To Kill a Mockingbird

1. To Kill a Mockingbird Test Review

2. Plot • Be able to tell what happens in the novel in five or six sentences. Choose the most important points. Tell the beginning, middle, and end.

3. Characters • A flatcharacter has only one or two traits, and they can be described in a few words. Examples of flat characters in To Kill a Mockingbird are Judge Taylor, Cecil Jacobs, Bob Ewell, and Walter Cunningham. • A round character, like a real person, has many different character traits, which sometimes contradict one another. Jem, Atticus, and Scoutare all round characters. • For the test, be prepared to define and give an example.

4. Conflict • A conflict is a struggle between two opposing forces. Conflicts can be internal or external. An external conflict can be man vs. man, man vs. nature, or man vs. society. An internal conflict takes place within a character. For instance, Scout’s fight with her cousin Francis was an external conflict. When Scout walks away from a fight with Cecil Jacobs, that causes an internal conflict for her, because he calls her a coward, and Scout isn’t used to backing down from a fight. • For the test, be prepared to define and give an example.

5. Dynamic/Static Characters • Scout is a dynamic character., which means that she grows and changes as a result of events in the novel. Be able to explain three ways in which she changes. Consider her attire, her manners, her interactions with Jem, Atticus, Aunt Alexandra, and Calpurnia. • A static character does not grow or change during the book. Miss Maudie is a static character. • For the test, be prepared to define and give an example.

6. Theme • Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. They provide a life lesson, a lesson which can be taken from this story and applied to events in real life or to other literary works. One of the themes in the novel is understanding life from a different perspective. Atticus teaches Jem and Scout the importance of seeing life from another person’s point of view, and the children learn to respect the behavior of different people. • Be prepared to discuss one of the themes and give examples of how it is demonstrated in the novel.

7. Setting • The setting of a literary work involves place and time. To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in Maycomb, a fictional small town in Alabama. It takes place during the 1930s in a society which was very racist and was still bound by the restrictions of Jim Crow laws. It is a town where family and background are important, where everyone knows everyone else’s business, and there are very strict gender roles. It is set during the Depression. • Be prepared to discuss the setting.

8. Style • The elements of style are diction (word choice) and syntax (sentence structure). Harper Lee uses archaic language, dialect, and advanced vocabulary. Her writing is very descriptive, and she uses a great deal of figurative language. The sentence structure is varied, with a mixture of simple, compound, and complex sentences. • Be prepared to discuss the style of the novel.

9. Title • Be able to discuss the title of the book. Who first uses the phrase? Who explains the phrase to the children? Why is it a sin to kill a mockingbird? Who is the mockingbird in the book?

10. Point of View • From what point of view is the novel told? Is it chronological or achronological? Is Scout a reliable narrator? Why or why not?