Ch. 1: According to Chapter 1, what main event changed Boo Radley’s early life? Predict: What kind of a man do you think he might have become because of this?
According to Chapter 1, the main event that changed Boo Radley’s early life was when he was arrested and sent to court. The neighborhood legend that explains Boo Radley’s early life mistake was that “One night, in an excessive spurt of high spirits, the boys backed around the square in a borrowed flivver, resisted arrest by Maycomb's ancient beadle, Mr. Connor, and locked him in the courthouse outhouse … The other boys attended the industrial school and received the best secondary education to be had in the state … Mr. Radley’s boy was not seen again for fifteen years.” (Lee 11). One can predict from the legend that Boo Radley is going to be depressed. Anybody left in isolation from the outside world and humans is gonna degrade one's soul and destroy their humanity. Boo Radley was messed up in the wrong crowd and got punished because of it, he was a minor at the time and got a punishment instead of redemption like those other two boys. The other two boys got a chance to redeem themselves and become successful with an education. Boo Radley got an undeserved punishment that took away his chances of life and success. Also in Chapter 1, Jem describes Boo Radley with imagery. Jem gives a description of a monster “Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks … his hands were bloodstained … There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time” (Lee 14). The description of Boo Radley from Jem shows how he grew up for 15 years. The name of Boo Radley reminds the reader of a ghost. A ghost is something that one would not notice or be scared of. This is the symbolism of how Boo Radley was forgotten about and not noticed for 15 years, children and others are also very scared of their house and Jem, Scout and Dill also make a game to touch the Radleys’ house and mess around. The way Jem describes Boo is similar to a monster. This can help one predict what Boo Radley has become of himself. He is very tall but he has very low nutrition because of his outcast in society and he is very scary. The scar that is on Boo shows him as a horror movie.
Ch. 2: Scout’s experiences in school point to certain problems in the education system. Briefly, identify at least 3 things Scout is disappointed by at school. Then, discuss: Is our current educational system still facing these same problems? How/why? Support your answer.
Scout shows the things that she is disappointed by at school in Chapter 2 are the limitations of school education and the teacher. Scout dislikes how inexperienced Miss Caroline is, how her advanced reading ability is a bad thing, how her father isn't allowed to teach, and she got spanked with a ruler. Nowadays, our current educational system does not face these same problems. These problems have been solved in some places but some of these issues still occur in other places. Most states in the United States have made laws to solve and stop these problems from occurring, many countries have laws to solve the problems as well. Countries that have limitations with education and government sometimes still have these problems. The way that there are inexperienced teachers in the novel, just like Miss Caroline has been solved, resumes and teacher licenses are needed to become a teacher. If one does not meet the requirements of a school, they will not be accepted and they will have to meet the requirements if they want to become a teacher. One of the biggest problems with the education system is that the Scouts' advanced education is a bad thing. Miss Caroline shows that it is not good that Scout is good at reading because “she discovered that I was literate and looked at me with more than faint distaste” (Lee 19). The way that she looks at Scout shows that she probably doesn’t even like Scout in the first place. Scout is an advanced reader that is literate when she should be illiterate while she is in first grade. Miss Caroline’s inexperience doesn’t help them recognize how smart Scout is and she wants to limit it to help her make her job easier, the way it has been solved is that children get rewards for their knowledge and can even move up in levels for the advanced reading knowledge. The way that Miss Caroline tells Scout that Atticus lets her read on her own shows even more that Miss Caroline is more of he inexperience too. Finally, when Scout got spanked by Miss Caroline by a ruler, it has been solved because that is child abuse, and that is now illegal in most states. These problems in the novel show how Harper Lee was treated during her school years and we can compare how they were treated to ourselves with our privileges
Ch. 7: Why does Jem cry at the end of the chapter? Analyze: What can the reader infer about his feelings toward their anonymous benefactor?
At the end of chapter 7 Jem cries because Nathan Radley plugged the knothole of the tree with cement, Nathan Radley admits to plugging the tree knothole with cement with “Tree’s dying. You plug ‘em with cement when they’re sick. You ought to know that, Jem.” (Lee 70). The knothole that Jem cried about is the knothole that he has been receiving presents from and she is sad that she will no longer get presents from the knothole. Jem and Scout figure out who was giving out the presents, who was Boo Radley which they find out in chapter 8, the ghost monster that was locked in his house for 15 years, though they do not know that the mysterious benefactor is while they are receiving the gifts. Boo Radley shows a generous, friendly personality to make friends with Jem and Scout, which contradicts the scary and monstrous description of Boo Radley in the first chapter. This shows that Boo Radley can play a more important role in Jem and Scout’s lives later in the novel that they could even become their friends. One can infer that Jem values the relationship with Boo Radley because Jem cries at the end. The gifts that they are given from the knothole are chewing gum, gray twine, Indian head pennies, carved soap figures, and a watch with a chain and knife. All these gifts symbolize things for Jem and Scout. The chewing gum and pennies symbolize the gaining of friendships from them to gain their trust because in the way that children like finding pennies and chewing gum. In a way, the gray twine and soap dolls symbolize the two brothers, Jem and Scout. They represent Jem and Scout because the gray twine are tightly connected symbolizing their tight friendship and the soap dolls symbolize cleanliness and purity which the Finch brothers still have and which Boo has lost. Jem obviously appreciates the gifts and likes interacting with their anonymous benefactor. He wants to interact with Boo Radley and he is upset that Mr.Radley closes the knothole with cement. This chapter could also show in future that Boo could become good friends with Scout and Jem in the future chapters.
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Ch. 9: Compare and contrast Aunt Alexandra and Atticus. How are they significantly different? How are they similar? Use at least 2 direct quotes from the novel, as well as a summary and paraphrase to compare and contrast them.
Atticus and Aunt Alexandra are almost polar opposites. Their personalities are completely different. Aunt Alexandra seems to go back to her Southern routes and stay close to them, she is very proper and snobby. In chapter nine Aunt Alexandra makes her first appearance and shows how she really is. Aunt Alexandra’s thoughts show how snobby and prejudiced are “Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn’t supposed to be doing things that required pants.” (Lee 92). Aunt Alexandra sticks with her Southern core roots, Aunt Alexandra is a very bossy person, she would not let you do something without criticism. She is often a person that fights with people and has her say and way to keep people out of her way.
Aunt Alexandra and Atticus show very few signs of similarity. They both actually care about people, but not in the same ways. Atticus cares about the feelings of people and Alexandra cares about how people think of her. They both also want to raise and teach things proper to Scout and Jem
Unlike Aunt Alexandra, Atticus is a laid-back and relaxed personality that actually cares about people. In chapter 3 Atticus shows a fundamental theme that follows Atticus's personality, he tells Scout, “ ‘First of all,’ he said, ‘if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view’” (Lee 33). What Atticus shows in this quote is the lesson of empathy. The quote means that it takes empathy to really understand someone. Atticus’s laid-back and relaxed personality sometimes is a good thing but the way that Atticus cares about people is a good trait of any human. Atticus cares about people in a way that Aunt Alexandra cannot process. Atticus has to deal with many people that are in crisis and are desperate because he is a lawyer and that is his job. As an example, Mr. Cunningham is very poor and can’t repay Atticus for the case that Atticus had done for him and he has to pay him in “a sack of hickory nuts … smilax and holly … [and] a Croker-sack full of turnip greens.” (23). Atticus is generous enough to receive that kind of payment because he understands the conditions of his client. Atticus and Aunt Alexandra display opposite personalities and one could think that Harper Lee did that on purpose.
Ch. 10: Explain the symbolic meaning(s) of the “mockingbird.” How is it introduced, and how is it explained?
The symbolic meanings of a mockingbird are innocence and communication. The reason a mockingbird symbolizes innocence is that the mockingbirds do not hurt anybody and it symbolizes communication because of how it can mimic other things. In chapter 10 it is where Atticus and Miss Maudie introduce mockingbirds, he explains “ ‘I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird’ … ‘Your father’s right,’ she said, ‘Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people's gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’ “ (Lee 103). Atticus is a smart person and he knows that the kids are going to shoot at some birds, but Atticus takes time to remind them to not shoot the mockingbirds because it is a sin. The way that Miss Maudie explains how the mockingbird is that they sing and they communicate. They explain how it is a sin and it can relate to the title. The novel named To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee has a literal connection to the plot, but it has a symbolic meaning as well. If one should look deeper into the title, one can infer what the book is trying to teach the reader. If one would kill a mockingbird, according to the symbolism, one would kill someone’s innocence. The only people with innocence are generally children because they have not been exposed to the outside world and they are still are not mature yet. So according to the title, the child/
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