Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______

Close Reading Organizer - Chapter 12 Sample

Answers
Directions: Read each summary entry and think about which themes listed in the
Themes Key apply to it, then color in those themes in the Theme Tracker. Next, write a
few sentences of Analysis to explain how the themes you chose apply to each summary
section.

Note: There is not always a definitive set of “correct” answers for which themes should appear in the
Theme Tracker. Answers that differ from the ones we propose below should therefore not automatically
be treated as incorrect, and in fact can serve as great discussion starters.

Themes Key
1 Good, Evil, and Human Dignity
2 Prejudice
3 Growing Up
4 Courage
5 Small Town Southern Life

Summary Theme Tracker Your Analysis

Seemingly overnight after 1 2 3 4 5 As Scout begins to think

Mrs. Dubose’s death, that there’s more to being a
Jem becomes moody and girl than she thought, it
starts telling Scout what shows that she’s starting to
to do, including to act like grow up and come to a
a proper girl. Calpurnia more nuanced
assures Scout that Jem is understanding of what it
just growing up and invites means to be an adult in the
Scout to join her in the world. While there’s no
kitchen. Things look bright indication of why Alabama
for a while, and Scout called this emergency
starts to suspect that session or of what they’re
there’s skill involved with working on, there is some
being a girl. However, she truth to the idea that
receives a letter from Dill Atticus does things that
early in the summer, which nobody else will do.
says that Dill has to stay in Remember that he shot Tim
Mississippi with his new Johnson when Mr. Tate
father. He promises to wouldn’t, and in the months
return and marry Scout, to come, Atticus will defend
which is little comfort—for Tom Robinson, something

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her, Dill is summer. To that nobody else will do or

make matters worse, wants him to do.
Atticus leaves for two
weeks to attend an
emergency legislative
session. One morning,
Scout and Jem find a
cartoon in the paper that
depicts Atticus chained to
a desk. Jem tells Scout that
it’s about Atticus doing
things that nobody else
will do.

Scout heads for the Lula’s reaction indicates

kitchen. Calpurnia asks that among the black
what to do about church population of Maycomb,
this week. Scout points out there’s prejudice, just like in
that Atticus left collection white Maycomb. However,
for them and they haven’t it’s also important to keep
misbehaved in church in in mind that Lula has good
years, but Calpurnia reason to want to keep
invites Scout and Jem to what likely feels like a safe
come to her church space for her free from the
instead. That night she racism of white people.
bathes Scout roughly and Especially going forward
supervises Jem. In the from this point, Scout will
morning, Scout puts on her see just how discriminatory
heavily starched dress. Maycomb is and just how
Calpurnia leads them to terribly most white people
1 2 3 4 5
First Purchase, the black think of and treat their
church, named because black neighbors.
freed slaves bought it with
their first earnings. Most
people part respectfully
and let Calpurnia lead
Scout and Jem to the
steps, but one woman,
Lula, asks why Calpurnia
has white children. Jem
and Scout want to leave,
but the rest of the
congregation shuts Lula
out and assures the
children that they’re
welcome.

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Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
Reverend Sykes leads
Calpurnia, Scout, and
Jem to the front pew.
Calpurnia gives dimes to
Scout and Jem, telling
them to keep theirs, and
Scout asks where the
hymnbooks are. Calpurnia
shushes her. Reverend
Sykes makes
announcements and says
that the collection this
week will go to Helen,
Tom Robinson’s wife.
Zeebo comes to the front
of the church to lead the
first hymn. Scout can’t
help herself and asks how
they’re going to sing
without books, but Zeebo
leads the congregation in a
call-and-response of the
hymn. The sermon is
forthright and familiar to
Scout, but she finds it odd
that people go to the front
to offer their collection.
Reverend Sykes counts it
and says they need to
reach $10 before people
can leave. Jem takes his
and Scout’s dimes up, and
finally they reach $10.
Outside, Jem and Scout
chat with Reverend
Sykes. He mentions that
Atticus is very kind and
Scout asks why they’re
taking collection for
Helen. He explains that
Helen can’t take her
children to work, which
seems odd to Scout.
Reverend Sykes says that
Helen can’t find work as
Calpurnia leads her away.
In Scout’s mind, church
looks, feels, and proceeds a
certain way. It’s off-putting,
then, to find herself without
the usual amenities, like
hymnbooks. This becomes
an important moment in
which Scout gets to see
firsthand the way that other
people in her town go about
things, as it introduces her
to the fact that not
everyone in Maycomb lives
like she does, or even the
way that poor white
families like the
1 2 3 4 5 Cunninghams live. While
they may all go through
more or less the same
rituals, there are distinct
differences depending on a
person’s skin color or their
degree of wealth.
1 2 3 4 5 Learning that Calpurnia and
Zeebo are two of only a
handful of literate black
people in Maycomb drives
home both how
impoverished and how
segregated Maycomb is—
there’s no mention, for
instance, that there’s even
a school available for black
children. Remembering
what Atticus implied about
the Ewells and how horrible
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Scout peppers Calpurnia they are, Scout believes

with questions and learns right away that Tom
that Tom is in jail because Robinson probably isn’t at
Bob Ewell accused him of fault, simply because she so
raping his daughter. Scout fully trusts her father to
remembers how Atticus make good assessments
called the Ewells trash and and lead her in the right
asks what rape is. direction.
Calpurnia won’t say. Jem
asks about the way they
sing hymns and Calpurnia
explains that most of the
congregation is illiterate.
She says that Miss
Maudie’s aunt taught her
to read. Calpurnia taught
Zeebo from a book that
Atticus’s father gave her—
the Finches have
employed her from the
beginning.

Jem comments that this is 1 2 3 4 5 Calpurnia’s willingness to

why Calpurnia doesn’t host Scout makes it clear
talk like the other black that there’s more to her
people, and Scout realizes relationship with the Finch
that she’s never thought of family than simply cooking
Calpurnia leading a double for them: she truly is a
life and speaking two member of the family.
languages. She asks why Scout’s desire to visit,
Calpurnia speaks meanwhile, shows that
incorrectly to black people she’s beginning to
when she knows it’s understand how much she
wrong. Calpurnia points doesn’t know about even
out that she’s black and her immediate world—and
notes that she needs to her desire to figure it out
speak that way to make speaks to the fact that
people feel comfortable. she’s growing up and
Scout asks if she can visit actively trying to be less
Calpurnia at her house prejudiced.
sometime, and Calpurnia
insists she’d be glad to
have her. Jem points
Scout’s attention to the
porch. She looks first at
the Radley porch, but then
sees Aunt Alexandra on

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their porch.