To Kill a Mockingbird — Chapter 14

About This Passage

Lee writes the moment of discovery in two registers at once: the comic — a 'filthy brown package' shooting out from under a bed — and the small awe of Jem's reverent 'God Almighty.' The verb 'emerge by degrees' slows the moment down so the reader can feel Dill stretching out, joint by joint, after two hours folded under the bed. The passage is a small hinge in the chapter: the children's last childhood game (Dill hiding) becomes the chapter's first grown-up problem (Dill needs help, and Jem will have to break the code to get it).

Narration Prompt

Summarize Chapter 14 in three movements. First, the argument that breaks out at the Finch house: Aunt Alexandra wants Calpurnia gone, Scout overhears, and Atticus refuses. Second, the fight between Jem and Scout, which ends with Atticus telling Scout she has to mind Jem 'whenever he can make you.' Third, the discovery of Dill under Scout's bed and the long quiet conversation Scout and Dill have late at night, which closes with the question about Boo Radley.

Discussion Questions

1. Aunt Alexandra wants to send Calpurnia away. Atticus refuses, saying Calpurnia is 'a faithful member of this family' and that the children 'love her.' What does this argument tell you about the difference between Aunt Alexandra's idea of family and Atticus's idea of family, and what evidence does the chapter give that Atticus's idea has been the one shaping the children all along?
2. When Scout asks Atticus what 'rape' is, he answers her straightforwardly. Earlier, when Scout asked Calpurnia, Calpurnia 'dried her up.' Why might Lee have written this contrast on purpose, and what does it tell you about how Atticus believes children should be taught hard truths?

+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide