To Kill a Mockingbird Chapters 9-14

1. To Kill a MockingbirdChapters 9-14 Dr. Good English 10 Arleta High School

2. Atticus Takes a Case • Scout fights with a classmate when he calls her father a “n-lover.” • Atticus explains the prejudice behind the word, and tells Scout that she musn’t fight. • “Scout, simply by the nature of his work, every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally. This one’s mine, I guess. You might hear some ugly talk about it at school…” (101)

3. Christmas • Scout and Jem receive air rifles (BB guns) from Atticus. • The family goes to Finch’s Landing to spend Christmas Day with Aunt Alexandra. • Francis, Alexandra’s grandson, tell Scout that Atticus is a “n-lover.” • Scout hits him in the mouth so hard that she scrapes her knuckles to the bone.

4. Shooting • Both Jem and Scout believe that Atticus is very old; he does not play with them as younger fathers do. • When he gives Jem the air rifle, Atticus instructs him “Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember, it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (119) • Scout asks Miss Maudie to explain, and she tells her: “Your father’s right. Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy…that’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (119)

5. A Mad Dog • One Saturday in February, Jem and Scout are playing with their rifles. They see a dog that is behaving strangely. • “Jem gulped like a goldfish, hunched his shoulders, and twitched his torso.” (123) • Calpurnia realizes that the dog has rabies, a deadly disease. If the children catch it, they may not be cured. • Atticus and the sheriff arrive. The sheriff asks Atticus to shoot the dog. • The children are astonished, because they don’t believe their father can do anything “fun.” • Atticus kills the dog with one shot – Miss Maudie reveals his old nickname: “One-Shot Finch.”

6. Mrs. Dubose • An elderly lady who lives down the street, Mrs. Dubose is cranky and yells at Jem and Scout each time they pass her house. • When she yells at Jem: “Not only a Finch waiting tables, but one in the courthouse, lawing for n-s!” • Jem is so angry and insulted, he cut the tops off of every camellia bush in her yard, ruining her landscaping. • As punishment, Atticus tells Jem that he must read to Mrs. Dubose for one hour every day. Jem does so, but he is not happy. • Later, Mrs. Dubose dies. Atticus reveals to Jem that she was addicted to morphine, and the reading distracted her from her need for the drug. She had told Atticus that she wanted to die free. • 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. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.” (149)

7. To Church with Cal • When Atticus must be out of town, Cal stays with the children. On Sunday, she decides to take them to her church. • “First Purchase African M.E. Church was in the Quarters outside the southern town limits, across the old sawmill tracks. It was an ancient paint-peeled frame building, the only church in Maycomb with a steeple and bell, called First Purchase because it was paid for from the first earnings of freed slaves.” (157) • A member of the church, Lula, tells Calpurnia that “You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here – they got their church, we got our’n” (158) • Calpurnia replies “It’s the same God, ain’t it?” (158)

8. The Church Service • During the church service, the other members are very welcoming. • Reverend Sykes takes up a collection for Tom Robinson’s wife, Helen. • Cal tells the children that “Old Mr. Bob Ewell accused (Tom) of rapin’ his girl an’ had him arrested an’ put him in jail.” (164) This is the reason why Helen has such a hard time finding work. • Atticus has been assigned to defend Tom Robinson at his trial.

9. Think/Pair/Share • Does Scout really understand how serious a crime rape is? • What do you think of Lula’s comments about the children? What does this show you about the town and its prejudices? • Why does Calpurnia speak differently at her church than she does at the Finch home during the week?

10. Does Scout really understand what “rape” means? • Scout asks Cal the definition, and Cal tells her to ask her father. Atticus explains the legal definition of rape (carnal knowledge by force) but Scout still doesn’t really “get” it. • The town is so upset about the crime because: • White people: Miscegenation – it was forbidden for blacks and whites to commingle • African-American community: They are upset because they believe Tom is innocent and that he will not get a fair trial

11. What does Lula’s reaction to the church say about the town and its race relations? • Lula’s reaction to the children is racist. She does not want white children in “her” church. This shows that the racism in the town goes BOTH ways: • Black v. White • White v. Black

12. Why does Cal speak differently at her church than she does at home with the Finches? • At church: • “It’s the same God, ain’t it?” Cal uses slang words and expressions with her friends and fellow parishioners at church • At home with the Finches: • At home, Cal speaks and writes using proper English grammar WHY: If Cal used proper grammar with her friends, they might judge her and think she was “acting white” At home, Cal uses proper grammar because she knows it, and that is what feels natural to her. This is called “Code-Switching” and it means knowing how to communicate in the right way at the right time.

13. Aunt Alexandra Comes to Stay • Aunt Alexandra moves into the Finch home for the duration of the trial. • Scout is unhappy because her aunt tries to make her dress like a girl and turn her into a “lady.” • “Aunt Alexandra fitted into the world of Maycomb like a hand into a glove, but never into the world of Jem and me.” (175) • What do you think Atticus means when he says that “the summer will be a hot one?”

14. The Storm Gathers • As the summer begins, Scout and Jem hear people talking about their father when they go to town… “There’s his chillun” and “They c’n go loose and rape up the countryside for all ‘em that runs this town cares.” (180) Think/Pair/Share – why is this particular crime so terrible to the Southern townspeople?

15. Why it is so terrible… • For the white community: • To them the blacks were minorities and inferior, and it was a disgrace for a black man to be with a white woman (miscegenation) • For the African-American community: • They think Atticus may not put up a good defense for Tom because he is black • They think it is terrible that Tom is innocent and may be executed for a crime he did not commit • His wife cannot support her children, because no one will give her a job

16. Dill’s Return • Scout and Jem discover Dill hiding underneath a bed in their room. He has run away from his mother’s home. • It is decided that Dill can spend the summer in Maycomb.

17. What is Foreshadowing? • Foreshadowing is a literary technique used by many different authors to provide clues for the reader to be able to predict what might occur later on in the story. It is a literary device in which an author drops hints about the plot and what may come in the near future. It suggests certain plot developments will come later in the story. It gives hints about what’s going to happen next in your story.

18. Think/Pair/Share • What foreshadowing can you find in Chapters 1-14 of To Kill a Mockingbird? • 1. p.101: “This time, we aren’t fighting the Yankees, we’re fighting our friends. But remember that no matter how bitter things get, they are still our friends, and this is still our home.” (Atticus) • 2. p. 116: “Scout’s got to learn to keep her head and learn soon, with what’s in store for her these next few months.” (Atticus) • 3. p. 139: “Scout, when summer comes you’ll have to keep your head about far worse things…it’s not fair for you and Jem, I know that, but sometimes we have to make the best of things.” (Atticus) • 4. p. 171: “Your aunt’s doing me a favor as well as you all. I can’t stay all day with you and the summer’s going to be a hot one.” (Atticus)