Mockingbird Quiz

To Kill a Mockingbird Quiz (Chapters 1-7)

This is a take home quiz that is due on Friday 2/27.

Answer these questions by using specific details and a quote that you explain from the book. Cite the quote by using the page number in parenthesis after the quote.

The townspeople of Maycomb have some fears and superstitions about the Radley Place. Describe these fears and superstitions.

The students in the class show some prejudice against Miss Caroline when she tells the class she is from Winston County, Alabama. Explain this prejudice.

Who is the “meanest old woman that ever lived”?

Why is she “mean”?

How might individuals view people differently from the way groups of people view them?

Identify the page number, person speaking and context of the following lines:

“At first we saw nothing but a kudzu-covered front porch…”
“…the ensuing contest to determine relative distances and respective prowess only made me feel left out again…”
” ‘Don’t get in a row of collards whatever you do, they’ll wake the dead (p. 56).’ “
“…a ramshackle porch ran the width of the house….”
“An old Franklin stove sat in a corner of the porch; above it a hat-rack mirror caught the moon and shone eerily .”
“He put his arms over his head and went rigid .”
“Respiration normal, the three of us strolled as casually as we could to the front yard.”
“Atticus saved Dill from immediate dismemberment.”
“…the chinaberry trees were malignant, hovering, alive.”
“In the waning moonlight I saw Jem swing his feet to the floor.”
“The moon was setting and the lattice-work shadows were fading into fuzzy nothingness.”
“Jem waved my words away as if fanning gnats.”
“…they invented toilet paper and perpetual embalming.”
” ‘Who do we know around here who whittles?’ “
” ‘…chewing gum cleaved to her palate and rendered her speechless.’ “

Study these definitions for a vocab quiz next Wednesday, March 4th:

kudzu (n.): a quick-growing vine with large leaves, often found in the Southern United States. See a picture of kudzu.
ensuing (adj.): Something that ensues is something that comes immediately after something else.
prowess (n.): superior ability or skill
collards (n.): a type of cabbage with very coarse leaves. It would be difficult to walk quietly through a patch of collards. See a picture of a collard patch.
ramshackle (adj.): loose or rickety; about to fall apart
Franklin stove (n.): a cast iron heating stove, invented by Benjamin Franklin. See a picture of a Franklin stove.
eerily (adv.): weirdly; mysteriously
rigid (adj.): stiff
respiration (n.): breathing
dismemberment (n.): To dismember someone is to tear or cut that person’s limbs (arms and legs) off. Although it is unlikely that anyone would have actually pulled off Dill’s arms and legs, Lee uses the word to point out how outraged Miss Rachel must have been to discover that the children had been playing strip poker.
malignant (adj.): dangerous; evil
waning (adj.): becoming less bright, intense, or strong. The moonlight is waning because it’s getting closer to morning, and the moon is changing its position in the sky.
lattice-work (adj.): A lattice is an openwork structure of crossed strips or bars, as in a screen. (See a picture of a lattice screen.) Light that passes through any kind of a lattice -work would produce lattice-work shadows.
gnats (n.): small, two-winged insects that can bite or sting. [Pronounced: NAT] See a picture of a gnat.
meditative (adj.): To meditate is to reflect upon something, or think about it. When Jem give the patch on the tree a meditative pat, he does so in a thoughtful manner.
palate (n.): the roof of one’s mouth
perpetual embalming (adj. + n.): Something that is perpetual lasts forever. Embalming is the process of preserving a dead body. Think of Egyptian mummies, or unwrap a virtual mummy. As Atticus later says, Jem would do well to get rid of the adjective (perpetual) . The Egyptians invented a type of paper (not toilet paper), as well as embalming (which, by its very nature, is perpetual) .
rendered (her) speechless: (vb. + n.): made her unable to speak
vigil (n.): a watch. Jem is waiting and watching for Mr. Nathan to appear.
whittles (vb.): To whittle is to use a knife to cut away thin shavings of wood. Sometimes, a whittler may actually end up carving a recognizable object.
cleaved (vb.): stuck