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Name__________________________ Date__________________ Block_____

To Kill A Mockingbird—The Film Atticus Finch: Gregory Peck Scout: Mary Badham Jem: Philip Alford Dill: John Megna Tom Robinson: Brock Peters Boo Radley: Robert Duvall

Director: Robert Mulligan Screenplay: by Horton Foote Based on the novel Harper Lee

Academy Award Best Actor Gregory Peck plays a widowed small-town Alabama lawyer in 1932 trying to raise two children while defending a black man. Narrated by the younger child, Scout, a feisty six-year-old tomboy, it is a story of honor and integrity,

racism and stereotyping, and the lessons we all learn when confronted with crises. Two storylines play out simultaneously; that of the trial and the children's small-town life, especially their relationship with a reclusive neighbor, Boo Radley, The interwoven stories come together dramatically and skillfully in the exciting climax. The interest arises both from the social the world of their seniors and matters of justice and injustice.

Understanding Prejudice— The film reveals many universal themes to the viewer, but one of the most predominate themes in the novel is that of prejudice. It is important to your understanding of the film that you understand the concept of prejudice.

To learn more about this word, fill in the word map below.

_________________________________________ (Define it.)

P r e j u d i c e

Provide examples.

List adjectives that describe it.

To Kill A Mockingbird Prereading Questionnaire

The following questionnaire relates to themes and issues in the film. Give your first reaction to each of the statements by circling the numbers: 1 = strongly agree, 2 = agree somewhat, 3 = disagree somewhat, 4 = strongly disagree.

Statement Strongly Agree

SomewhatAgree

SomewhatDisagree

StronglyDisagree

1. All men are created equal. 1 2 3 4

2. Girls should act like girls. 1 2 3 4

3. It’s okay to be different. 1 2 3 4

4. Nobody is all bad or all good. 1 2 3 4

5. Some words are so offensive that they should never be said or written. 1 2 3 4

6. Under our justice system, all citizens are treated fairly in our courts of law.

1 2 3 4

7. “Sticks and stones my break your bones, but words will never hurt you.”

1 2 3 4

8. Speaking standard grammar proves that a person is smart. 1 2 3 4

9. A hero is born, not made. 1 2 3 4

10. No one is above the law. 1 2 3 4

11. Education is the great equalizer. 1 2 3 4

12. When the law does not succeed in punishing criminals, citizens should do so.

1 2 3 4

Review your selections. Which statement do you most agree with? Explain why.

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________Which statement do you most disagree with? Explain why. _____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

To Kill A Mockingbird--Symbolism

Part I. Definition.

Define Symbolism: ____________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Provide three examples of symbols in American culture:

1.______________ 2._________________ 3._______________

Explain what each symbol represents or means.

1.________________________________________________________________

2.________________________________________________________________

3.________________________________________________________________

Part II. Application.

Now watch the opening credits of the film To Kill A Mockingbird.

Some items seen in the opening credits of the film.

Describe the scene in which the item is seen or discussed in the film.

Symbolic meaning or representation.

Pocket Watch

Pearl Necklace

Marbles

Drawing of a bird

Soap dolls

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD Film Study Guide 1. – 4. The story is set in a small town in southern Alabama during the Depression of

the 1930's. What aspects of the film seem to be particular to that place and time?

a. What aspects are universal, cutting across time and place?

*b. In what ways are the people you know today similar to and different from those in Maycomb?

c. What does the voice over tell you about the town?

5. – 6. What is your first impression of Scout? What words would you use to describe her?

7. – 8. Who is Mr. Cunningham?

a. Why do you think Atticus tells Scout not to call him the next time Mr. Cunningham comes to visit?

9. - 10. What is your first impression of Atticus? What words would you use to describe him?

11. Describe Jem. How is he different from Scout?

12. Who is Calpurnia?

13. -15. What is your first impression of Dill?

a. What words would you use to describe him?

b. Do you think that Dill is believable? Why or Why not?

16. – 18. What do we learn about Boo Radley?

a. Do you think the things they say about him are true? Why?

19. – 20. Read the following excerpt from the novel. What mood is conveyed? How accurately does the film capture the same mood? What changes, if any, are evident?

The Radley place jutted into a sharp curve beyond our house. Walking south, one faced its porch; the sidewalk turned and ran beside the lot. The house was low, was once white with a deep front porch and green shutters, but had long ago darkened to the color of the slate-gray yard around it. Rain-rotted shingles drooped over the eaves of the veranda; oak trees kept the sun away. The remains of a picket fence drunkenly guarded the front yard--a "swept” yard that was never swept--where johnson grass and rabbit-tobacco grew in abundance.

b. Describe what Aunt Stephanie says that Boo did to his father.

21. Why should the children be afraid of Miss Dubose?

22. What happened to Scout and Jem’s mother?

23. Why do you think that Atticus agrees so quickly to take the case of Tom Robinson?

24. How does Dill convince Jem and Scout to go to the courthouse?

25. What is the crime that Bob Ewell has accused Tom Robinson of doing?

26. From the interaction with Bob Ewell and Atticus, do you think Atticus believes the charges?

27. What is ironic about Jem’s statement to Scout when he says, “I swear Scout, you act more like a girl all the time?”

28. Do you think that Jem, Scout and Dill will try to sneak back in to the Radley place to see Boo after the events of the evening? Why or why not?

29. Do you think that Scout is comfortable in her “school clothes?” Why or why not?

30. At supper, Atticus reveals the importance of the title when he tells the children, “I remember when my daddy gave me that gun. He told me that I should never point it at anything in the house; and that he'd rather I'd shoot at tin cans in the backyard. But he said that sooner or later he supposed the temptation to go after birds would be too much, and that I could shoot all the blue jays I wanted - if I could hit 'em; but to remember it was a sin to kill a mockingbird.” When Jem asks why, Atticus says, “Well, I reckon because mockingbirds don't do anything but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat people's gardens, don't nest in the corncrib, they don't do one thing but just sing their hearts out for us.” What do you think the title of the film means?

31. Why do you think that Walter pours syrup all over his meal?

32. After supper, Atticus gives Scout some advice about understanding others. What do you think he means when he says, “If you just learn a single trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”

33. What does the scene with the mad dog reveal about Atticus?

34. Atticus tells Jem not to be afraid of Bob Ewell because he’s all bluff. Why do you think the children should be afraid of him?

*35. – 36. What does Jem find in the tree hole? Who do you think put it there?

Later in the film he shares the items with Scout. What are these new items and what do they tell you about the person who put them there?

37. Why does Atticus say that he feels he must defend Tom Robinson?

28. – 49. Scene Analysis: “The Mob.” Take a look at these images from the scene in which the children confront Atticus, and the lynch mob, outside the jail.

In these images from the film, Atticus, alone, sits reading, with a lamp, outside the jail, the night before the trial of Tom Robinson is to begin. Sheriff Tate had forewarned him that there might be trouble.

Next, the children who have seen Atticus from a far, watch as cars carrying the lynch mob pull up outside the jail.

The children watch this from behind some bushes, but as the lynch mob exits their cars, the children use the opportunity to come closer, to get a close up view of what is happening.  

They make their way to the front of the mob. 

They are looking up at Atticus. 

Where is the camera positioned?

What impact does this perspective communicate?After one of the lynch mob tells the children to go home, a tussle ensures, and Atticus moves the children up to where he has been seated. Again, where is the camera positioned?

Why?

What impact does this perspective communicate?

Where is the camera now?

What is communicated when the point of view is shooting down at the mob?

Where is the camera now?

Whose perspective are we supposed to see?

Now, the crowd has dispersed. 

Where is the camera now?

What is communicated?

50. – 60. Two Voices Poem

Character Character Traits That Describe

Atticus

The Mob

Two Voice Poems: This type of poem is composed to be read aloud by two (sometimes even three) readers. Most lines in these poems are spoken by the individual reader separately, and the speakers take turns going back and forth between the voices; however, some lines are composed to be said out loud together by both speakers. This type of poetry should represent what the voices have in common and reveal their differences. Here’s an example:

Voice One Spoken Alone Spoken Together Voice Two Spoken Alone

I am the younger brother.

Playing with toysis my favorite past-time.

When I am your age,

I will get such better

Mom yells at you more than me!

I am the older sister.

Talking on the phone is what I do best.

When I was your age,

School was so much harder

grades than you do.

You have it so easy!

than it is now.

Now you try it. Using your notes create a poem that reveals the two voices of Atticus and the Mob. How are they the same and how are they different. Use the chart on the back to create your poem.

A Poem of Two Voices

Atticus Alone Spoken Together The Mob Alone

61. Describe the courthouse scene.

62. How does Sheriff Tate describe Mayella’s condition and her injuries?

63. What does Bob Ewell say that he witnessed?

64. What is the symbolism represented by Bob Ewell’s full name, “Robert E. Lee Ewell?”

65. – 66. How does Mayella appear on the witness stand? Is she believable? Why or why not?

67. – 68. Describe Tom Robinson. How believable is he on the witness stand?

69. It appears that Tom makes a tragic mistake when he says that he felt sorry for Miss Mayella. What is his mistake?

70. How does Atticus prove that Tom is innocent?

71. Will the verdict be a "foregone conclusion?" Why or why not?

72. Why is the verdict such a travesty of justice?

73. Why do you think that the African Americans in the balcony stand up when Atticus leaves the courtroom?

74. Describe what happens to Tom Robinson after the verdict.

75. – 76. How does Atticus react when Bob Ewell spits in his face? Why do you think he reacts the way he does and would you react the same way?

77. Who attacks the children and why?

78. – 79. Who saves the children? What does it reveal about this individual?

80. Why do you think that Sheriff Tate protects the person that saved the children?

81. What are the main conflicts in the story? Were any conflicts resolved in ways that you found disturbing?

82. Who are the mockingbirds in the film? Explain what the title To Kill A Mockingbird means.

83. - 88. Looking at Characters

Many of the characters in the film are depicted as stereotypes. Look at the list below of characters, explain how they are stereotyped. Then analyze if any of them break through the behavior expected of them, showing individuality and exposing the falseness of narrowly labeling people by identifying how they broke the label of stereotype.

Character Stereotype Break OutAunt Stephanie

Miss Dubose

Judge Taylor

Sheriff Tate

The Townspeople of Maycomb

The jury

89. – 95. Analyzing Symbolism and Gothic Elements in the Film.

Part I. Certain objects take on symbolic value in the film; that is, an object is used by the author as a part of the setting or narrative, yet that object symbolism, or represents something outside itself. What do the following symbolize?

Object SymbolizesMockingbird

The mad dog

Mrs. Dubose’s Camellias

The gun

The cemented hole in the tree

The columns on the building of the courthouse

96. – 100. Part II. To Kill a Mockingbird has the gothic theme present, including elements such as the supernatural, ghosts, sinister murders, sexual violence, haunted houses, prisons and dungeons, encounter with people unlike ourselves, and the baleful influence of the past. Behind the gothic is the idea of imprisonment within and the breaking through boundaries. When characters attempt to break out of boundaries, violence inevitably breaks out. Identify these elements in the film.

Gothic Elements Events in the film a. foreboding of evil b. ghosts and ghost houses c. insanity

d. imprisonment, including barriers, walls and veils

e. taboos including race mixing