To Kill A Mockingbird


Novel Final Exam:

  • Thursday, 4/10 (Period 6)
  • Wednesday, 4/9 (Period 3)

Essay Questions:

  • Due Thursday, 4/10 (Period 6 at the beginning of the period!)
  • Due Wednesday, 4/9 (Period 3 at the beginning of the period!)
  1. Racism: “I’m simply defending a Negro—his name’s Tom Robinson” (100). With these words Atticus informs Scout of his life-altering task of standing up to the prejudice and racism that pervades the sleepy southern town that was Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. Discuss the effects of racism on Maycomb citizens such as Tom and Helen Robinson, Calpurnia, Scout, Jem, Dill, or Mayella Ewell. Is this a challenging novel that promotes Civil Rights or does it accept the racism and segregation of the time period?
  2. Empathy: According to Atticus, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view – until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (39). How is empathy toward others demonstrated or learned by characters such as Atticus, Scout, Jem, Dill, or Miss Maudie?
  3. Courage: Atticus says to Jem that he wants his son “to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand” (149). How is courage defined in this novel? What character(s) best exemplify courage? Why? What point does Harper Lee want to make about courage through her use of these characters?
  4. Loss of Innocence: With age and experience come knowledge, the realization of harsh realities, and finally wisdom and understanding. Trace the narrator’s journey from innocence to understanding in a thoughtful essay.

To download the essay handout and criteria/requirement, click here.

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