Toady in first and fourth periods we reread the text below as a class. Then we got in our groups and analyzed the text to answer questions on Chapter 24 of To Kill A Mockingbird in an effort to understand why this chapter is so critical to the book.

Second and fourth periods had a quick review of participles, a topic we covered a couple of weeks ago, and then finished chapter six of Nightjohn.

Homework

• English I Honors: First, finish reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Thursday. Second, mark the text we began working on in class according to these guidelines (download a version here):
  • Who are the Mrunas? How does Mrs. Merriweather describe them? Mark this on your text.
  • What is J. Grimes Everett doing with the Mrunas? What is his motivation? Mark this on your text, indicating “motivation” in the margin.
  • Why is Mrs. Merriweather helping J. Grimes Everett? (She doesn’t say so directly; you’ll have to infer.) Mark this on your text, indicating your reasoning in the margin.
  • According to the women, how is the African American community responding to the trial of Tom Robinson? Mark this on your text.
  • Who is Mrs. Merriweather talking about when she says, “I tell you there are some good but misguided people in this town. Good, but misguided” at the tea party? What does she think is the proper response? Mark this on your text, connecting with arrows and labels as necessary.
  • Look at the use of names. Why is “J. Grimes Everett” almost always referred to as such? What does his name make you think of? Why did Harper Lee choose his name? What other names in this scene are similar?
  • What is the primary literary device at work in this scene? (To figure this out, combine the answers from questions one, four, and five above.) How many different types of it can you find? Mark your text as you look for examples.
  • The best writing shows, it doesn’t tell. Chapter twenty-four is an excellent example of showing. What is it showing? How? Mark your text to indicate where and how.