All questions are from Oyster Academy-Seeking Justice: Lesson 6.

Question 1: “In what ways is the scene where Jem retrieves his pants similar and different in the film (30:50–32:16) than in the text (pages 62–64)?”

To Kill a Mockingbird as a movie and as a book are surprisingly different, but still hold similarities.

One of the differences is that, in the movie, Jem doesn’t leave to retrieve his pants in the middle of the night, unlike the book, where he leaves while Atticus is asleep. Another difference is that Jem’s pants weren’t sewn together and folded, as if someone was waiting for him. They also weren’t ripped, unlike in the book, where they ripped and Boo Radley stitched them up.

Now, there are some similarities. One of which includes the gunshot while Jem was retrieving his pants. Another is that Atticus didn’t know Jem ran to get his pants. He was completely oblivious-not for the same reasons, however.

Question 2: “On page 63, Scout reflects, “It was then, I suppose, that Jem and I first began to part company.” How would you characterize the relationship between Scout and Jem in this scene? In what ways has it changed since the beginning of the text?”

In that very scene, you can tell Jem and Scout are drifting apart. They used to be close. Jem was her teacher, in a way. Scout was the one with common sense at times, and they seemed like friends as well as siblings. Their relationship is distant now, and rather shattered.

Questions from Oyster Academy.

Question 1: How does today’s reading develop your understanding of gender roles and expectations in this text? Provide specific examples from the text.

Today’s reading helped me understand that women are expected to do housework, like Jem says on page 78, “Not like a lady sewed ’em…”

It also helped me understand that men are supposed to be wild. Jem and Dill claimed they played strip poker on page 73, “We were playin’ strip poker yonder by the fishpool…” The neighbors “seemed satisfied (74)“. It seemed expected.

Question 2: On page 54, Atticus says to Jem,

“Son, I’m going to tell you something and tell you one time: stop tormenting that man. That goes for the other two of you.”

What does this line reveal about Atticus? Find an additional piece of evidence that supports your answer.

This line reveals that Atticus seems to know when he must be stern when needed. He shows more of his parenting skills when talking to Jem and Scout on page 73, “I don’t want to hear of poker in any form again.”

He also seems to know more than anyone may expect. He knew that Dill, Scout, and Jem were playing Radley’s without them telling him. “Does this by any chance have anything to do with the Radley’s? (53)“

Questions from Oyster Academy-Seeking Justice: Lesson 2.

Question 1: What can we infer about Scout’s character based on this first chapter? Provide specific examples from the text.

She’s smart, having been able to read since she was a baby, “Scout yonder’s been readin’ ever since she was born, and she ain’t even started to school yet.” (8) but she can be rather ignorant, ‘”Then if he’s not dead, you’ve got one, haven’t you?’ Dill blushed and Jem told me to hush…’ (9).

She’s also quite young, as she hasn’t started school yet. She’s probably about seven or eight years old. She also doesn’t seem to be as well behaved as her brother, “..Asking me why I couldn’t behave as well as Jem…” (7).

Question 2: What do we notice about race relations in Maycomb? Where in the text do you see references to race?

Black people aren’t safe in certain places, like when passing the Radley’s at night, they have to “cut across to the sidewalk opposite and whistle as he walked”. Black people don’t get the best education, Calpurnia being an exception. And most black people seem to have more servant-type roles-like Calpurnia is a cook.