Composition/Honors Study Guide To Kill a Mockingbird 1. All of the following are themes found in To Kill a Mockingbird except: 2. What is the verdict in the Tom Robinson case? 3. Who tells Jem that it is a sin to kill mockingbirds? 4. Who beat Mayella Ewell? 5. What are Jem and Scout shocked to discover about Atticus? 6. Where does Boo leave presents for Scout and Jem? 7. Who said, "It's hard to explain ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody's favoring Negroes over and above themselves."? 8. Who said, "Let the dead bury the dead."? 9. Who thought, "One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough."? 10. To Kill a Mockingbird is told from which perspective? 11. How are Mockingbirds perceived to be? 12. If Maycomb were Disneyland, what would be the Haunted Mansion? 13. What was Harper Lee's next book? 14. Tom Robinson's left hand is: 15. According to our narrator, Maycomb might be a finalist for 16. Why does Scout get criticism from her classmates? 17. Who are the three mockingbirds in the novel? 18. A picture that is painted or created with words is called 19. When a writer relates an experience from his or her own life, he/she is writing a/an 20. What is the term that describes an author s reason for writing? 21. What is a term that means: Statement of belief? 22. What is a term that means: Keeping others down by the unjust use of power?
I Have a Dream 23. What is Martin Luther King, Junior s implied message when he says: I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evidence; that all men are created equal? 24. Why does Dr. King quote the following lines from the Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evidence; that all men are created equal? 25. In a passage, Dr. King quotes from the biblical Book of Isaiah. What does this suggest about the purpose of his speech? 26. What feeling(s) does/do the words Let freedom ring evoke in the reader or listener? Rosa Parks: My Story 27. When Rosa Parks says, No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in, she means: 28. When Rosa Parks says, No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in, she means: I Hear America Singing 29. What message does Walt Whitman s poem I Hear America Singing convey? 30. What is Figurative language? The Road Not Taken 31. What is the figurative meaning of the two roads diverging in Robert Frost s poem The Road Not Taken? 32. Which of the following statements best capture the theme of Robert Frost s poem The Road Not Taken? To Be of Use 33. Marge Piercy s poem To Be of Use celebrates the nature of work and workers. The poet admires those who display determination and strength, who plunge into tasks wholeheartedly, and who work cooperatively with others. True or False? 34. Why does Marge Piercy use an extended image of water in her poem To be of use? 35. What term means: An object, person, or idea that represents something beyond itself?
Sympathy 36. In Paul Laurence Dunbar s poem Sympathy, the cage symbolizes 37. What expression appears repeatedly in Sympathy? 38. According to the speaker in Sympathy, how does the caged bird feel? 39. Which of the following are true about the title Sympathy? 40. Which of the following best paraphrases lines 10-11 from the poem Sympathy? For he must fly back to his perch and cling when he fain would be on the bough a-swing; 41. And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars And they pulse again with a keener sting I know why he beats his wing! These lines from Sympathy suggest that 42. To what does the poet compare the caged birds song? Caged Bird 43. What is Maya Angelou comparing? 44. What is the most likely reason the poet Maya Angelou chose the title Caged Bird for her poem? 45. The title of Maya Angelou s book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings refers to an image in Paul Laurence Dunbar s poem. This is an example of Refer to the following poem by Emily Dickinson to answer questions 46-52: We never know how high we are We never know how high we are Till we are asked to rise And then if we are true to plan Our statures touch the skies The Heroism we recite Would be a normal thing Did not ourselves the Cubits warp For fear to be a King (warp: twist; distort) (Cubits: ancient measurement)
46. The first two lines of the poem mean 47. The King symbolizes greatness and importance. True or False? 48. This poem implies that we are fearful of rising too high because the higher we rise, the farther we can fall. True or False? 49. What can you conclude from Dickinson s poem about who is responsible for a life falling short of its potential? 50. Dickinson might define heroism as being honest about oneself, which includes acknowledging success and taking credit for our accomplishments. True or False? 51. According to the poem, what prevents people from acting heroically all the time? 52. What advice do you think Dickinson would give someone who was just offered a challenging job opportunity? The following questions are from In My Place by Charlayne Hunter-Gault 53. What was unusual about Charlayne Hunter-Gault walking onto the campus at the University of Georgia in 1961? 54. What happened when Hunter-Gault walked onto the campus? 55. Why was Hunter-Gault willing to endure this kind of hardship? 56. It is safe to conclude that Hunter-Gault s dream was stronger than her fear of physical danger. True or False? 57. Hunter-Gault s experience is that of a caged bird that ultimately flies to freedom. True or False? There is a Longing 58. In the poem There Is a Longing by Chief Dan George, what does Chief George say is his community s longing? 59. Which of the following sentence(s) communicates Chief Dan George s purpose for writing this poem? 60. What makes Chief Dan George different from his predecessors is that while chiefs of the old world fought with weapons, he will be fighting a war with tongue and speech. This means 61. All of the following sentences describe Chief Dan George except:
Short Answer Essay: A. What did the film change or leave out? Why do you think these characters and moments were altered or deleted? When a lynch mob confronts Atticus before the trial, Scout s innocent interference dispels the threat of violence. Compare the scene as it occurs in Chapter 15 of the novel to the film. B. Extra Credit: Read this passage from the I Have a Dream Speech and address all three bullet points below within a coherent, unified essay. I have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Ø What does Dr. King mean by the American dream? Ø What does Dr. King mean by judging people by the content of their character? Ø What is the purpose of quoting from the Declaration of Independence that We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal?