108 pages • 3 hours read
Harper LeeA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Vocabulary
Essay Topics
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This section presents terms and phrases that are central to understanding the text and may present a challenge to the reader. Use this list to create a vocabulary quiz or worksheet, to prepare flashcards for a standardized test, or to inspire classroom word games and other group activities.
1. phantom (noun):
a ghost
“Inside the house lived a malevolent phantom.” (Chapter 1, Page 8)
2. the crash (noun):
informal term referring to the stock market crash of 1929 that signaled the beginning of the Great Depression
“The Cunninghams are country folks, farmers, and the crash hit them hardest.” (Chapter 2, Page 21)
3. entailment (noun):
in legal terms, a settlement of the inheritance of property so that it remains within a family for several generations
“Entailment was only a part of Mr. Cunningham’s vexations. The acres not entailed were mortgaged to the hilt, and the little cash he made went to interest.” (Chapter 2, Page 21)
4. knot-hole (noun):
a hole in a tree trunk where a branch has decayed
“Some tinfoil was sticking in a knot-hole just above my eye level, winking at me in the afternoon sun.” (Chapter 4, Page 33)
5. scuppernongs (noun):
a variety of grape native to the basin of the Scuppernong River in North Carolina
“Our tacit treaty with Miss Maudie was that we could play on her lawn, eat her scuppernongs if we didn’t jump on the arbor, and explore her vast back lot, terms so generous we seldom spoke to her, so careful were we to preserve the delicate balance of our relationship, but Jem and Dill drove me closer to her with their behavior.” (Chapter 5, Page 42)
6. lest (conjunction):
slang for “unless”
“Can’t anybody tell what I’m gonna do lest they know me, can they, Scout?” (Chapter 7, Page 58)
7. touchous (adjective):
a slang term meaning overly sensitive or irritable
“Jem restrained me from further questions. He said Atticus was still touchous about us and the Radleys and it wouldn’t do to push him any.” (Chapter 8, Page 64)
8. caricature (noun):
a picture, description, or imitation of a person in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated to create a comic or grotesque effect
“‘I don’t care what you do, so long as you do something,’ said Atticus. ‘You can’t go around making caricatures of the neighbors.’ ‘Ain’t a caricature,’ said Jem. ‘It just looks like him.’ ‘Mr. Avery might not think so.’” (Chapter 8, Page 67)
9. jury (noun):
a group of people (typically twelve in number) that gives a verdict in a legal court case based on evidence submitted to them
“The jury couldn’t possibly be expected to take Tom Robinson’s word against the Ewells’—are you acquainted with the Ewells?” (Chapter 9, Page 88)
10. interrogation (noun):
aggressive questioning
“If she was on the porch when we passed, we would be raked by her wrathful gaze, subjected to ruthless interrogation regarding our behavior, and given a melancholy prediction on what we would amount to when we grew up, which was always nothing.” (Chapter 11, Page 99)
11. shinny (noun):
a slang term for liquor, usually whiskey or bourbon
“Miss Maudie Atkinson baked a Lane cake so loaded with shinny it made me tight; Miss Stephanie Crawford had long visits with Aunt Alexandra, consisting mostly of Miss Stephanie shaking her head and saying, “Uh, uh, uh.” (Chapter 13, Page 129)
12. heredity (noun):
a person’s ancestry
“I never understood her preoccupation with heredity. Somewhere, I had received the impression that Fine Folks were people who did the best they could with the sense they had, but Aunt Alexandra was of the opinion, obliquely expressed, that the longer a family had been squatting on one patch of land the finer it was.” (Chapter 13, Page 130)
13. counsel (noun):
the lawyer or lawyers conducting a case
“Mr. Ewell backed up into the witness chair, settled himself, and regarded Atticus with haughty suspicion, an expression common to Maycomb County witnesses when confronted by opposing counsel.” (Chapter 17, Page 175)
14. cross-examination (noun):
the formal questioning of a witness called by the other party in a court of law to challenge or extend testimony already given
“Never, never, never, on cross-examination ask a witness a question you don’t already know the answer to, was a tenet I absorbed with my baby-food. Do it, and you’ll often get an answer you don’t want, an answer that might wreck your case.” (Chapter 17, Page 177)
15. browbeating (progressive verb):
intimidating someone, typically into doing something, with stern or abusive words
“‘Now let’s consider this calmly—’ began Atticus, but Mr. Gilmer interrupted with an objection: he was not irrelevant or immaterial, but Atticus was browbeating the witness. Judge Taylor laughed outright. ‘Oh sit down, Horace, he’s doing nothing of the sort. If anything, the witness’s browbeating Atticus.’” (Chapter 18, Page 186)
16. volition (noun):
the power of using will or conscious choice
“He seemed to be a respectable Negro, and a respectable Negro would never go up into somebody’s yard of his own volition.” (Chapter 19, Page 192)
17. verdict (noun):
the decision made by the jury in a court trial
“‘Aw, Atticus, let us come back,’ pleaded Jem. ‘Please let us hear the verdict, please sir.’” (Chapter 21, Page 207)
18. defendant (noun):
the accused individual in a court of law
“A jury never looks at a defendant it has convicted, and when this jury came in, not one of them looked at Tom Robinson.” (Chapter 21, Page 211)
19. cynical (adjective):
believing that people are motivated by self-interest; distrustful of human sincerity or integrity
“‘Don’t talk like that Dill,’ said Aunt Alexandra. ‘It’s not becoming to a child. It’s—cynical.’ ‘I ain’t cynical, Miss Alexandra. Tellin’ the truth’s not cynical, is it?’” (Chapter 22, Page 214)
20. acquittal (noun):
a judgment that a person is not guilty of the crime with which the person has been charged
“No jury in this part of the world’s going to say, ‘We think you’re guilty, but not very,’ on a charge like that. It was either a straight acquittal or nothing.” (Chapter 23, Page 219)
21. circumstantial (adjective):
evidence that points indirectly toward someone's guilt but does not conclusively prove it
“He said he didn’t have any quarrel with the rape statute, none whatever, but he did have deep misgivings when the state asked for and the jury gave a death penalty on purely circumstantial evidence.” (Chapter 23, Page 219)
22. prejudice (noun):
preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience
“‘Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced. Prejudice,’ she enunciated carefully. ‘There are no better people in the world than the Jews, and why Hitler doesn’t think so is a mystery to me.’” (Chapter 26, Page 245)
23. pageant (noun):
a stage performance
“Mrs. Grace Merriweather had composed an original pageant entitled Maycomb County: Ad Astra Per Aspera, and I was to be a ham.” (Chapter 27, Page 252)
24. perforated (past tense verb):
pierced through, creating a hole
“I wondered why he had those marks on him. His sleeves were perforated with little holes.” (Chapter 29, Page 269)
25. connived (past tense verb):
conspire to do something considered immoral, illegal, or harmful
“Before Jem looks at anyone else he looks at me, and I’ve tried to live so I can look squarely back at him…if I connived at something like this, frankly I couldn’t meet his eye, and the day I can’t do that I’ll know I’ve lost him.” (Chapter 30, Page 273)
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