To Kill A Mockingbird Chapters Summary Study
Guide Questions and Correct Answers
1). Chapter 1
Ans: The story is narrated by a young girl named Jean Louise Finch, who is almost
always called by her nickname, Scout. Scout starts to explain the circumstances that led
to the broken arm that her older brother, Jem, sustained many years earlier; she begins by
recounting her family history. The first of her ancestors to come to America was a fur-
trader and apothecary named Simon Finch, who fled England to escape religious
persecution and established a successful farm on the banks of the Alabama River. The
farm, called Finch's Landing, supported the family for many years. The first Finches to
make a living away from the farm were Scout's father, Atticus Finch, who became a lawyer
in the nearby town of Maycomb, and his brother, Jack Finch, who went to medical school
in Boston. Their sister, Alexandra Finch, stayed to run the Landing.
A successful lawyer, Atticus makes a solid living in Maycomb, a tired, poor, old town in the
grips of the Great Depression. He lives with Jem and Scout on Maycomb's main
residential street. Their cook, an old black woman named Calpurnia, helps to raise the
children and keep the house. Atticus's wife died when Scout was two, so she does not
remember her mother well. But Jem, four years older than Scout, has memories of their
mother that sometimes make him unhappy.
In the summer of 1933, when Jem is nearly ten and Scout almost six, a peculiar boy
named Charles Baker Harris moves in next door. The boy, who calls himself Dill, stays for
the summer with his aunt, Miss Rachel Haverford, who owns the house next to the
Finches'. Dill doesn't like to discuss his father's absence from his life, but he is otherwise a
talkative and extremely intelligent boy who quickly becomes the Finch children's chief
playmate. All summer, the three act out various stories that they have read. When they
grow bored of this activity, Dill suggests that they attempt to lure Boo Radley, a mysterious
neighbor, out of his house.
Arthur "Boo" Radley lives in the run-down Radley Place, and no one has seen him outside it
in years. Scout recounts how, as a boy, Boo got in trouble with the law, and his father
imprisoned him in the house as punishment. He was not heard from until fifteen years
later when he stabbed his father with a pair of scissors. Although people suggested that
Boo was crazy, old Mr. Radley refused to have his son committed to an asylum. When the
old man died, Boo's brother, Nathan, came to live in the house with Boo. Nevertheless, Boo
continued to stay inside.
Dill is fascinated by Boo and tries to convince the Finch children to help him lure this
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, phantom of Maycomb outside. Eventually, he dares Jem to run over and touch the house.
Jem does so, sprinting back hastily; there is no sign of movement at the Radley Place,
although Scout thinks that she sees a shutter move slightly, as if someone was peeking
out.
2). Chapter 2
Ans: September arrives, and Dill leaves Maycomb to return to the town of Meridian.
Scout, meanwhile, prepares to go to school for the first time, an event that she has been
eagerly anticipating. Once she is finally at school, however, she finds that her teacher,
Miss Caroline Fisher, deals poorly with children. When Miss Caroline concludes that
Atticus must have taught Scout to read, she becomes very displeased and makes Scout
feel guilty for being educated. At recess, Scout complains to Jem, but Jem says that Miss
Caroline is just trying out a new method of teaching.
Miss Caroline and Scout get along badly in the afternoon as well. Walter Cunningham, a
boy in Scout's class, has not brought a lunch. Miss Caroline offers him a quarter to buy
lunch, telling him that he can pay her back tomorrow. Walter's family is large and poor—so
poor that they pay Atticus with hickory nuts, turnip greens, or other goods when they need
legal help—and Walter will never be able to pay the teacher back or bring a lunch to
school. When Scout attempts to explain these circumstances, however, Miss Caroline
fails to understand and grows so frustrated that she slaps Scout's hand with a ruler.
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Guide Questions and Correct Answers
1). Chapter 1
Ans: The story is narrated by a young girl named Jean Louise Finch, who is almost
always called by her nickname, Scout. Scout starts to explain the circumstances that led
to the broken arm that her older brother, Jem, sustained many years earlier; she begins by
recounting her family history. The first of her ancestors to come to America was a fur-
trader and apothecary named Simon Finch, who fled England to escape religious
persecution and established a successful farm on the banks of the Alabama River. The
farm, called Finch's Landing, supported the family for many years. The first Finches to
make a living away from the farm were Scout's father, Atticus Finch, who became a lawyer
in the nearby town of Maycomb, and his brother, Jack Finch, who went to medical school
in Boston. Their sister, Alexandra Finch, stayed to run the Landing.
A successful lawyer, Atticus makes a solid living in Maycomb, a tired, poor, old town in the
grips of the Great Depression. He lives with Jem and Scout on Maycomb's main
residential street. Their cook, an old black woman named Calpurnia, helps to raise the
children and keep the house. Atticus's wife died when Scout was two, so she does not
remember her mother well. But Jem, four years older than Scout, has memories of their
mother that sometimes make him unhappy.
In the summer of 1933, when Jem is nearly ten and Scout almost six, a peculiar boy
named Charles Baker Harris moves in next door. The boy, who calls himself Dill, stays for
the summer with his aunt, Miss Rachel Haverford, who owns the house next to the
Finches'. Dill doesn't like to discuss his father's absence from his life, but he is otherwise a
talkative and extremely intelligent boy who quickly becomes the Finch children's chief
playmate. All summer, the three act out various stories that they have read. When they
grow bored of this activity, Dill suggests that they attempt to lure Boo Radley, a mysterious
neighbor, out of his house.
Arthur "Boo" Radley lives in the run-down Radley Place, and no one has seen him outside it
in years. Scout recounts how, as a boy, Boo got in trouble with the law, and his father
imprisoned him in the house as punishment. He was not heard from until fifteen years
later when he stabbed his father with a pair of scissors. Although people suggested that
Boo was crazy, old Mr. Radley refused to have his son committed to an asylum. When the
old man died, Boo's brother, Nathan, came to live in the house with Boo. Nevertheless, Boo
continued to stay inside.
Dill is fascinated by Boo and tries to convince the Finch children to help him lure this
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, phantom of Maycomb outside. Eventually, he dares Jem to run over and touch the house.
Jem does so, sprinting back hastily; there is no sign of movement at the Radley Place,
although Scout thinks that she sees a shutter move slightly, as if someone was peeking
out.
2). Chapter 2
Ans: September arrives, and Dill leaves Maycomb to return to the town of Meridian.
Scout, meanwhile, prepares to go to school for the first time, an event that she has been
eagerly anticipating. Once she is finally at school, however, she finds that her teacher,
Miss Caroline Fisher, deals poorly with children. When Miss Caroline concludes that
Atticus must have taught Scout to read, she becomes very displeased and makes Scout
feel guilty for being educated. At recess, Scout complains to Jem, but Jem says that Miss
Caroline is just trying out a new method of teaching.
Miss Caroline and Scout get along badly in the afternoon as well. Walter Cunningham, a
boy in Scout's class, has not brought a lunch. Miss Caroline offers him a quarter to buy
lunch, telling him that he can pay her back tomorrow. Walter's family is large and poor—so
poor that they pay Atticus with hickory nuts, turnip greens, or other goods when they need
legal help—and Walter will never be able to pay the teacher back or bring a lunch to
school. When Scout attempts to explain these circumstances, however, Miss Caroline
fails to understand and grows so frustrated that she slaps Scout's hand with a ruler.
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