Updated: April 19 2018
When Harper Lee’s Go Set A Watchman was published in July 2015 – her only other work published since 1960 – many people also revisited Lee’s classic first novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, or read it for the first time. Our friends over at the New York Public Library put together a list of questions to help guide both first-time and re-readers through the major themes of the novel. Join in the discussion and add your thoughts in the comments below!
1. Who was the mockingbird?
2. How was the mockingbird killed?
3. How is Atticus’s sense of justice inferred when he tells the children they can shoot all the bluejays they want, but “it is a sin to kill a mockingbird”?
4. Was Atticus successful in instilling conscience in his children?
5. Was the teacher Miss Caroline unfair to Scout? How was the education system viewed?
6. What happened to Dill? And how does his childhood compare to Scout’s and Jem’s?
7. Why was Boo Radley never seen? Was he a villain, victim or hero?
8. How were Scout and Jem affected by the trial?
9. Was Calpurnia happy with the Finches? Why did her personality change when she was at church? Was she a realistic or idealized character?
10. How is the town of Maycomb and the morality of its people portrayed? Did the trial make a difference in their lives?
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