Comparing Novels: Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry and To Kill a Mockingbird

:_______________

Name

Directions: In order to conclude our novel unit, we need to look at another novel
besides RTHMC to see if we can identify some of the literary elements we found in
RTHMC in another novel.
1.

First read this brief summary of Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird.

This classic novel is set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, in 1933. Jean Louise Scout
Finch, the storys six-year-old narrator, lives with her father Atticus Finch, an attorney, and Jem, her tenyear-old brother. Since the childrens mother died when Scout was an infant, Calpurnia, a black
woman, has also been hired to help with their care.
The story focuses on the ordinary aspects of growing up in a small town in the south during a period
where financial tensions and racial division are the norm. From the childrens friendship with the quirky
Dill Harris, who visits with his aunt Rachel each summer; to their fascination with Arthur Boo Radley,
a mysterious neighbor reputed to be dangerous; to their fathers defense of Tom Robinson, a black
man accused of raping a white girl, Scout and Jem learn about love, honor, pride, and sacrifice.
In particular, the children learn from Atticus that 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.

2. Now, as we view clips of the movie based on the novel To Kill a Mockingbird and
you flip through the novel, we will complete the following chart where we will
identify key literary elements: point of view, conflict, . These literary elements
that should be in every work of fiction. You have previously idetifyed them in
RTHMC, and now you will do the same for To Kill a Mockinbird. Your final
assignment will include a Venn Diagram and a Compare and Contrast Paragraph.
Narrative Elements
Roll of Thunder Hear My To Kill a Mockingbird
Cry
Describe the setting
How does the setting
contribute to the piece?
Identify the point of
view used in the story.
Why do you think the
author chose to tell the
story from this point of
view? Think about
his/her gender, age,
race???
Would it change the
story if it was told from
another point of view
Describe the other
characters:
Father of narrator:
Brother(s) of narrator:

Mother or mother figure

of narrator:
Who are the good guys
Who are the bad guys
Who are the innocent
victims
Describe the main
conflict and identify it
as either internal or
external.

Theme
Questions

What connection does the title

have to the piece?

Describe something that you have

learned from the piece.

Roll of Thunder Hear

My Cry

To Kill a Mockingbird

What do you think is the author's

purpose in writing the piece?

3. Create a Venn Diagram revealing what the two novels have in common and
what is different about the two novels.

4. Create a solid paragraph where you identify both the similarities and
differences between these two novels.
+ Sentence Starters:

+Both (authors name) (title) and (other authors name)s (title) are both __________
(which genre of literature).
+Both works are works of ________________ (fiction or nonfiction), yet both stem
from/come from real life events such as ___________________________.
+Both novels ___________________ (what do they have I common)?
+One thing both novels have in common is that ___________________
+However, the novels are different in that______________________________ while the
other novel_______________________________ has/is about _________etc..
+Another way the novels are different is that one is _________________________ while
the other is______________________________
+Finally although both ________________ they ________________________

This should be written on your own paper. It will be a quiz grade!