LANGUAGE ANALYSIS - TKAM

1. Various characters exhibit styles of speech appropriate to their character. Find examples to illustrate each of the following:

a. Atticus uses abstract legal terms, as well as familiar colloquialisms, when speaking to his children.

b. Scout uses a racy slang which is sharply different from the chatter of Miss Merriweather or the slow slur of Burris Ewell.

2. Read pages 224-227 where Atticus speaks to the jury during Tom Robinson’s court case.

a. Write down examples of emotive words Atticus uses in his speech.b. Why does he use these emotive words?

3. We often use persuasive language to convince others to behave in certain ways.a. Find an example when Atticus persuades the children to behave in a certain way.

Explain why you think it is persuasive.b. Find an example when the children try to persuade Atticus of Calpurnia to do

something. Explain why you think it is persuasive.c. Of the two examples, who is the most persuasive and why?

4. Skim through the novel to find ten similes and ten metaphors. Complete the table; writing all the similes and metaphors in one and in the other list the effect they have on the reader.

Simile or Metaphor Effect on reader

5. Choose five characters from the novel and write a simile and a metaphor describing each of them.

Simile or Metaphor Effect on reader

6. Create a database of aphorisms from the novel. Complete the table: in the first column, write all the aphorisms you can find; in the second column, write the page number on which you find each one; in the third column, write the character who speaks each aphorism; and in the fourth column, write the situation in which it is spoken.

Aphorism used Page Character Situation/context

8 Choose five characters from the novel and write a simile and a metaphor describing each of them (for example - simile: Atticus is as noble as a lion. Metaphor: Atticus is a rock).

9 Show how language is used to indicate character in the novel.10 How are varieties of social status indicated by speech in To Kill a Mockingbird?An aphorism is a short pithy statement or saying, which expresses an opinion or something generally believed to be true. Examples from To Kill a Mockingbird include Aunt Alexandrds aphorisms: "No Crawford minds his own business" and "All the Bufords walk like that" (p. 145).

Atticus tells Scout that "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view ... until you climb into his skin and walk around in it" (p. 33). Aphorisms are used in dialogue when people want to give advice, point out a mistake or explain something about human nature. Lee uses a lot of aphorisms in To Kill a Mockingbird to convey ideas about character, setting and relationships within dialogue. We quickly figure out what kind of person Aunt Alexandra is through her frequent use of aphorisms!11 Create a database of aphorisms from To Kill a Mockingbird. Create a table of four

columns and in the first column, write out all the aphorisms you can find; in the second column, write the page number on which you find each one; in the third column, the character who speaks each aphorism and in the fourth column, the situation in which it is spoken.

Aphorisms Page Speaker Situation