1. According to Scout, how does her relationship with Jem change when he turns twelve? Who does Scout start to spend time with instead of her brother? Include a quote from the text to support your answer.

2. Why doesn’t Dill come to visit when summer starts? How does Scout react to his absence? What does her reaction tell you about her relationship with Dill?

3. Why does Atticus leave the children alone with Calpurnia? Look up sit-down strikes in the 1930s. What was going on in American history during this time period?

5. What reason does Calpurnia give for deciding to take Jem and Scout to the African M.E. church with her?

6. Why do you think Scout describes the cemetery outside of Calpurnia’s church as a “happy cemetery”? What details in the cemetery’s description suggest that it is a happy place instead of a sad place?

7. Examine Harper Lee’s use of descriptive language in the section of the book describing Calpurnia’s community. What specific details do you find the most striking? What is your impression of Calpurnia’s church?

8. Describe the interaction between Lula and Calpurnia. What does their interaction suggest about racial tensions in Maycomb County?

9. Summarize Scout’s observations about the similarities and differences between her church and Calpurnia’s church.

10.After reading the chapter, do you think Calpurnia may have had other reasons for wanting them to see her church? Explain your answer using a specific quote from the text.

11. What do Scout and Jem learn about Tom Robinson, the man that their father has been appointed to defend?

12. What does Scout notice about the way Calpurnia speaks when she is around members of her own community? How does Calpurnia explain her reason for adjusting her language in different settings? Have you ever adjusted the way you act/talk around specific groups of people? Do you think everyone does this? Why?

HERE’s my friends essay:

As the imaginative Stephen King once said, “Symbolism exists to adorn and enrich, not to create an artificial sense of profundity.” In Harper Lee’s award-winning, To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and Jem live in Maycomb, Alabama, where they witness the town’s racist tendencies and unjust habits. Jem, a brave and courageous boy ends up breaking his arm trying to save Scout from dangerous people in the town. Where Boo Radley, a shy and misjudged man saves the children from the attack, representing The Gray Ghost. A town where people like Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are criticized because of their differences, when in fact they are innocent just like mockingbirds. By examining symbols in To Kill a Mockingbird it is evident that as Jem and Scout grow older they realize many things in their life have a deeper meaning than they may think.

To start off, Jem’s broken arm is a symbol of many things in this novel. It symbolizes how things like the church, education, and court systems are all broken and need to be fixed. The book starts off with Scout saying this “When he was nearly thirteen my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow” (Lee 3). This depicts that Jem broke his arm trying to protect Scout from Bob Ewell’s attack. His arm symbolizes how the trial of Tom Robinson has turned the town upside down. This is how Scout describes what happened...
Jem found me and started pullin’ me toward the road. Some – Mr. Ewell yanked him down, I reckon. They tussled some more and then there was this funny noise – Jem hollered (…). That was Jem’s arm. (Lee 361).
This represents how Jem, someone who did nothing wrong got hurt because of what was wrong in the town. His broken arm shows that people need to change their opinions on things, in order for society to change and move on.

The Gray Ghost is another very important symbol in this book. The story represents how you never really know someone until you understand what they are going through. It symbolizes how the children had once imagined Boo Radley to be. The main character in The Gray Ghost was very misunderstood and turned out to be good once people saw who he really was. When Scout sees this book, she asks Atticus to read it and tells him that she is not afraid. This is a symbol of how Scout is growing up and is not scared of Boo anymore. At the end, Scout describes how the main character was accused of something they never did, just like Tom. She goes on to say...
An’ they chased him ‘n’ never could catch him ‘ cause they didn’t know what he looked like, an’ Atticus, when they finally saw him, why he hadn’t done any of those things… Atticus, he was real nice… (Lee 376).
This showcases how Boo Radley was misjudged by many people even though he showed countless acts of kindness. Such as putting presents in the tree for Jem and Scout, putting a blanket on Scout, and saving them from Bob’s attack. Atticus agrees with Scout by saying “Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them” (Lee 376). This relates to how Atticus had once told Scout that you could never understand someone until you saw things from their point of view.

The main symbol in To Kill a Mockingbird are mockingbirds. This is what inspired the title of this novel. It symbolizes how mockingbirds are innocent and should not be hurt, just like certain people in the town. Miss Maudie once said...
Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why its a sin to kill a mockingbird (Lee 119).
There were 3 distinct mockingbirds in this book, Tom Robinson, Mayella Ewell, and Boo Radley. Tom Robinson, was an innocent man put on trial just because of the colour of his skin. He eventually died because of this and was hurt for no reason. Mr. Underwood “likened Tom's death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters (…) ” (Lee 323). Tom’s trial was very unfair and people knew the minute he walked into the court that he would be convicted solely based on the colour of his skin. Boo Radley is also a mockingbird of this novel that is always misunderstood. Heck Tate describes it like this...
All the ladies in Maycomb includin‘ my wife’d be knocking on his door bringing angel food cakes. To my way of thinkin’, Mr. Finch, taking the one man who’s done you and this town a great service an’ draggin’ him with his shy ways into the limelight – to me, that’s a sin. It’s a sin and I’m not about to have it on my head (Lee 369-370).
This is an example of how Boo Radley was a mockingbird because his differences made people judge him. Boo is a shy person who doesn’t like attention. Heck Tate acknowledges this and realizes that if people knew Boo killed Bob Ewell and saved the