TKAM/Small Great Things Cross-Text Questions

In both stories, the authors explore the theme of:

• the complications of the healthcare system and discrimination

• the rippling impact of systematic racism on the entire community

• the inconsistent morals of Southern communities in the 1930s

• the stress that lawyers can endure in high profile cases

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the author includes Mayella’s red geraniums to reference all EXCEPT:

• “Geraniums are rare flowers and a symbol of esteem and gentility.”

• “Even among the chaos and ugliness of life, beauty can find a place to flourish.”

• “Racism must be eliminated by its roots...it must be destroyed at its origins.”

• “Mayella demonstrates a need to see something better, something of quality...bringing beauty in her chaotic home.”

Like the use of first person point of view in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, how does Jodi Picoult’s use of first person point of view influence the plot in small great things?

• it allows the reader to remain close and believe the character’s account

• it allows the reader to experience the story as if s/he were a character in it

• it allows the reader to know all the thoughts and feelings of all the characters in the story

• it allows the reader to ask questions to the narrator and get a response

Read the following paragraph from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird:

“And so, a quiet, humble, respectable negro, who has had the unmitigated TEMERITY to feel sorry for a white woman, has had to put his word against two white peoples. The defendant is not guilty. But somebody in this courtroom is.”

The tone of this paragraph can best be described as

• passive

• indifferent

• resigned

• fervent

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, which sentence best shows that Atticus is intentionally using a direct persuasive appeal to convince the jury to free his client?

• “She’s committed no crime.”

• “And Tom Robinson now sits before you…”

• “In the name of God, do your duty. In the name of God, believe Tom

  Robinson.”

• “The defendant is not guilty. But somebody in this courtroom is.”

In Jodi Picoult’s small great things, what does the description printed below of Ruth’s background reveal about Ruth’s character?

"I rise, and call Ruth Jefferson to the stand…

…“How long have you been employed at Mercy-West Haven Hospital?”

“Just over twenty years,” Ruth says, “My whole career.”

“What are your responsibilities?”

“I am a neonatal nurse. I help deliver babies, I am in the OR during C-sections, I care for the mothers and the post-delivery, for the newborns.”

“How many hours a week did you work?”

“Forty-plus,” she replies. “We often were asked to pull some overtime.”

“Ruth, are you married?”

“I’m a widow.” she says. “My husband was a soldier who died in Afghanistan. It happened about ten years ago.”

“Do you have any children?”

“Yes, my son, Edison. He’s seventeen.” Her eyes shine, and she searches Edison out in the gallery."

• she is a responsible, caring citizen

• she is an uneducated woman

• she has a troubled relationship with her son

• she is employed at Mercy-West Haven Hospital

7. In Jodi Picoult’s small great things, the author’s use of italics in the quote below indicate:

“It’s funny,” she says softly. “You think you’re a respected member of a community - the hospital where you work, the town where you live. I had a wonderful job. I had colleagues who were friends. I lived in a home I was proud of. But it was an optical illusion. I was never a member of any of those communities. I was tolerated, but not welcomed. I was, and will always be, different from them.” She looks up. “And because of the color of my skin, I will be the one who’s blamed.

Oh God, I think. Oh God, oh God, shut up Ruth. Don’t go here. “Nothing further,” I say, trying to cut our losses.

• Kennedy’s internal thoughts

• Kennedy’s devoted prayer life

• Ruth’s confusion of Kennedy’s questions

• Ruth’s timidity in her response indicates her guilt

Read the following excerpt from Jodi Picoult’s small great things:

“I had to,” Ruth confesses. I can see it, the way she breaks free, like a butterfly from a chrysalis. Her voice is lighter, the lines bracketing her mouth soften. “It’s what any good nurse would do in that situation.”...

The author uses a simile to describe Ruth’s

• Hope to one day be promoted like any good nurse would

• Ability to control her emotions from rage to serenity

• Release from the dark bondage of keeping a secret

• Desire to complete a career change from working with people to insects

Odette’s mentioning to the jury Ruth’s statement, “That baby means nothing to me” symbolized the prosecutor’s assertion of Ruth’s:

• benevolence

• malice

• commitment

• curiosity

Both authors conclude the excerpts with a -

• bold contradiction

• suspenseful cliffhanger

• pessimistic prediction

• resolved ending