To Kill A Mockingbird Worksheets Pdf
Mariu Carlton
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel that is just under three-hundred pages that was written by Harper Lee The novel was published in 1960. The novel drives home the point that poverty has a big influence on a person's upward mobility. It also displays the concept of racism as a defensive mechanism to mask your own short comings. The mockingbird mentioned in the title is used to symbolize innocence. This book was published at time in history when the United States was experiencing a progressive movement in civil rights. Due to the timing, it resonated with the American culture and had a great level of relevance to readers. It also examines areas of gender inequality bringing issues to light for the book's audience. This collection of worksheets will help students dive deeper into the themes and events of this historical work.
Novels in Context - We examine the whereabouts and wear-with-all of the author. Conduct some brief research to answer the following questions, in order tobetter understand the context in which Harper Lee wrote her famous novel.
To Kill A Mockingbird is one of the most famous English classics written by Harper Lee and is widely read by the people of all ages and ethnicities. The novel was widely appreciated as a beautiful representation of the themes of racial discrimination along with the themes of innocence, childhood, and good parenting. The story of the novel, as narrated by a little girl living in a small town Maycomb, is summarized as follows:
A little girl named Scout and her brother Jem live with their lawyer father named Atticus and a black woman who took care of the house since the mother died. In their summer days, the kids befriend a young boy who came to visit his aunt in their neighborhood. All three spent their summers in various adventures out of which attempts towards meeting their recluse neighbor Boo-Radley was their most favorite. Summer ends and Jem and Scout continue finding new gifts every day outside the Radley's place but Boo never meets the kids in person.
On the other hand, their father Atticus has been appointed to defend a black man named Tom who has been accused as a rapist of a white girl. The lawyer takes the case but fails since no judge would ever have the courage to free a black man against a white girl. Atticus knew of this very well but wanted to take this case, thinking that it was a part of every lawyer's life to face such a case once in life.
However, this case affects the family very badly. One day, the kids were out late at night in the dark when the father of that white girl attacks them and tries killing Jem. However, someone rescues them and Jem comes home with a broken arm while the killer himself dies. The man who rescues the kids was boo Radley and he was the one who killed the killer too. The story ends with Scout meeting boo and imagining life from his perspective.
It explores the racial injustices that are deep rooted in Deep Southern culture during the time of the Great Depression. It begins to teach us to learn about people before we pass a judgement on them. The work also investigates the concepts behind the civil rights movement in that reacting to violence with violence often does not help you get your message out to others and create real change. There is a famous line in the book that says the worst crime of all is hurting the innocent which is a major theme of the work. Why would we hurt those who have no intention of doing anything wrong?
Note to Teachers About Book, the Film and Racism: The book, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and one of the most widely read books in American literature, is an important part of the reading curriculum across the country. It is a superior source from which to teach reading and writing standards to students.
However, no movie can contain all of the events and characters that add depth and ideas to a well-written, full-length novel. Watching the film and reading the book are parallel beneficial experiences which reinforce each other. Children who are strong readers should read the novel before seeing the film.
Criticism of the Story from the African American Perspective: Bryan Stevenson, a crusader for justice in the American Legal system (see Just Mercy), has this telling and appropriate criticism of the story. TWM suggests that the following paragraphs be read by everyone who has read the book or seen the movie.
Atticus Finch is a lawyer and single parent in a small Southern town during the Great Depression. He has two young children: Jem and Scout. When Finch is appointed by the local judge to defend a black man accused of raping a white woman, most townspeople expect only a token defense, yet he affirms the value of a fair trial and struggles to see justice done. A separate plot line concerns how the children come to accept a mentally ill neighbor.
This is a story about the innocent, exemplified by Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and the children, and how they can be hurt or killed by evil or misguided people, personified by Mr. Ewell, Mr. Radley, and the prejudiced community. The story is also about the mature/good people, represented by Atticus, Calpurnia, Sheriff Tate and, by the end of the story, a maturing Scout, who understand that the world contains both good and evil and who do their best to protect and nurture the innocent.
Plot: The two main plots curl around each other and end with the same moral, the innocent must be protected. The main plot involves the trial and death of Tom Robinson. The conflict was between the Finch family, primarily Atticus, and the racism in the town. The resolution was not satisfactory: Robinson was wrongly convicted and died. He deserved protection that he did not receive. The primary subplot is the story of Scout and Jem coming to realize that Boo Radley is a person and not just a freak. It ends after Boo kills Mr. Ewell and Scout understands that it would be like killing a mockingbird to drag Boo into the limelight. The conflict for the subplot is between the children and their own ignorance and immaturity.
Contrasting Situations and Actions: In addition to contrasts among the characters, contrasting actions highlight themes of the story. The lynch mob tries to take justice into its own hands. This is properly portrayed as evil. However, at the end of the film, the Sheriff and Atticus take justice into their own hands, deciding to be merciful to Boo and lie about how Mr. Ewell died. Technically, they have committed the crime of obstruction of justice; as a practical matter, they are tempering justice with mercy.
Photographs, Diagrams, and Other Visuals: Photographs of Signs Enforcing Racial Discrimination: Documentation by Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information Photographers from the Library of Congress.
8. Tom Robinson said something on the stand that sealed his own fate. What was it and why did that statement make it almost impossible for the white jury to acquit him, even though it was clear that Robinson was not guilty? What does this tell us about the nature of racism?
12. Do you think that the character of Atticus Finch could be criticized for going along with an oppressive racist society without protesting its injustices in a more dramatic way than simply serving as an example? Or, do you think that this would be an unfair criticism given the time and place in which Atticus lived and the fact that he had spent almost all his life in Maycomb?
23. The fact that Atticus, who was the best shot in the county, never used a gun except when asked by the Sheriff to kill the rabid dog, relates to one of the themes of the story. What was that theme?
3. Jem disobeyed his father on a number of occasions and, fortunately, it worked out. One occasion was when Jem refused to leave Atticus to face the lynch mob alone. But this decision was not without its problems. Evaluate the ethics of that decision stating the competing values, the interests of the various stakeholders, how the five ethical tests apply, and whether Jem fell into any of the common rationalization traps often used to justify unethical decisions. When that analysis is completed, weigh all of the factors you have discovered and evaluate his decision. See Principled Decision Making.
1. As the film opens, the credits roll as the camera focuses on a box of objects containing a variety of things that are important to both Jem and Scout. Write an informal essay describing what would be included in a box of items significant in your life. Be sure to make the value of the items understood. For example, a ticket stub in the box should be identified by what event it represented and why the event was important. At least one of the items should serve as a reminder or an important lesson or experience that helped shaped who you are.
2. Research three people in history who have taken stands on principles that have led to social change in spite of great odds and great difficulties. Include biographical information and a brief description of their principled stand; include the consequence of their demonstrations of belief. The people that you find can be from different cultures and from any time period, famous or little known.
3. The vigilantes show up to take Tom Robinson from jail most certainly for a lynching. Write an informative essay resulting from Internet research that includes a timeline of the history of lynching in the U.S. Relate a few specific exemplary incidences, including the most recent, and show the struggle by progressives to end the practice.
4. Ironically, in the trial scene, the courtroom is segregated. Write an essay about the history of integration in the legal system. Be sure to include Howard Zinn who, along with the young women from Spellman College, was able to integrate a courtroom in Atlanta Georgia.
5. Interracial relationships during the time period in which the film is set were largely against the law. Using Internet research skills, write an expository essay on the miscegenation laws through which authorities tried to keep people of different races from marrying. Find details about when the laws were written and when they were subsequently invalidated. You may write in general terms or focus on one particular state or area of the nation. Investigate interracial marriages today and note the changes over the past half-century.
c80f0f1006