The Trial

The trial scene of To Kill a Mockingbird creates an atmosphere of tension and suspense. This is all down to Harper Lee's creation as we know that there would not be any suspense as even Atticus knows that the verdict has already been decided before the trial has even started. I think that Lee creates the tension, not from the verdict of the trial but from Atticus' slow breakdown of the case. It would say this is because the reader knows that the outcome of the case will not be good so Lee decides to make the case a little exciting by adding tension and suspense to the way Atticus dismantles it. Jem, still in his childhood, does not understand that this racist jury will never back a black man for raping a white woman. Jem does not seem to understand that because of this, Atticus' efforts will all be pointless. After Bob Ewell is shown as left handed Jem says "We've got him", however we know better than to think that Atticus is winning what is a losing battle.

Below is a short quiz based on part one of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird and below that is a short quiz about part two of To Kill a Mockingbird.
http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=to-kill-mockingbird-part-1
http://www.goodreads.com/quizzes/17075-the-to-kill-a-mockingbird-review-quiz-part-2

Part 1

This is going to be a short, creative writing story, based on what i think is a key quote from the first part of the historic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. See if you can guess the quote!

It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, the waves lapping on the shore begging someone to go and surf on them. I had my surfboard ready, waiting for my friend, Jake. He was late, as always. Every morning he runs straight down to the beach, not even registering my presence, and soaks his face with the salty sea water before even scanning the landscape for me. I have always wondered why. Today I will find out.

I was ready. Ready to intercept him. At last he came and tried to run straight past me again, hiding his face. I grabbed his shirt and span him round so we were face to face. He stopped resisting. Finally i could see it. his face. Battered. He started crying and when he stopped I asked him what had happened. He shook his head and walked off to the waters edge, splashed some water on his face and turned around. "Phew, doesn't that sti- Oh my God" I exclaimed slowly. "It, it, its all gone? Where has it gone? What just happened? Your face was a wreck a minute ago, now its perfect? How did you do that? What just happened?" 

"I don't know... Come here." Jake covered my eyes with his hands so i could only see black. Then, i felt like he was biting my nose and all of a sudden, i'm biting someone else and holding my hands over someones eyes. I have swapped places in the world with Jake. I am now Jake. Jake is now me. "I have no idea what is wrong with me but maybe you should live my life for a few days and see if you like it!" I walked off, or Jake walked off. Jake, in my body. This could be a strange couple of days...

Congratulations! The quote was in fact: "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." This key quote links to many sections of part one of To Kill A Mocking Bird. One example of this is Mrs Dubose. The children did not find out about her illness until after her death although they did judge her.