Summary of the Novel

Two plots run through the book To Kill a Mockingbird. The first is the mystery of the Radley Place and its inhabitant Boo Radley. The children work throughout the first part of the novel to bring him out or to see him inside the house.

The second plot is that of the accusation of Thomas Robinson as a rapist, his trial, and his conviction. Even though Tom is convicted, Mr.Robert Ewell and Mayella are not believed; Robert Ewell is determined to seek revenge on Atticus.

When Bob Ewell seeks to kill Jem and Scout, Boo Radley hears the commotion and manages to kill Ewell before he can harm the children further. The sheriff refuses to tell the story of Boo Radley to the community; he protects him and his privacy.

Section two To Kill а Mockingbird Chapter 1

I. Study Questions

1. Describe Calpurnia as Scout depicts her in Chapter 1.

2. What does Dill dare Jem to do?

3. What events led to Arthur's being shut into the house?

4. Pretend you are writing a description of Maycomb for a travel magazine of the 1930s. Describe the town in detail.

5. The townspeople of Maycomb have some fears and superstitions about the Radley Place. Describe these fears and superstitions.

6. Whose idea was it to make Boo come out of the house?

7. How important is bravery to Jem?

8. Mr.Connor is described as "Maycomb's ancient beadle." What is a beadle?

9. What goal do the children plan to achieve before the end of the summer?

10. Describe some of the customs of the town of Maycomb.

II. Explain the meaning of the following words:

apothecary (n.); beadle (n.); brethren (n.); dictum (n.); impudent (adj.); predilection (n.); taciturn (adj.); unsullied (adj.); corsets (n); foray (n.):

III. Give synonyms for the following words from the chapter:

to walk at a slow, leisurely pace;	slaves;
lessen or to calm;	evil;
rigid, severe, straight;	conditions or rules.

IV. Find in the chapter the English equivalents for the following words and word combinations and remember the situations they were used in:

Добраться до корня; плыть на лодке вверх по; решать спор кулаками; завзятый охотник; нажить состояние; выйти замуж за тихоню; присутствовать при казни; быть в кровном родстве; хвастаться; хохотать во все горло; приходиться играть; описывать крутую дугу; держаться очень замкнуто; сколотить шайку; слова не расходятся с делом; раздражительный; задать жару; идти на уступки.

V. Explain what the following allusions mean:

1. Andrew Jackson;

2. battle of Hastings;

3. Cornwall;

4. disturbance between the North and the South;

5. flivver; Jamaica;

6. Merlin;

7. Mobile;

8. no money to buy it with;

9. nothing to fear but fear itself;

10. Pensacola;

11. stumphole whiskey;

12. Tuscaloosa.

VI. Give analysis of the quote:

"Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. Somehow, it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer’s day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square. Men's stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o'clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum."