To Kill a Mockingbird: Key Questions Answered

To Kill a Mockingbird: Frequently Asked Questions

• Where does the story take place?

  Maycomb, Alabama.

• What is Scout's real name?

  Jean Louise Finch.

• Where are Scout and Jem's mother?

  She died of a sudden heart attack when Scout was two years old.

• What is rumored about Boo Radley?

  It's rumored that he once stabbed his father with scissors.

• Who is Dill?

  Charles Baker Harris ("Dill") is a boy staying next door for the summer with his Aunt Rachel Haverford.

• Why does the teacher, Miss Caroline, get mad at Scout?

  Because Scout already knows how to read.

• Why won't Walter Cunningham borrow a quarter?

  Because his family is poor and proud, and they never take anything they cannot pay back.

• What does Walter Cunningham do at lunch at the Finches'?

  He pours molasses syrup all over his meat and vegetables.

• What happens involving Burris Ewell in class?

  A louse (which Scout calls a "cootie") crawls out of his hair.

• When do the Ewell children typically go to school?

  Only on the first day of each school year.

• Where do Scout and Jem find gifts?

  In the knothole of an oak tree on the Radley property.

• Why does Scout start hanging out with Miss Maudie?

  Because Jem and Dill begin to exclude her from their games.

• How does Miss Maudie account for Boo Radley's strangeness?

  She suggests he had an extremely strict, "foot-washing" Baptist father who believed most pleasure was a sin.

• What happens when the children sneak into the Radley backyard?

  Someone (Nathan Radley, Boo's brother) fires a shotgun into the air.

• How does Dill explain Jem's missing pants?

  He falsely claims they were playing strip poker using matches as stakes.

• What does Boo Radley carve out of soap?

  Two small figures that resemble Jem and Scout.

• Why does Nathan Radley fill the knothole with cement?

  He tells Jem the tree is dying, though this is likely an excuse to stop Boo's communication.

• What unexpected weather phenomenon happens in Maycomb?

  It snows for the first time since 1885.

• What does Boo Radley do during Miss Maudie's house fire?

  He secretly puts a blanket around Scout's shoulders to keep her warm.

• What is Miss Maudie's reaction after the fire destroys her house?

  She is cheerful, saying she's glad it burned down as she always wanted a smaller house and a bigger garden.

• Why do other children taunt Scout?

  Because her father, Atticus, is defending Tom Robinson, a Black man accused of raping a white woman.

• What does Uncle Jack tell Atticus about Tom Robinson's case?

  He acknowledges Tom is innocent but believes he is doomed because of racial prejudice.

• Why are Jem and Scout surprised when Atticus shoots the rabid dog?

  They were unaware of his marksmanship skill (he was once known as "One-Shot Finch") and thought he lacked impressive, 'real-life' abilities.

• What is Jem's punishment for destroying Mrs. Dubose's camellias?

  He must read aloud to Mrs. Dubose every afternoon for a month.

• What does Mrs. Dubose achieve before she dies?

  She successfully breaks her addiction to morphine.

• Why doesn't Dill initially return to Maycomb for the summer?

  He writes that he has a new father and they plan to build a fishing boat together (though he later runs away).

• Where does Calpurnia take Jem and Scout one Sunday?

  To her church, First Purchase African M.E. Church.

• For whom does Reverend Sykes take up a special collection?

  For Helen Robinson, Tom Robinson's wife, who is struggling to find work.

• Who comes to live with the Finches?

  Aunt Alexandra, Atticus's sister.

• What does Aunt Alexandra often lecture the children about?

  Their family heritage, social status, and the importance of behaving like 'proper' Finches.

• Why does Dill run away from his home?

  He feels neglected and ignored by his mother and new stepfather.

• Why do men come to the Finch house one evening before the trial?

  Men like Sheriff Heck Tate come to warn Atticus that Tom Robinson is being moved to the county jail and might be in danger from a lynch mob.

• What does Scout do when the mob confronts Atticus at the jail?

  She runs into the middle of the circle of men, unaware of the danger.

• Why does Mr. Walter Cunningham tell the mob to leave?

  Scout innocently starts talking to him about his son and his legal entailment, unintentionally shaming him and reminding him of his humanity, which defuses the situation.

• Who was secretly guarding Atticus with a shotgun from a nearby window?

  Mr. Underwood, the owner and editor of The Maycomb Tribune newspaper.