her discovery?
She finds two pieces of gum. Jem realises that it was from one of the trees in the Radley lot and tells her to spit it out
What reasons does Jem give for waiting until the last night of summer vacation to approach the Radley house?
"Because nobody could see them at night, because Atticus would be so deep in a book..., because if Boo Radley killed them they'd miss school instead of vacation, and because it was easier to see inside a dark house in the dark than in the daytime..." (Lee 58)
How does Miss Maudie Atkinson display Southern charm and manners? What do you think Scout means when she says "her speech was crisp for a Macomb County inhabitant"(47)?
1) Miss Maudie allows them eat get scuppernongs and to play on her lawn as long as they don't jump on the arbor and explore her vast lot 2) Scout meant that her English was better than most people there and that she was more eloquent
How does Jem lose his pants? What lie does he tell to explain what happened? Do you think Atticus believes him? Explain your answer.
As he tried to escape the Radley house, his pants got caught in the fence and he had to kick them off to get loose. He and Dill day that they were gambling (playing strip poker). Atticus wants to believe his "good" child but probably believes that Dill is starting to be a bad influence on his son
Explain how the events in this chapter help develop the relationship between Scout and Jem.
During this chapter, Scout and Jem's relationship slowly starts to go downhill. Jem is starting to realize that Scout is not his little brother that he can mess around with. Scout is "becoming a girl" in Jem's eyes and is starting to lose control over him as Dill becomes a bigger part of both of their lives
Explain how the arrival and departure of Dill helps signify the passage of time.
Every time Dill arrives, another school year has passed and ended. Every time he leaves, the summer is about to end and the school year is about to start
According to Miss Maudie, what makes someone a "foot-washing Baptist"(49)?
Foot washers believe that anything that's pleasure is a sin. They also believe that women are a sin by definition. Foot washers take the Bible literally
Who does Nathan Radley blame for trespassing on his property? What does the response of his neighbors suggest about racial tension and relationships in Maycomb County?
He blames a Negro. Racial tensions are high because both races (as wholes) so easily believe stereotypes about each other
Explain the "lawyer's trick" that Atticus uses to get Jem to confess the truth about the game that the children play.
He continuously questions Jem every time he is give a vague answer and even starts to finish their answers for them. By denying everything else (making fun of Boo and laughing at him), Jem leaves the only other option left which is putting Boo's life on display. Atticus intentionally left a file at home, so that he could come back and catch his children in the act of playing their game
What does Atticus say God is? How is this different from what foot-washing Baptists believe?
He says that God loves people like they love themselves. This is different because Foot washers believe that God Only loves them if they are following certain "rules" that they have made up
Why does Jem wait until Atticus is "out of earshot" to yell back to him? What does this suggest about Jem's relationship with his father?
Jem wants to make sure that Atticus can't hear his disrespect. Jem wants to preserve his perfect relationship with his father.
How can you tell that Scout, Jem, and Dill all believe in superstitions? Support your answer with a quote from the text.
Jem: "Well, Indian-heads—well, they come from the Indians. They're real strong magic, they make you have good luck. Not like fried chicken when you're not lookin' for it, but things like long life 'n' good health, 'n' passin' six-weeks tests... these are real valuable to somebody" (Lee 40) "A Hot Steam's somebody who can't get to heaven, just wallows around on lonesome roads an' if you walk through him, when you die you'll be one too, an' you'll go around at night suckin' people's breath-" "How can you keep from passing through one?" "You can't," said Jem. "Sometimes they stretch all the way across the road, but if you hafta go through one you say, 'Angel-bright, life-in-death; get off the road, don't suck my breath.' That keeps 'em from wrapping around you-" (Lee 41) Dill: "—smell—death," he said. "I do, I mean it," he said, when I told him to shut up. "You mean when somebody's dyin' you can smell it?" "No, I mean I can smell somebody an' tell if they're gonna die. An old lady taught me how." (Lee 41) Scout: She believes in the Boo Radley rumors. " was fairly sure Boo Radley was inside that house, but I couldn't prove it, and felt it best to keep my mouth shut or I would be accused of believing in Hot Steams, phenomena I was immune to in the daytime." (Lee 43)
Does Miss Maudie believe the rumors about Boo Radley? Support your answer with a quote from the text.
No. "Do you think they're true, all those things they say about B—Mr. Arthur?" "What things?" I told her. "That is three-fourths colored folks and one-fourth Stephanie Crawford," said Miss Maudie grimly. "Stephanie Crawford even told me once she woke up in the middle of the night and found him looking in the window at her. I said what did you do, Stephanie, move over in the bed and make room for him? That shut her up a while." I was sure it did. Miss Maudie's voice was enough to shut anybody up. "No, child," she said, "that is a sad house. I remember Arthur Radley when he was a boy. He always spoke nicely to me, no matter what folks said he did. Spoke as nicely as he knew how." "You reckon he's crazy?" Miss Maudie shook her head. "If he's not he should be by now. The things that happen to people we never really know. What happens in houses behind closed doors, what secrets-" (Lee 50)
What do you think Scout means when she says, "matches were dangerous, but cards were fatal"(62).
Playing with fire is a dangerous activity, but gambling is absolutely off limits
What does Scout's observation that she "inched sluggishly along the treadmill of the Maycomb County school system" suggest about her experience in public school? What do you think she means when she says she had the impression she was being "cheated out of something" (37)?
Scout is a very smart girl and needs to learn at a faster pace in order to keep her engaged. The curriculum is too slow for her. She is being cheated out of a great education because She has the ability to thrive at a more challenging school
Why does Scout want to stop playing the game? What does Jem say to get her to keep playing? What does this interaction reveal about their characters and relationships with each other?
Scout wants to stop because 1) her dad told them to and 2) she heard laughing coming from the Radley house. Jem says first that Atticus didn't technically say that they couldn't play anymore and that she was being a girl and that girls always imagined things and if she started behaving like one, she could find someone else to play with. It reveals that they are starting to grow apart and that Jem likes the tomboy side of Scout more
What is the second thing that Scout finds in the oak tree? What do you think it means when Scout writes, "Finders were keepers unless title was proven"? Why would she say, "money is different" (39)? What do these sayings reveal about her values?
She finds two scrubbed and polished pennies. Scout knows that everyone around her is poor and knows that it is a nice thing to offer people something that is rarely found in Maycomb County
What plan related to Boo Radley do Dill and Jem devise? How does Atticus respond to their plan?
They devise a plan to put a note at the end of a fishing pole and stick it through the shutters of the Radley house window to tell Boo Radley to come out sometime and tell them what he does inside the house. Atticus tells them to stop tormenting him and that what Mr Radley does is his own business
What game do the children invent? How does Atticus respond when he suspects what they are doing? What does his response suggest about his values?
They invent a game degrading the Radley family. Atticus tells them that he hopes they aren't doing anything that involves the Radleys. This proves that Atticus doesn't believe in ridiculing and stereotyping people when you don't know anything about them