To Kill a Mockingbird Study Guide Questions

Name_______________________________________________________________ Period_________
Directions: You are to have all questions answered for the chapters I assigned for homework when
you arrive to class. If you copy answers for another student, you will BOTH earn zeroes. Answer the entire
question in order to receive full credit. These questions will help you score well on quizzes. Expect reading
quizzes daily. Answer the questions as you read or after you read a chapter. Refer to your novel when
answering questions. Do not try to answer them without looking in your novel for answers!

Chapter 1 (pages 3-19)1 (This first chapter is the exposition—the novel will improve!)
1. Who is narrating the novel? Approximately how old is the narrator? In what point of view is the
novel told?

2. What happened to Jem when he was nearly thirteen?

3. How did Simon Finch make his money?

4. Where does this story take place (give details)?

5. Why do you think the children call their father Atticus rather than “Dad”?

6. What does Atticus Finch do for a living?

7. Who were his first two clients? What happened to them? Why? How did this case
change Atticus as a lawyer?

8. What does the author mean by: “There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go,
nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of
Maycomb County.” Why did the people of Maycomb have “no money”?

9. What happened to the narrator’s mother? How did her death affect the narrator? How
did it affect Jem?

10. Describe Dill. Why has he come to Maycomb? What does Dill claim to have done with
the “beautiful child” money?

11. Explain how the children spend their summer. What do they do for fun?

1 Page numbers refer to 50th Anniversary Edition of To Kill a Mockingbird.

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 To Kill a Mockingbird Study Guide Questions

12. Give 3 examples of rumors about the Radley house and its inhabitants.

13. What did Arthur Radley and the other boys do that got them in trouble? Why was Arthur
locked in the Radley house?

14. What did Atticus mean when he told the children “there were other ways of making
people into ghosts”?

15. Describe Miss Stephanie Crawford.

16. Describe Boo Radley, according to Jem’s description.

17. Who took Mr. Radley’s place at the Radley residence when “Mr. Radley went under” (died)?

18. Dill and Jem make a bet at the end of this chapter. What is their deal? What does Jem do to win
the bet?

Chapter 2 (pages 20-29)

1. Describe Miss Caroline. Where is she from? Why does this make her first day as a
teacher even more difficult?

2. Explain Jem and Scout’s interpretation of the “Dewey Decimal teaching system” that
Miss Caroline uses.

3. Scout gets in trouble twice on the first day of school. What does she do to get in
trouble?

4. Why won’t Walter Cunningham take Miss Caroline’s money?

5. What do the Cunninghams do when they cannot pay for a service?

6. How do the people of Maycomb “seal” contracts and deals?

7. What happens to Scout when she tells Miss Caroline about the Cunningham family?

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 To Kill a Mockingbird Study Guide Questions
Chapter 3 (pages 30-42)
1. Why does Scout beat up Walter in the school yard before lunch?

2. How does Walter claim he almost died his first year of school?

3. Why has Walter been unable to pass the first grade?

4. What does Walter do at dinner (our version of lunch) that surprises Scout?

5. What does Calpurnia tell Scout as a result of her outburst?

6. What do the kids first think causes Miss Caroline to scream? What is the real reason
she screams?

7. Why do you think the Ewell children only come to school on the first day? What do you
think is the reason many Maycomb children need to stay at home for the rest of the
year?

8. How does Burris Ewell treat Miss Caroline? Be specific.

9. What is Atticus’s solution when Scout tells him that she doesn’t want to go back to
school?

10. What do we learn about the Ewell family from Scout and Atticus’s conversation?

Chapter 4 (pages 43-54)

1. What treasures do Scout and Jem find in the knothole of the tree?

2. How does Scout end up in the yard in front of the Radley house?

3. What new game do the kids create? How is it played?

4. What do we learn about the children’s belief in superstitions in this chapter? Explain
their behavior.

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 To Kill a Mockingbird Study Guide Questions
5. Scout says that Atticus’s return was the second reason she wanted to quit playing.
What was the first reason?

Chapter 5 (pages 55-66)

1. Describe Miss Maudie.

2. What is a “foot-washing” Baptist, according to Miss Maudie?

3. What does Miss Maudie mean by “sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse
than a whiskey bottle in the hand of—oh, your father”? Why do you think Scout doesn’t
understand Miss Maudie’s analogy?

4. What do you think Scout means when she tells Dill, “You act like you grew ten inches in
the night”?

5. What is the plan to get Boo Radley to come out? How well does the plan work? Why?

Chapter 6 (pages 67-76)

1. Describe Mr. Avery. What do the kids wait for him to do every night?

2. Why do they decide to wait until nightfall to peek into the Radley house?

3. What does Scout see in the Radley yard which frightens her?

4. How does Dill claim Jem lost his pants?

5. What does Jem do after he knows Atticus is asleep? Why does he do this?

6. Why is Scout worried about him?

Chapter 7 (pages 77-84)

1. What secret does Jem reveal to Scout?

2. What new treasures do the children find in the knothole?

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 To Kill a Mockingbird Study Guide Questions
3. How does Scout feel about second grade? Provide a specific example to show how she feels
about it.

4. What does Jem like best about sixth grade?

5. Who does Scout think has been leaving the treasures?

6. How do the kids express their appreciation?

7. What do they see the next day? Why do you think Mr. Nathan Radley told the kids that
the tree was dying?

8. How does this incident affect Jem?

Chapter 8 (pages 85-98)

1. Who died this winter?

2. Why does Scout think that the world is ending? On what does Mr. Avery blame this
weather?

3. Why do the kids get in trouble for their snowman? How do they disguise it?

4. What does Scout worry about if the Finch house should catch fire?

5. Why were the firemen having such trouble putting out the fire?

6. What happens to Scout the night of the fire? Who witnesses this?

7. How does Miss Maudie react to the fire? What is she looking forward to?

Chapter 9 (pages 99-117)

1. Why does Scout get in a fight with Cecil Jacobs?

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 To Kill a Mockingbird Study Guide Questions
2. Why does Atticus feel he needs to defend Tom Robinson?

3. What do you think Atticus means when he says, “Just because we were licked a hundred years
before we started is no reason for us to not try to win”?

4. Where does the Finch family go every Christmas?

5. What do the children get for Christmas?

6. What problem does Aunt Alexandra have with the way Scout is growing up? How does she
attempt to provide female influence?

7. Why does Scout get in a fight with Francis? What is the result?

8. Describe Scout’s relationship with Uncle Jack.

Chapter 10 (pages 118-131)

1. Name five things we learn about Atticus in this chapter. How does Scout feel about her father at
the beginning of this chapter?

2. According to Miss Maudie, why is it a sin to kill a mockingbird?

3. What does Miss Maudie teach Scout about her father?

4. Who is Tim Johnson? What is wrong with him?

5. Why does Mr. Tate give the rifle to Atticus, rather than shooting the dog himself?

6. Why do Jem and Scout now have a new appreciation for Atticus?

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 To Kill a Mockingbird Study Guide Questions
Chapter 11(pages 132-149)

1. Describe Mrs. Dubose.

2. Why does Jem destroy Mrs. Dubose’s flower garden?

3. What does Atticus mean when he says, “This case, Tom Robinson’s case, is something that
goes to the essence of a man’s conscience—Scout, I couldn’t go to church and worship God if I
didn’t try to help that man”?

4. What is Jem’s punishment for ruining the flower garden?

5. Why is Mrs. Dubose so sick?

6. What does Atticus tell Jem was the one thing Mrs. Dubose wanted to do before she died?

7. What does Mrs. Dubose give Jem?

8. What is the reason Atticus wanted Jem to meet Mrs. Dubose?

Chapter 12 (pages 150-168)

1. Why is Jem so “inconsistent and moody”?

2. Why wasn’t Dill able to come to Maycomb this summer?

3. Describe Calpurnia’s church. How did the church get its name?

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 To Kill a Mockingbird Study Guide Questions
4. How do the people at Cal’s church treat the children?

5. Why doesn’t the church have hymn books?

6. Why is the church collecting ten dollars?

7. Of what is Tom Robinson accused? Why won’t anyone hire his wife?

8. Who is Zeebo? What does he do at the church?

9. How does Scout feel Calpurnia is different at her own church?

Chapter 13 (pages 169-179)

1. Why has Aunt Alexandra come to Maycomb?

2. Describe Aunt Alexandra. Besides the fact that she once lived in Maycomb and she
knows everyone, why does she fit in so well in Maycomb?

3. Give a brief description of how Maycomb was established. Why are so many people
related to each other in some way?

4. Describe the premise of the “talk” Aunt Alexandra makes Atticus have with the children.
According to Scout, why does the talk fail?

5. What does this conversation between Atticus and the children reveal about their
relationship as a family?

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 To Kill a Mockingbird Study Guide Questions
Chapter 14 (pages 180-192)

1. How do the people of Maycomb begin to treat Atticus and the children?

2. What is the premise of the argument between Atticus and Aunt Alexandra? What
does Aunt Alexandra suggest? What is Atticus’s response?

3. Where does Scout find Dill?

4. What does Dill claim is the reason he ran away from home? What is the real
reason?

Chapter 15 (pages 193-207)

1. Why do the men come to talk to Atticus at his house?

2. Jem says he’s “just got this feeling.” What do you think he is worried about?

3. Why do you think all the lights were off at the jailhouse except the one lamp Atticus
brought from home?

4. Why is Atticus sitting in the jailhouse?

5. How do the men know that Mr. Tate won’t be coming to help Atticus?

6. Why do the men tell Atticus to leave? What do they want to do to Tom?

7. Who does Scout recognize? Why do the men finally leave?

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 To Kill a Mockingbird Study Guide Questions
8. Who was “covering” Atticus the whole time?

9. How does Atticus show his affection towards Jem?

Chapter 16 (pages 208-221 )

1. What does Atticus mean when he says that Mr. Cunningham has “blind spots”?

2. Describe the atmosphere before the trial. Why are the blacks and whites separated?

3. Who is Dolphus Raymond? What do we learn about him and the way he lives his life?

4. Why don’t the Raymond children fit in?

5. Although Atticus has been appointed to defend Tom, the people of Maycomb are
against it. Why?

6. Who helps the kids find a seat in the courtroom? Where do they sit?

7. How is the arrangement of the courtroom then different from modern courtrooms
today?

Chapter 17 (pages 222-238)

1. Why does Atticus ask whether anyone called for a doctor? Why is this important?

2. Describe Mayella’s injuries.

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 To Kill a Mockingbird Study Guide Questions
3. Where do the Ewells live? Describe their home and living conditions.

4. Why do you think the Ewells eat squirrel, possum, and rabbit?

5. Summarize Bob Ewell’s interpretation of the incident.

6. Why does Atticus ask Ewell to write his name?

7. What do you think Jem realizes when he pounds the rail and says, “We’ve got him”?

8. What does Scout mean when she says, “I thought Jem was counting his chickens”?

Chapter 18 (pages 239-253)

1. Why does Mayella think Atticus is mocking her?

2. What more do we learn about the Ewell family from Atticus’s cross examination?

3. Describe the “incident,” according to Mayella’s testimony.

4. What is wrong with Tom Robinson’s left arm? How did it get this way?

5. Who does Atticus suggest actually beat up Mayella?

Chapter 19 (pages 254-266)

1. Why does Atticus bring up the fact that Tom Robinson had been in trouble before?

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 To Kill a Mockingbird Study Guide Questions
2. Who does Tom work for? What does he do for him?

3. How does Tom’s story immediately contradict Mayella’s testimony?

4. How did Mayella get Tom to come inside the house?

5. How did Mayella get rid of the children that particular day?

6. What did Mayella do to Tom, according to his testimony?

7. Why did Tom run away from the Ewell place? What was his predicament?

8. Who came to Tom’s defense in the courtroom? What did he say?

9. Why do you think Tom was so scared of being accused of hurting Mayella?

10. Why does Dill get so upset at Mr. Gilmer that it makes him sick?

Chapter 20 (pages 267-275)

1. Who do Dill and Scout meet outside? What do they learn about him? Why does he
go though such trouble to pretend?

2. What does Atticus do that horrifies Scout and Jem?

3. What do you think Atticus means by, “This case is as simple as black and white”?
What is the more significant meaning behind his claim?

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 To Kill a Mockingbird Study Guide Questions
4. How does Atticus explain that the case is not about Tom, but actually about Mayella
and society?

5. What is the “lie” Atticus talks about? What is the reality that he is hoping the jury will
see?

6. How does Atticus claim that we are not all created equal?

7. Ideally, in what realm is every citizen of the United States truly equal? How is this the
“great leveler”?

Chapter 21(pages 276-283)

1. Why does Calpurnia come to the courthouse?

2. Why do you think Atticus avoids answering Jem’s question, “Do you think they’ll
acquit him that fast?”

3. Other than the fact that they didn’t know where the children were, why do you think
Calpurnia and Aunt Alexandra were so upset that the children were watching the
trial?

4. About how long does it take for the jury to come up with their verdict?

5. How does Scout know the verdict before it is announced?

Chapter 22 (pages 284-290)

1. What is Jem’s reaction to the verdict?

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 To Kill a Mockingbird Study Guide Questions
2. What does Atticus mean when he says, “They’ve done it before and they did it
tonight and they’ll do it again and when they do it—seems that only children weep”?

3. How does the black community show its appreciation for what Atticus did?

4. Why does Miss Maudie believe that appointing Atticus was no accident?

5. What did Bob Ewell do and say to Atticus?

Chapter 23 (pages 291-304)

1. How does Miss Stephanie embellish what happened to Atticus?

2. Why does Atticus defend Bob’s actions to Jem? What is Atticus’s hope?

3. What does Aunt Alexandra mean when she says that Ewell could do “something
furtive” to Atticus?

4. Why was Tom given a death sentence?

5. What are Jem’s suggestions for change in the court system and laws?

6. Why did Atticus put a Cunningham on the jury?

7. Why does Aunt Alexandra object to Scout inviting Walter Cunningham to the house?

8. How does Jem try to make Scout feel better after her conversation with Aunt
Alexandra?

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 To Kill a Mockingbird Study Guide Questions
9. According to Jem, who are the “four kinds of folks” in Maycomb? Explain how this
theory works. Why are the Finches at the top of this “chain”?

10. What is the reason Boo Radley doesn’t come out of his house, according to Jem?
What does he mean by this?

Chapter 24 (pages 305-318)

1. Briefly describe the women of Maycomb.

2. How does the author reveal the fact that these women are hypocrites?

3. To whom might Miss Merriweather be referring when she says that there are some
“good but misguided people in this town”?

4. What does Miss Maudie mean when she says, “His food doesn’t stick going down,
does it?”

5. Why does Scout like men better than women?

6. What news does Atticus bring to Alexandra and Calpurnia? Explain what happened.

7. What does Miss Maudie mean when she says that the town is “paying the highest
tribute” to Atticus?

8. Why do Aunt Alexandra and Scout pretend that nothing is wrong when they return to
the ladies?

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 To Kill a Mockingbird Study Guide Questions
Chapter 25 (pages 319-323)

1. Why won’t Jem let Scout kill the roly-poly?

2. How did Tom’s wife react to the news of Tom’s death, according to Dill?

3. What is Maycomb’s reaction to Tom’s death?

4. What is Mr. Underwood’s editorial about? Why does he claim it was a “senseless
killing”?

Chapter 26 (pages 324-331)

1. What is Cecil’s current event about?

2. What does Scout picture will happen when she finally sees Boo Radley?

3. What is ironic about the discussion concerning Hitler’s persecution of Jews in

Scout’s class?

4. How does Jem react when Scout tells him about overhearing Miss Gates at the
courthouse?

5. Why do you think he reacts this way?

Chapter 27 (pages 332-340)

1. What happened to Mr. Ewell that October?

2. What happens to Judge Taylor?

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3. How does Mr. Link Deas help Helen Robinson?

4. What happened on Halloween night last year to Misses Tutti and Frutti?

5. What is Scout’s Halloween costume this year? Why?

6. The last sentence, “Thus began our long journey together” is a bit of foreshadowing.
Predict what you think might happen this Halloween night.

Chapter 28 (pages 341-357)

1. Describe the weather at the beginning of the chapter. How might the weather
contribute to the mood of the story?

2. Who jumps out and scares Jem and Scout?

3. How does Scout “ruin” Miss Merriweather’s pageant?

4. Why are Jem and Scout the last ones to leave the party?

5. Why does Scout want to go back to the school?

6. What saves Scout from being badly injured during the attack?

7. What happens to Bob Ewell?

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 To Kill a Mockingbird Study Guide Questions
Chapter 29 (pages 358-362)

1. Why aren’t Atticus or Alexandra able to hear the children outside?

2. What does Scout hear after Jem tries dragging Scout to safety?

3. Describe Boo Radley.

4. How do you think Scout recognizes Boo Radley, even though she has never really
seen him before?

Chapter 30 (pages 363-370)

1. Why does Atticus invite everyone to the front porch rather than the living room?

2. Who does Atticus think killed Bob Ewell?

3. How does Heck Tate say that Ewell was killed?

4. Why does Atticus argue with Tate about how Ewell was killed?

5. From where does Tate say he got the switchblade? Why do you think he has the
switchblade?

6. What does Atticus finally realize?

7. To whom is Tate referring when he says, “…taking the man that has done you and
this town a great service an’ draggin’ him with his shy ways into the limelight—to me,
that’s a sin”?

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 To Kill a Mockingbird Study Guide Questions
8. What do you think Scout means when she says that it would be like “shooting a
mockingbird”?

Chapter 31 (pages 371-376)

1. Why does Boo want Scout to take him home? Considering his age, what is unusual
about his request?

2. What is significant about Scout looking at the world from the Radley porch?

3. Why do you think the author ended the book with the line, “Most people are [nice],
Scout, when you finally see them.” To whom or what is Atticus referring? What
does he mean when he says, “...when you finally see them”?

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