Ms. Gulitti Name______
English I Period______
To Kill A Mockingbird
Wisdom from Atticus: Getting Along
In chapter 3, Atticus gives Scout some important advice about how to get along with others. He states, “First of all, if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (page 30)
What wisdom or important theme does Atticus impart to Scout through this quotation?
Essential Questions: How has this important theme developed throughout part I of the novel? How will it become a unifying force of this novel?
Directions: Explain how each episode listed below is exemplary of the lesson that Atticus teaches.
1) page 19: “Did you forget your lunch this morning?” asked Miss Caroline.
Walter looked straight ahead. I saw a muscle jump in his skinny jaw.
“Did you forget it this morning?” asked Miss Caroline. Walter’s jaw twitched again.
“Yeb’m” he finally mumbled.
Miss Caroline went to her desk and opened her purse. “Here’s a quarter,” she said to Walter. “Go and eat downtown today. You can pay me back tomorrow.”
Walter shook his head. “Nome thank you ma’am,” he drawled softly.
Response: What words above help to reveal how Walter is feeling?
What doesn’t Miss Caroline understand about being a Cunningham?
2) pages 20-21:
I thought I had made things sufficiently clear. It was clear to the rest of us: Walter Cunningham was…lying. He didn’t forget his lunch, he didn’t have any. He had none today nor would he have any tomorrow.
… “You’re shamin’ him, Miss Caroline. Walter hasn’t got a quarter at home to bring you, and you can’t use any stove wood.”
Miss Caroline stood stock still, then grabbed me by the collar and hauled me back to her desk. “Jean Louise, I’ve had about enough of you this morning…Hold out your hand.”
Response: Why does Scout get in trouble?
Why is Scout so surprised by Miss Caroline’s reaction?
3) page 22: Saved by the bell, Miss Caroline watched the class file out for lunch. As I was the last to leave, I saw her sink down into her chair and bury her head in her arms. Had her conduct been more friendly toward me, I would have felt sorry for her. She was a pretty little thing.
Response: What can we learn about Miss Caroline’s feelings from her actions here?
Why isn’t Scout sympathetic towards her?
4)page 24: Walter poured syrup on his vegetables and meat with a generous hand. He would probably have poured it into his milk glass had I not asked what the sam hill he was doing.
The silver saucer clattered when he replaced the pitcher and he quickly put his hands in his lap. Then he ducked his head…
It was then that Calpurnia requested my presence in the kitchen.
She was furious…When she squinted down at me the tiny lines around her eyes deepened. “There’s some folks who don’t eat like us,” she whispered fiercely, “but you ain’t called upon to contradict ‘em at the table when they don’t. That boy’s your comp’ny and if he wants to eat up the table cloth you let him, you hear?”
Response: Why is Calpurnia so angry with Scout?
How must Scout apply Atticus’ wisdom to this situation?
5) page 27: 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.
One of the elderly members of the class answered her: “He’s one of the Ewells, ma’am,…Whole school’s full of ‘em. They come first day every year and then leave…You’re supposed to mark them absent the rest of the year…”
Response: What makes Burris Ewell most distinctive?
In what manner does the elder member of Scout’s class enlighten Miss Caroline?
6) page 28: “Burris, go home. If you don’t I’ll call the principal..”
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 just remember that, you ain’t makin’ me go nowhere!”
Response: Why does Burris Ewell lash out at Miss Caroline?
How could this incident have been avoided?
7) On page 29, Calpurnia makes Scout crackling bread, lets Scout watch her make dinner, and tells Scout that she missed her, giving her a kiss.
Response: Why does Calpurnia do this? How does she demonstrate the understanding of Atticus’ wisdom?
8) pages 44-45: “Arthur Radley just stays in the house, that’s all,” said Miss Maudie. “Wouldn’t you stay in the house if you didn’t want to come out?
… “There are just some kind of men who—who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.”
Response: How does Miss Maudie help Scout to “climb into” Boo’s skin?
What effect must this have on Scout?
9) After Jem retrieves his torn pants in the middle of the night, he begins to act “moody” at the beginning of chapter 7. Scout narrates on page 57: “Jem stayed moody and silent for a week. As Atticus had once advised me to do, I tried to climb into Jem’s skin and walk around in it: if I had gone to the Radley place at two in the morning, my funeral would have been held the next afternoon. So I left Jem alone and tried not to bother him.”
Response: How does Scout begin to show that she is maturing?
10) At the end of chapter 7, Scout also notices that Jem has been crying once he found out the oak tree at the Radley place wasn’t sick, and that Mr. Nathan had filled the knothole to prevent Boo from further communication.
Response: In what way has Jem begun to climb into Boo Radley’s skin? What has he realized from this new perspective?
11) How do the children show Miss Maudie kindness and understanding at the end of chapter 8 after her house has burned down?
12) Back to the essential questions: A repeated idea in a work of literature is a motif. Why is the motif of “climbing into someone else’s skin” so important? How do you think this motif will continue to develop in part II of the novel?