“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what." - Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird
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Read the following article and answer the questions that follow using complete sentences.
"In their book The Companion to Southern Literature, Joseph Flora and Lucinda MacKethan describe the Southern lady and the younger Southern belle, social types that exuded the traditional characteristics to which many white Southerners expected girls to aspire for much of the twentieth century. Ideally a patrician, privileged white woman, she served her husband, bending to him in all matters; she was maternal, bearing children regularly and caring for them lovingly; she possessed great skill in the domestic sphere, running kitchen and nursery, overseeing the household in all areas, dispensing medicine, always hospitable. Most important, perhaps, she was the moral center of the household, pious, self-effacing, and kind. An expert with the needle, she could also play a musical instrument and sing melodies for the family. She was essential to the patriarchy, assuring well-brought-up children, a well-run home, and complete comfort for her husband... Following the Civil War, [the] vision of a plantation South took on mythic proportions as southerners grew defensive and nostalgic about the Old South. In particular, the southern woman of the Old South was presented, through the image of the southern lady, as the ideal of nineteenth-century womanhood. . . . A marble figure on a pedestal, she was static. A more appealing character, in this idealized vision of the South, was the southern belle, the younger, unmarried, and hence incomplete version of the southern lady . . . . If trained right, the belle had, by her early teen years, already acquired most of the makings of the southern lady: she was beautiful or potentially beautiful, graceful, charming, virtuous, loyal to family, submissive to father, in need of men’s protection, yet resourceful and brave when unusual circumstances called on her to be. But even in her late teens, she might not yet have perfected self- sacrifice and calm self-possession. These characteristics would come, or must come, once she married—and marrying was supposed to be her goal in life." 1. How does Scout feel about being a girl? Include at least one quotation from the novel to support your answer. 2. In many ways, Scout does not fit into the cultural norms of the time of how a girl should behave and look. What are some of the ways she is different from those expectations? Be specific. What are some of the possible consequences of her not conforming to the rules of how a girl should be? 3. What are some societal expectations of girls today? How are they different from the expectations of boys? How are they different from the expectations of girls and boys in the 1930s? I know. Isn't this picture totally creepy?! This is not what I would want to see if I were looking out my kitchen window at night. Eeek!!!
Now that you're totally scared, let's talk about Boo Radley. Answer the following questions in complete sentences. Each answer should be at least one paragraph in length. 1. Why do you think the Harper Lee included the character Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird? What function does he serve to the novel? Is he there just to make the story more interesting, or do you think the author meant for the character to represent something deeper? If so, what would that something be? 2. What is your impression of Boo Radley thus far? Do you think he is a dangerous person? Do you think he is mentally stable? Do you think he is being treated well by his family or is, perhaps, being held against his will? What is his motivation for making contact with Scout and Jem? Is there a reason why he chose them in particular and not someone else? |
Reading ResponsesThis is a safe space where students can reflect and share their thoughts about what they have read. Responses are to be respectful, thoughtful, and well-written in complete sentences. Archives
May 2017
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