Answer:
1. To allow the narrator to mature as the story progresses
2. Are prejudiced and superstitious
3. First person
4. Introduce the reader to the various families, as well as their differences, in Maycomb}
5. They all pretend to be various members of the Radley family and act out the stabbing scene
6. Boo Radley wants to be friends
7. The withdrawal of Boo Radley from society forever
8. Boo Radley and Tom Robinson
9. Because it is the word of a black man against a white man, and the jury will listen to the white man
10. To maintain his conscience and his integrity
11. People aren’t always as they appear to be
12. There was no medical evidence to suggest that Mayella had been raped and she was most likely beaten by a left-handed man
Explanation:
1. The Harper Lee's choice of a young narrator is to allow the narrator to mature as the story progresses. The story is narrated by a eight-year-old girl who tells about her life in Maycomb during the Great Depression (1930). At the beginning of the story, Scout, the protagonist, does not understand some aspects of that period. As time goes by, she matures and begins to understand some difficulties, such as the racism in Maycomb.
2. Most people in Maycomb are prejudiced and superstitious. A clear example of that is when everybody in Maycomb seems to "know" Boo Radley's life without proving if it is truth or not.
3. The story is narrated in first person. The girl who narrates her story is Scout Finch, and all situations are understand from her perspective.
4. In chapter 2, the author starts to know more about the different families of Maycomb. This is clear when the Ewells and the Cunninghams are presented in the story. Both are poor families, but the children have different attitudes to face that situation. For example, Walter Cunningham does not borrow anything he know he could not return.
5. In their free time, the children play a game called "The Boo Radley's game" that consists of mock the Radley family until Atticus noticed it.
6. During Summer, Scout and Jem find some gift on the tree of the Radley Place. They thought that Boo Radley put them there because he wanted to be friend of them.
7. As the rumour says, Boo Radley's father did not allow him to get out of their house because he is mentally challenged. The fact that Mr. Radley plugs up the knot-hole symbolizes that he is still convinced of his decision.
8. Boo Radley and Tom Robinson represents "outcasts" of society. Firstly, Boo Radley is isolated in his house by his father and people is judgemental about this fact. Secondly, Tom Robinson is also an outcast because is a skin-coloured person. This is because the segregation during the Great Depression in 1930.
9. As it was mentioned before, during the Great Depression there was a segregation (and this is the setting of the story). Taking into account this setting, a judge would never believe a word of a coloured man as Tom Robinson.
10. Atticus accepts Tom Robinson's case to maintain his conscience and his integrity although he knew he would lose it. Atticus is presented as a honest man that says that if he had not accepted the case, he would not have been able to give lessons to Scout and Jem anymore. Another reason why he accepted the case is because he wanted to work in the Legislature.
11. Although Mr. Dolphus Raymond is a white person, he is not racist as the other white people. He is always sorrounded by coloured-skin people; during the trial, the children noticed that Mr. Raymond fakes to be drunk all the time while he is drinking Coke in order not to be judged by the people of Maycomb.
12. There was no medical evidence to suggest that Mayella had been raped and she was most likely beaten by a left-handed man. That is to say, Atticus already knew that Mayella was beaten by his father, Bob Ewell because he was a left-handed man. On the contrary, Tom Robinson was a right-handed man.
