examples for your TKAM homework

For the last week of reading To Kill a Mockingbird, you will "Shine a Light" on one paragraph from your reading. This is just like your test, so select a strong paragraph and:

1: connect the passage with one of the five thematic topics of a “Southern Novel”

2: explain the situation in the quotation by providing context from the novel

3: analyze the use of literary devices by identifying the devices and explaining why they are used

            Personification                     Dual Narrative Voice            Simile                    Hyperbole            Euphemism

            Situational Irony                  Dramatic Irony        Metaphor            Allusion                        Indirect Characterization

Here are some samples from your tests! 

Passage A

It connects with traumatic violence because after seeing Miss Maudie’s house burn down, Scout “shudders” when her father lights the stove. This shows her uneasiness with fire, and is similar to how Miss Maudie just stands and looks at the “black hole” that used to be her home. The trauma with fire is ironic since it was strangely cold and had snowed, and it also indirectly shows how Miss Maudie is affected by the fire.

Passage B

The thematic topic is decorum because it is known by everybody that girls shouldn’t be acting like boys. This takes place when Scout and her family are at Finch’s landing for Christmas, and Aunt Alexandra criticizes Scout on the way she dresses and that girls should shine in their father’s eye. Her metaphor explains the decorum of girls needing to act properly by wearing pearls and dresses, especially since Atticus’ wife had died.

Passage C

The fact that Miss Caroline, the first grade teacher, was from Winston County was a big deal. It separated her from the students, who were mostly farm kids. This class separation is shown when Miss Caroline doesn’t understand her students, especially Walter who doesn’t have a lunch. Scout and the class judge their teacher since she comes from a place filled with “liquor interests, Republicans,” and makes an allusion to North Alabama and their role in the Civil War.

Passage D

As Francis and Scout are having a conversation, the topic of ancestry comes up. Their families are celebrating Christmas at Finch’s Landing, and Francis criticizes Atticus for supporting a back man and acting like a “nigger lover.” This ruins “the family name.” Their ancestry is also ruined since Scout hangs out with kids of a lower social class, who Francis calls “stray dogs” as a metaphor for Dill. 

Passage E

This is an example of ancestry as the narrator talks about her Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Alexandra as they have a son named Henry, who leaves home to get married and gave birth to Cousin Francis. Euphemism was used as Scout describes Francis as being “produced” and that he is “deposited” at his grandparent’s home every Christmas so the parents can pursue their own “pleasure,” which shows that the family doesn’t care about him.