TKAMB Ch. 1

After describing Finch’s Landing as self-sufficient, the narrator notes how Simon Finch “would have regarded with impotent fury the disturbance between the North and the South” because it stripped everything from the family except for the land. Based on this context, choose the best interpretation of the phrase “Simon would have regarded with impotent fury the disturbance between the North and the South.”

• As a slave owner, Simon was infuriated that he might have to free his slaves, leaving him to tend to his land alone.

• Simon pretended to be angry about the Civil War. In reality, he was more concerned about maintaining his empire.

• Simon felt angry about the Civil War, but since there was nothing he could do to influence its outcome, his outrage was powerless.

The narrator states: “The tradition of living on the land remained unbroken until well into the twentieth century, when my father, Atticus Finch, went to Montgomery to read law.” The significance of this detail is:

• That Atticus was the first of the Finch men to establish a career away from the farm.

• That Atticus became the first member of the Finch family to become literate.

• That Atticus felt his heritage was not as important as the rest of his family members, particularly his sister, Alexandra.

Read the following passage. “His first two clients were the last two persons hanged in the Maycomb County jail. Atticus had urged them to accept the state’s generosity in allowing them to plead Guilty to second-degree murder and escape with their lives, but they were Haverfords…” This passage suggests:

• Atticus’s stubbornness led the Haverfords to feel they were receiving poor advice.

• The Haverfords were executed because Atticus did not have the professional experience to be an effective lawyer.

• The outcome of the Haverford case made people distrust Atticus, who lost potential clients.

• Atticus’s career as a lawyer started undesirably because of the Haverfords’ ignorance, for they refused to accept the state’s deal.

“The Haverfords had dispatched Maycomb’s leading blacksmith in a misunderstanding arising from the alleged wrongful detention of a mare.” This means:

• The Haverfords killed somebody for apparently stealing their horse.

• The Haverfords telephoned somebody to help settle an argument.

• The Haverfords were arrested for kidnapping somebody.

• The Haverfords felt regret over committing a crime that led to an animal’s injury.

The narrator describes Calpurnia’s hand as “wide as a bed slat and twice as hard.” What is the narrator’s intent by providing this detail?

• The narrator describes Calpurnia’s hands to show how hard Calpurnia worked for the Finch family, often to the point of causing her hands to swell and callous.

• The narrator describes Calpurnia’s hands to convey how much of a stern disciplinarian she was when Jean Louise was a child.

• The narrator uses the description of Calpurnia’s hand as a metaphor for how physically large she was and how emotionally detached she was from Scout and Jem as children.

The Radley house is described as being “inhabited by an unknown entity the mere description of whom was enough to make us behave for days on end,” meaning:

• Scout, Jem, and Dill believe someone in the Radley family died in the house.

• Scout, Jem, and Dill are somewhat scared of the mystery surrounding the Radleys.

• Scout, Jem, and Dill believe the house was haunted by a ghost.

• Scout, Jem, and Dill think the new neighbors are hiding a secret that they want to know.

Read the following excerpt: “The Radleys, welcome anywhere in town, kept to themselves, a predilection unforgivable in Maycomb.” As it is used in this excerpt, the word predilection is best defined as:

• Tendency

• Sin

• Crime

Read the following excerpt: “So Jem received most of his information from Miss Stephanie Crawford, a neighborhood scold, who said she knew the whole thing.” The phrase a neighborhood scold is best defined as:

• Someone who screams loudly enough for the neighborhood to hear.

• Someone who shares a lot of gossip with the members of her community.

• Someone who is known for drinking a little too excessively.

• Someone who is part of a neighborhood watch group.

The narrator reflects upon Boo Radley’s punishments by stating, “Nobody knew what form of intimidation Mr. Radley employed to keep Boo out of sight, but Jem figured that Mr. Radley kept him chained to the bed most of the time. Atticus said no … that there were other ways of making people into ghosts.” Atticus uses metaphor to:

• Suggest that there are many ways to cause a person’s death.

• Politely suggest that Jem is too immature to understand the real story behind Boo’s punishment.

• Suggest that there are many ways to control a person and make them feel lonely.

• Delay a difficult discussion about the harsh injustices of the world.