To Kill A Mockingbird Assignment 1

Section 1: Predetermined Multiple Choice

1. (C) simile

2. (D) An evil person lives there, but she has not met him.

3. (A) suspense

4. (D) “The Radley Place jutted into a sharp curve beyond our house.”

5. (D)The Radley’s worship at home, and Mr. Radley walks to town every day at eleven

thirty, returning at noon with a bag of groceries.

Section 2: Our Multiple Choice

1. The diction of the students used in the following passage can best be described as what?

Little Chuck Little grinned broadly. “’There ain’t not need to fear a cootie ma’am. Ain’t you ever seen one?...When you’ve done that, treat your scalp with kerosene.’

A. Formal

B. Informal

C. Colloquialism

D. Jargon

E. Cliché

2. In context, the meaning of the word “auspicious” used in the following quote from To Kill A Mockingbird means

“The remainder of my school days were no more auspicious than the first.”

A. Favorable

B. Lucky

C. Promising

D. Opportune

E. Timely

3. What is the function of the metaphor used in the following sentence?

“I inched sluggishly along the treadmill of the Maycomb County school system, I could not help receiving the impression that I was being cheated out of something.”

A. To show the insignificance of the Maycomb County education system.

B. To emphasize Scout’s distain for her schooling.

C. To show the “sluggish” heat of the Maycomb County air.

D. To allow the reader to have a peak into Scout’s own word.

E. All of the above.

4. The narrator depicts the mood of Maycomb County, in pages 5 and 6, through the use of

A. Simile

B. Personification

C. Juxtaposition

D. Concrete details

E. Imagery

5. Scout uses each of the following quotes in reference to the ominous legends of Boo Radley EXCEPT

A. “Miss Caroline pointed a shaking finger not at the floor nor at a desk, but to a

hulking individual unknown to me.”

B. “When people's azaleas froze in a cold snap, it was because he had breathed

on them.”

C. “Maybe he died and they stuffed him up the chimney?”

D. Every night sound I heard from my cot on the back porch was magnified

three-fold…”

E. “I had heard another sound, so low I could not have heard it from the

sidewalk. Someone inside the house was laughing.

Section 3: Q2 Prompts – Prose Essay Prompts

Read the passage below from Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill A Mocking Bird” (1982) and write well organized essay analyzing Lee’s characterization of Burris Ewell’s attitude. In your essay, consider such elements as diction, selection of detail and symbolism.

““It’s alive!” she screamed. The male population of the class rushed as one to her assistance. Lord, I thought, she’s scared of a mouse. Little Chuck Little, whose patience with all living things was phenomenal, said, “Which way did he go, Miss Caroline? Tell us where he went, quick! D.C.-” he turned to a boy behind him—“D.C., shut the door and we’ll catch him. Quick, ma’am, where’d he go?” Miss Caroline pointed a shaking finger not at the floor nor at a desk, but to a hulking individual unknown to me. Little Chuck’s face contracted and he said gently, “You mean him, ma’am? Yessum, he’s alive. Did he scare you some way?” Miss Caroline said desperately, “I was just walking by when it crawled out of his hair… just crawled out of his hair-” Little Chuck grinned broadly. “There ain’t no need to fear a cootie, ma’am. Ain’t you ever seen one? Now don’t you be afraid, you just go back to your desk and teach us some more.” Little Chuck Little was another member of the population who didn’t know where his next meal was coming from, but he was a born gentleman. He put his hand under her elbow and led Miss Caroline to the front of the room. “Now don’t you fret, ma’am,” he said. “There ain’t no need to fear a cootie. I’ll just fetch you some cool water.” The cootie’s host showed not the faintest interest in the furor he had wrought. He searched the scalp above his forehead, located his guest and pinched it between his thumb and forefinger. Miss Caroline watched the process in horrid fascination. Little Chuck brought water in a paper cup, and she drank it gratefully. Finally she found her voice. “What is your name, son?” she asked softly. The boy blinked. “Who, me?” Miss Caroline nodded. “Burris Ewell.” Miss Caroline inspected her roll-book. “I have a Ewell here, but I don’t have a first name… would you spell your first name for me?” “Don’t know how. They call me Burris’t home.” “Well, Burris,” said Miss Caroline, “I think we’d better excuse you for the rest of the afternoon. I want you to go home and wash your hair.” From her desk she produced a thick volume, leafed through its pages and read for a moment. “A good home remedy for—Burris, I want you to go home and wash your hair with lye soap. When you’ve done that, treat your scalp with kerosene.” “What fer, missus?” “To get rid of the—er, cooties. You see, Burris, the other children might catch them, and you wouldn’t want that, would you?” The boy stood up. He was the filthiest human I had ever seen. His neck was dark gray, the backs of his hands were rusty, and his fingernails were black deep into the quick. He peered at Miss Caroline from a fist-sized clean space on his face. No one had noticed him, probably, because Miss Caroline and I had entertained the class most of the morning. “And Burris,” said Miss Caroline, “please bathe yourself before you come back tomorrow.” The boy laughed rudely. “You ain’t sendin‘ me home, missus. I was on the verge of leavin’—I done done my time for this year.” Miss Caroline looked puzzled. “What do you mean by that?” The boy did not answer. He gave a short contemptuous snort. One of the elderly members of the class answered her: “He’s one of the Ewells, ma’am,” and I wondered if this explanation would be as unsuccessful as my attempt. But Miss Caroline seemed willing to listen. “Whole school’s full of ‘em. They come first day every year and then leave. The truant lady gets ’em here ‘cause she threatens ’em with the sheriff, but she’s give up tryin‘ to hold ’em. She reckons she’s carried out the law just gettin‘ their names on the roll and runnin’ ‘em here the first day. You’re supposed to mark ’em absent the rest of the year…” “But what about their parents?” asked Miss Caroline, in genuine concern. “Ain’t got no mother,” was the answer, “and their paw’s right contentious.” Burris Ewell was flattered by the recital. “Been comin‘ to the first day o’ the first grade fer three year now,” he said expansively. “Reckon if I’m smart this year they’ll promote me to the second…” Miss Caroline said, “Sit back down, please, Burris,” and the moment she said it I knew she had made a serious mistake. The boy’s condescension flashed to anger. “You try and make me, missus.” Little Chuck Little got to his feet. “Let him go, ma’am,” he said. “He’s a mean one, a hard-down mean one. He’s liable to start somethin‘, and there’s some little folks here.” He was among the most diminutive of men, but when Burris Ewell turned toward him, Little Chuck’s right hand went to his pocket. “Watch your step, Burris,” he said. “I’d soon’s kill you as look at you. Now go home.” Burris seemed to be afraid of a child half his height, and Miss Caroline took advantage of his indecision: “Burris, go home. If you don’t I’ll call the principal,” she said. “I’ll have to report this, anyway.” The boy snorted and slouched leisurely to the door. Safely out of range, he turned and shouted: “Report and be damned to ye! Ain’t no snot-nosed slut of a schoolteacher ever born c’n make me do nothin‘! You ain’t makin’ me go nowhere, missus. You just remember that, you ain’t makin‘ me go nowhere!” He waited until he was sure she was crying, then he shuffled out of the building. Soon we were clustered around her desk, trying in our various ways to comfort her. He was a real mean one… below the belt… you ain’t called on to teach folks like that… them ain’t Maycomb’s ways, Miss Caroline, not really… now don’t you fret, ma’am. Miss Caroline, why don’t you read us a story? That cat thing was real fine this mornin‘…