Skip to main content

I have to present a discussion to my class about chapter 29 from To Kill A Mockingbird and I need some good questions from that chapter that are...

One question that can inspire lively debate has its roots in an earlier chapter when Tom Robinson is convicted of raping Mayella Ewell. Jem had been thoroughly convinced that based on the evidence presented and his complete faith in his father's prowess as a lawyer that Tom would be acquitted. When Tom was convicted, it was an attack on everything he believed: that his father was unbeatable; that the legal system was fair; that innocent people were not convicted of crimes; that his friends, neighbors, and acquaintances in Maycomb were good and fair people. Jem lost his faith in the humanity of humans. Because Jem remains unconscious at the end of the novel, we do not get to hear any last revelations from him. But how might the actions of Boo Radley  to save Jem and Scout have helped to restore some of Jem's faith in humanity, and why?


Another question that begs to be asked centers on another quote by Mr. Tate, but it, too, has a parallel in an earlier chapter when Bob Ewell is testifying about Tom Robinson's alleged behavior with Mayella. Here, Mr. Tate and Atticus are discussing Bob Ewell's attempt to kill Jem and Scout, and while Atticus can't bring himself to understand how a man could try to kill a child, Mr. Tate responds, “Mr. Finch, there’s just some kind of men you have to shoot before you can say hidy to ‘em. Even then, they ain’t worth the bullet it takes to shoot ’em. Ewell ‘as one of ’em" (Lee, 1960, p. 273). How does this quote reveal Tate's mindset about Ewell that is similar to Ewell's mindset about Tom Robinson?


Another couple of questions that can be considered in light of the action in this chapter is how Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are similar characters and how their characters differ. You could look both at their personal characteristics and personalities as well as their treatment at the hands of the townspeople, including Jem, Scout, and the other kids.


Chapter 29 on its own is not rich with action, but if you consider the statements made in it in light of previous chapters, there is much to be debated.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...

Is 'efficate' a word in English?

I routinely hear the word "efficate" being used. For example, "The most powerful way to efficate a change in the system is to participate." I do not find entries for this word in common English dictionaries, but I do not have an unabridged dictionary. I have checked the OED (I'm not sure if it is considered unabridged), and it has no entry for "efficate". It does have an entry for "efficiate", which is used in the same way. Wordnik has an entry for "efficate" with over 1800 hits, thus providing some evidence for the frequency of use. I personally like the word and find the meaning very clear and obvious when others use it. If it's not currently an "officially documented" word, perhaps its continued use will result in it being better documented.