Seeking Justice: To Kill a Mockingbird (2020)

Lesson 16
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ELA

Unit 7

8th Grade

Lesson 16 of 35

Objective


Explain how Harper Lee uses specific words, phrases, and lines of text to reveal aspects of Mayella Ewell’s character.

Readings and Materials


  • Book: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee  — chapter 18

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Target Task


Writing Prompt

On page 207, Mayella says about Atticus, “Long’s he keep callin’ me ma’am and saying Miss Mayella. I don’t have to take his sass, I ain’t called upon to take it” (207).

  1. What does this line reveal about her character? Explain your thinking.
  2. What emotions does this line evoke in Scout (and by extension, in the reader)? Provide evidence from the text and explain your thinking.

Key Questions


  • How does Harper Lee develop Mayella as a sympathetic character on pages 203–204? Provide at least three specific words, phrases, or lines of text that help develop the reader’s sympathy for Mayella, and explain why they do.
  • On the top of page 206, Lee writes, “Apparently Mayella’s recital had given her confidence, but it was not her father’s brash kind: there was something stealthy about hers, like a steady-eyed cat with a twitchy tail” (206). What does this simile reveal about Mayella? Identify specific words and phrases that develop this idea.
  • How does Harper Lee develop Mayella as a sympathetic character on pages 208–209 (begin at “‘Miss Mayella,’ said Atticus” and end at “He never touched me”). Provide at least three specific words, phrases, or lines of text that help develop the reader’s sympathy for Mayella, and explain why they do.
  • Discussion: Mayella Ewell is a complicated character. How do you view her? Do you feel differently about her than you did about Bob Ewell? Why?

Lesson Guidance


Standard and Literary Concepts

  • In yesterday’s reading, Harper Lee uses Bob Ewell’s poverty as a way of supporting the idea that he’s an unsympathetic character. Today, however, Mayella’s poverty is used as a way of evoking pity. Students will need to think critically about how the author does this through word choice, specific lines of dialogue, and events in the text.
    • Sympathetic character: A character that the audience/reader is invested in, feels empathy for, or cares about.
    • Unsympathetic character: A character that the audience does not like or believe deserves empathy.
    • Reliable character: Trustworthy, honest, objective.

Notes

  • Today’s reading includes a number of mentions of the N-word.
  • As with yesterday’s reading, there is a description of sexual assault and violence in today’s chapter.
  • You may wish to have students add to their timelines of events (particularly what Mayella says happened before her father arrived).

Homework

  • Read To Kill a Mockingbird, chapter 19.

Common Core Standards


  • RL.8.3 — Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.
  • RL.8.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

Next

Explain how Harper Lee uses specific lines of text to reveal aspects of characters, as well as racial dynamics within Maycomb.

Lesson 17
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