To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 26 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What grade is Scout entering at the beginning of Chapter 26?

   • Correct answer: Third grade
   • Fourth grade
   • Fifth grade
   • Second grade

   When school resumes in the fall, Scout is entering the third grade, while Jem is in the seventh grade.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What role does Jem take on the football team?

   • Equipment handler
   • Quarterback
   • Correct answer: Waterboy
   • Team manager

   Jem joins the football team as a waterboy because he is too skinny to play as a regular team member.

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3. 3

   Question 3. How does Scout now feel about walking past the Radley Place?

   • She still runs past it every time
   • Correct answer: She no longer feels afraid of it
   • She avoids walking past it entirely
   • She is more frightened than ever

   By Chapter 26, the Radley Place has ceased to terrify Scout, though it is still gloomy and uninviting. Passing it, she even feels a twinge of remorse for the torment she and Jem must have caused Arthur Radley.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What current events topic does Cecil Jacobs bring to class?

   • An Uncle Natchell story from an advertisement
   • Elmer Davis's radio report on Germany
   • A clipping from The Grit Paper about farming
   • Correct answer: Adolf Hitler and the persecution of Jews

   Cecil Jacobs brings a newspaper clipping about Adolf Hitler's persecution of Jewish people in Germany, which prompts Miss Gates's civics lesson.

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5. 5

   Question 5. What word does Miss Gates write on the blackboard during her lesson?

   • DICTATORSHIP
   • Correct answer: DEMOCRACY
   • CITIZENSHIP
   • EQUALITY

   Miss Gates prints DEMOCRACY in large letters on the blackboard and asks the class for a definition. After Scout answers, she prints WE ARE A in front of it and has the class say it together.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What definition of democracy does Scout give in Miss Gates's class?

   • Correct answer: Equal rights for all, special privileges for none
   • Freedom of speech and freedom of religion for all
   • Rule by the majority, with protection for minorities
   • Government of the people, by and for the people

   Scout answers with an old campaign slogan Atticus once told her about: "Equal rights for all, special privileges for none." Miss Gates praises the answer, a definition that becomes deeply ironic given Miss Gates's own prejudice.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What does Miss Gates claim about Americans and persecution?

   • Americans always stand up against any injustice
   • Americans have overcome all of their old prejudices
   • Correct answer: Americans don't believe in persecuting anybody
   • Americans are the most tolerant people on earth

   Miss Gates tells the class that in America, "we don't believe in persecuting anybody," a statement that contradicts her own behavior toward Black people in Maycomb.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What did Scout overhear Miss Gates say outside the courthouse after the trial?

   • The whole trial had been a disgrace to the town
   • Atticus ought to be ashamed of defending Tom
   • Justice had finally been served in Maycomb
   • Correct answer: It was time somebody taught them a lesson

   Scout recalls that, coming down the courthouse steps with Miss Stephanie Crawford, Miss Gates said it was "time somebody taught 'em a lesson" because they were "gettin' way above themselves" — directly contradicting her classroom teachings about equality.

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9. 9

   Question 9. What literary device is most prominent in Miss Gates's classroom lesson?

   • Correct answer: Dramatic irony
   • Extended metaphor
   • Personification
   • Foreshadowing

   Dramatic irony is at work because the reader and Scout both recognize the contradiction between Miss Gates's words about equality and her racist comments after the trial, though Miss Gates herself does not see the inconsistency.

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10. 10

    Question 10. How does Jem react when Scout brings up Miss Gates and the courthouse?

    • He agrees with Scout and says Miss Gates is a hypocrite
    • He calmly explains why Miss Gates acted that way
    • Correct answer: He becomes furious and tells her never to mention it again
    • He laughs and tells her she's too young to understand

    Jem reacts with sudden, fierce anger. He grabs Scout and tells her he never wants to hear about the courthouse again, revealing that the trial has left deep emotional scars.

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11. 11

    Question 11. Why does Jem refuse to discuss the trial?

    • Atticus told him not to discuss it
    • He has forgotten most of the details
    • He thinks Scout is too young for it
    • Correct answer: He is still deeply hurt by the injustice

    Jem's refusal to discuss the trial stems from the deep emotional wound it left. The trial shattered his belief in the fairness of the justice system, and he cannot bear to revisit that pain.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What advice does Atticus give Scout about Jem's behavior?

    • To talk to Jem about the trial until he opens up
    • Correct answer: Not to let Jem get her down during a rough time
    • To apologize to Jem for bringing up the courthouse
    • To ask Miss Gates about her remarks directly

    Atticus tells Scout not to let Jem get her down because he is having a rough time. Jem is trying hard to forget, but he is really storing it away until enough time passes to sort things out, and then he will be himself again.

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13. 13

    Question 13. What does Scout's recognition of Miss Gates's hypocrisy reveal about her character development?

    • She has learned to distrust whatever her teachers tell the class
    • She now understands world politics better than most of her classmates
    • She has become cynical and suspicious about all adults in town
    • Correct answer: She has internalized Atticus's values enough to detect moral inconsistency

    Scout's ability to sense the contradiction between Miss Gates's words and actions shows she has deeply absorbed Atticus's teachings about fairness and empathy, even though she cannot fully articulate what she perceives.

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