TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD Harper Lee Chapters 4

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD Harper Lee Chapters 4 -7 Waleed, Haley, Ryan, and Carlos

Indirect Characterization Scout: Paranoid, cautious, and careful- “My nagging got the better of Jem, as I knew it would, and to my relief we slowed down the game for a while”(41). Dill: Quick thinking, experienced, and clever- “‘. . . I won ‘em from him. . . we were playing strip poker up yonder by the fishpool’”(54). Nathan Radley: Impulsive, racist, and hasty- “‘Says he’s got the other barrel waitin’ for the next sound he hears in that patch, an’ next time he won’t aim high’”(54). Atticus: Empathetic, sympathetic, and sensible- “‘I’m going to tell you something and tell you one time: stop tormenting that man. . . You stop this nonsense right now’”(49).

Direct Characterization Jem: Friendly, sociable, and amiable- “Jem, educated on half-Decimal half-Duncecap basis, seemed to function effective alone or in a group”(32). Mrs. Dubose: Mean, rude, and hated- “. . . neighborhood opinion was unanimous that Mrs. Dubose was the meanest old woman who ever lived”(35). Miss Maudie: Green thumb, ecologist, and natural- “Miss Maudie hated her house: time spent indoors was time wasted. . . She loved everything that grew in God’s earth, even the weeds”(42). Calpurnia: Firm, respectable, and authoritative- “. . . Calpurnia’s tyranny, unfairness, and meddling in my business had faded to gentle grumblings of general disapproval”(34).

Allusions “As for me, I knew nothing except what I gathered from Time magazine”(32/33). Time magazine is a news magazine established in 1923 in NYC as a means of informing the public of current events. “One day we were so busily playing Chapter XXV, Book 2 of One Man’s Family”(40). One Man’s Family was originally a radio soap opera revolving around a man and his family first debuting in 1932, later to be produced into a television show. “If she found a blade of nutgrass in her yard it was like the second Battle of the Marne”(42). This battle was the German’s last offensive attack, western-wise, in WW 1, and involved the French and American forces slaughtering the Germans.

More Allusions “An old Franklin stove sat in the corner of the porch”(52). A Franklin stove is simply a stove used for heating rooms, resembling the shape of an open fireplace. “Jem, educated on half-Decimal half-Duncecap basis”(32). A dunce cap is the white cone hat bad children had to put on as a form of punishment. “. . . his granddaddy was Brigadier General Joe Wheeler and left him his sword”(47). Joseph Wheeler was a southern born general who served on the Confederate side during the United State’s Civil War.

Allusions: Visually One Man’s Family Cast 2 nd Battle of Marne Time Magazine Franklin Stove Dunce Cap Joe Wheeler

Imagery “The back of the Radley house was less inviting than the front: a ramshackle porch ran the width of the house; there were two doors and two dark windows between the doors. Instead of a column, rough two-by-four supported one end of the roof. An old Franklin stove sat in the corner of the porch; above it a hat-rack mirror caught the moon and shone eerily”(52). Hyperbole “As we came to the live oaks at the Radley Place I raised my finger to point for the hundredth time to the knot-hole where I had found the chewing gum”(34).

Mood “Then I saw the shadow. It was the shadow of a man a hat on. At first I thought it was a tree, but there was no wind blowing, and tree-trunks never walked. The back porch was bathed in moonlight, and the shadow, crisp as toast, moved across the porch toward Jem”(53). “Had Jem’s pants been safely on him, we would not have slept much anyway. Every nightsound I heard from my cot on the back porch was magnified three-fold, every scratch of feet on gravel was Boo Radley seeking revenge, every passing Negro laughing in the night was Boo Radley Loose and after us; insects splashing against the screen were Boo Radley’s insane fingers picking the wire to pieces, the chinaberry trees were malignant, hovering, alive. I lingered between sleep and wakefulness until I heard Jem murmur”(55).

Metaphor “She was a widow, a chameleon lady who worked in her flower beds in an old straw hat and men’s overalls”(42). Simile “The tire bumped me on gravel, skeetered across the road, crashed into a barrier and popped me like a cork onto pavement”(37). Personification “Some tinfoil was sticking in a knot-hole just above my eye level, winking at me in the afternoon sun”(33).

Examples of Theme “‘Mr. Radley shot at a Negro in his collard patch. . . Shot in the air. Scared him pale though. Says if anybody sees a white nigger around that’s the one”(55). This shows everyone who is different is a target because Mr. Radley takes lethal action, unrightfully assuming an intruder was automatically black. “She also lost most of her teeth, her hair, and her right forefinger (Dill’s contribution. Boo bit it off one night when he couldn’t find any cats and squirrels to eat); she sat in the living room and cried most of the time, while Boo slowly whittled away all the furniture in the house”(39). The theme, a lack of understanding can lead to false assumptions, is relative to this quote because since Boo is portrayed as an animal, the kids are quick to assume Boo is crazed making his family also psychotic.

More Examples of Theme “I was not so sure, but Jem told me I was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, that’s why other people hated them so, and if I started behaving like one I could just go off and find some to play with”(41). Everyone who is different is a target relates to this because Jem is using “girl” as an insult, and making ignorant assumptions about girls and basically threatening Scout not to act like a girl, which is unreasonable. “What Mr. Radley did was his own business. If he wanted to come out, he would. . . How would we like it if Atticus barged in on us without knocking, when we were in our rooms at night”(49)? The theme the end of innocence is the beginning of growth is important to this quote because Scout is relating Boo Radley to herself, so she can learn and recognize what Boo has to deal with.