Essay questions

Question 1:
"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." Provide an example of one character
in the book who symbolizes a mockingbird. Why?
Question 2:
Should the jury have voted to convict or acquit (find not guilty) Tom Robinson?
You should have at least three (3) pieces of evidence to back up your point.
Question 3:
Tolerance is a theme of the novel. Give two examples of how Atticus Finch shows
tolerance in the novel.
Question 4:
Equality is a theme of the novel. Use three specific examples from pieces we read or
watched to show how not all men and women are treated equal in the 20th Century. A
complete answer will discuss the plight of both African American and female citizens.
Question 5:
Explain the difference between a just and unjust law. Make sure you give at least one
example of each.
Question 6:
Atticus tells Jem “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that
courage is a man with a gun in his hand.” Discuss two situations in the novel that live up
to Atticus’ definition of what courage is.
Question 7:
Scout: “ . . .an’ Atticus, when they finally saw him, why he hadn’t done any of those
things . . . Atticus, he was real nice . . .”
Atticus: “Most people are Scout, when you finally see them.”
How does this conversation represent the primary theme of the novel To Kill a
Mockingbird? Specifically, discuss how it relates to the town and Maycomb, Boo
Radley, and Tom Robinson.
Question 8:
Harper Lee suggests that real courage is the ability to stand up for what you believe in. In an organized and supported essay, explain how the children’s (Scout’s and Jem’s) ideas about courage change throughout the novel, beginning with what they consider to be courage and showing how that evolves to the point where they finally come to understand that real courage is standing up for what is right despite the risks or sacrifices of doing so.
Question 9:
Harper Lee presents the idea that a person’s education outside of the classroom helps us to mature and better understand life’s more difficult situations. Explain how the events in Part One (Chapters 1-11) of the novel prepare the children (Scout, Jem, and Dill) for the events of the trial of Tom Robinson and the events that follow its unfair verdict.
Question 10:
Harper Lee suggests that it takes an innocent child to see the hypocrisy of the adult world. Using examples from the text, show how Scout (and perhaps Jem and Dill) are able to see the hypocrisy that the adults of Maycomb so blindly engage in.
Question 11:
Atticus says that people need to crawl inside other people’s skin and see things from their point of view. Analyze this theme and discuss what we learn when characters in the book demonstrate this act of seeing from another’s perspective.

Do we just answer this and use on the essay? Because I don't see how we can use these in our essays.

I think I know now...

1. Since the definition of the mockingbird is happy, jolly, and good. Why is it a sin to kill a mockingbird? Because mockingbirds have a pure heart. They sing for us humans, nature, and everything on this planet (Who knows? Maybe some genetic mockingbirds live on Mars    ) And I think an example was Tom, he was innocent and told the truth in the jury then he went to prison, and now he is dead. Now that was a sin because of a whole lot of people being coo-coo and racist.
2. Yes, I do! First of all, Tom, most people in Maycomb are all racist that means a lot more people would think he is guilty. Second of all Atticus had some mad-evidence-skills to show how Tom is innocent, BUT ALL OF THEM ARE CRUEL!!! They all think Atticus is coo-coo, but if you read the book he does have mad-evidence-proving-skills.

.... Finally there were no witnesses that were a judge or an officer who saw everything very clearly and knew exactly what happened.

3. He defended Tom who was black and you didn't see a lot of lawyers defending black people in that time and Atticus did that showing that every person on this world is equal. (except God, Jesus, and Holy Christ ) Secondly, he tried to help everyone and knew everyone was equal.

4. People in the 20th century were racist and had the mind of gender equality. Some people or bosses of companies, most likely, will know that black people are very strong, so they would let more black people in for their jobs than white people. But then the white people would be jealous and would tease the black people and would hate them. But it also happens in schools too, the white kids would be jealous of the black kids because they are richer than them so they would start bullying them. But it also happens with gender equality too, the men would be chosen to work more than women because men are stronger than women. But again it happens in school too, the boys think they are better than the girls so they would bully and tease them. (This has never happened in the 4 years I’ve been in Bonny Slope)

5. A just law is a code that uses moral laws or laws of God and an example is “You shall not steal” from the ten commandments but on the other hand, there are unjust laws which are human personality laws which are like “Cars must be on roads”

6. One is him trying to defend Tom (which he did not succeed) and another is Jem trying to save Scout when Bob Ewell tried to kill the Finches.

7. To kill a Mockingbird theme has understanding people to be nice to everyone but not a lot of people don’t follow this a lot, most people in Maycomb and the town aren’t equal because the white people don’t like the black people and treat them poorly, Atticus, Boo Radely, and Tom Robinson were the opposite, Atticus tried to help a black man showing that everyone is equal, Boo helped Scout and Jem from Bob Ewell trying to kill them, and finally Tom tried to help everyone, fixing everything and helping with house chores.

Here are a couple sample essay topics I found online:

Topic A –  Innocence and Experience – What are the major life-lessons that the younger characters in the novel (Scout, Jem and Dill) absorb as part of their coming-of-age in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s? You may pick one or more of these young people to write about and you may want to mention other kids in the story as well such as Walter Cunningham, Little Chuck Little, Burris Ewell, Cecil Jacobs and Francis Hancock.

Topic B –  Sources of Enmity – What are the significant sources of tension (i.e. suspicion, mistrust, class prejudice, racial prejudice,  snobbery, enmity, animosity, hatred) between various characters in the novel and what price is paid by certain characters for these antagonisms? For this topic, in addition to the younger characters mentioned above, you may want to concentrate on any of the following adult characters: Old Mr. Radley, Nathan Radley, Boo Radley, Miss Stephanie Crawford, Miss Maudie Atkinson, Atticus, Calpurnia, Lula, Zeebo,  Reverend Sykes, Aunt Alexandra,  Tom Robinson, Bob Ewell, Mayella Ewell, Sheriff Heck Tate, Mr. Gilmer, Judge Taylor, Mr. Link Deas, Dolphus Raymond, Miss Merriweather, Mrs. Farrow, Mr. Underwood.

Topic C – Dimensions of Social Inequality – What does this novel have to teach us about the problem of human inequality and the divisions within human society? Write about specific dimensions of inequality in Maycomb, Alabama – i.e. the advantages and disadvantages that certain characters experience. Try to identify an underlying common lesson that unites each of these characters. Your paper may choose to focus on characters such as Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, Bob Ewell, Mayella Ewell, Burris Ewell, Mr. Cunningham, Walter Cunningham,  Dill Harris, Dolphus Raymond or any of the other characters mentioned above.

More Essay Topics:
1 Analyze the relationship between Boo Radley and the children. How does this relationship change throughout the book? What are the causes of the developments in this relationship?

2 Discuss the concept of fear as presented in the novel. Compare the children's early fear of Boo Radley to their fear or lack thereof when Bob Ewell attacks them. Is Scout correct in stating that real fear can only be found in books?

3 Discuss the concept of family and Lee's presentation of the American family. What does it consist of?

4 Although critized openly, Atticus is respected throughout the town of Maycomb. Why is this true?

5 Discuss the concept of education. Does Lee argue for a dominance of education in the home or institutionalized education? What evidence does she provide?

6 Trace the theme of the mockingbird throughout the novel and analyze what the bird symbolizes or represents.

7 Trace Boo Radley's development from monster to savior. How does Scout's understanding of Boo develop? What lessons does Boo teach Scout?

8 Discuss Atticus's approach to parenting. What is his relationship with his children? Can his parenting style be criticized? If so, how?

9 Scout and Jem mature considerably through the course of the novel. What developmental changes do they go through, and what causes these changes?

10 Discuss the town of Maycomb as you might discuss a main character in the book. What is the identity or "character" of the town, and how (if at all) does it change and grow over the years? How does its diversity give it a pluralistic character?

11 Discuss law as it is represented in To Kill A Mockingbird. What power and limitations exist within the legal system according to Atticus, Jem, and Scout?