Chapter 1: The Memories of the Past

This story is narrated by a girl named Jean Louise Finch who is often called as Scout.

She then starts talking about the past, about how Jem, her brother, got a broken arm, and about her ancestors. She then talks about her father, Atticus Finch, who is a lawyer.

She also talks about Jack Finch, Atticus’ brother, who is in the medical field in Boston. Finally, she talks about Alexandria Finch, Atticus’ sister, who is running the Finch’s Landing. Atticus was a successful lawyer, making a solid living. Atticus lives with Jem, Scout, and Calpurnia, their cook, who helps keep the house in check. Scout and Jem’s mother died when Scout was two, so she doesn’t really remember her mother, butJem remembers her clearly. In the summer of 1933, Jem is 10 and Scout is 6. That summer, they meet a boy named Dill.

One day, Dill comes with the idea to lure out Boo Radley, a man, who in rumors, stabbed his father with a scissor. Eventually, Dill dares Jem to touch Boo Radley’s house.

Jem agrees and touches Boo Radley’s House. There is no movement, but Scout thinks that she saw a shutter move slightly, like someone was peeking out.

 

Tyler

Chapter 2 : First Day of School

As summer closes, Dill leaves and goes back to his house. If summer closes, that means that school has just started. This is Scout’s first time going to school and she is super exciting and was waiting for this moment.

When she goes to school though, she finds out that her teacher, Miss Caroline, isn’t good with dealing with children. When Miss Caroline finds out that Scout knows how to read, she makes Scout feel “guilty” for knowing how to read. Scout feels like reading out of class is now a “sin.”  Miss Caroline tells Scout to tell her father to stop teaching her how to read. During recess, Scout complains to Jem, telling her about her experience, but Jem tells her that Miss Caroline is trying out a new method of teaching, the “Dewey Decimal System.” As school progresses, Miss Caroline and Scout’s relationship stays the same. One time, she asked everyone if they had a lunch or if they were going for home for lunch. Everyone raised their hand that they had a lunch except Walter Cunningham. Miss Caroline tries to offer Walter a quarter to buy lunch, but Walter refuses. We learn from Atticus that the Cunningham family pays Atticus by giving them hickory nuts and other goods.

Scout tries to explain the circumstances to Miss Caroline, telling her that the Cunningham’s won’t take anything they can’t pay for. Miss Caroline fails to understand Scout and instead of thanking her, she slaps Scout in the hand with a ruler. Then the bell rings, and they all go out to lunch.

 

Tyler

Chapter 3 : Walter For Lunch

After they get outside for lunch, Scout throws Walter on the floor and rubs his head on the dirt. Jem comes into the fight and tries to stop Scout, but just keeps saying that Walter made Miss Caroline start school “on the wrong foot.”

Jem stops the fight and tells Walter that he can join them for lunch. Walter goes with Jem and Scout to their house. Atticus is pleased by Walter’s visit. Atticus and Walter talk about farming like “two real men.” Walter asks for the syrup, and to Scout’s horror, he pours it all over his meat and vegetables. Scout then criticizes Walter, but then Calpurnia calls her into the kitchen and scolds her telling her that Walter is her guest. Back at school, Miss Caroline is terrified when she sees something poking out of Burris Ewell’s Head. Burris, a member of the Ewell clan, says that it is just a “cootie” or what we call it, lice, and that it is regular for people to have it. Burris Ewell only comes to school on the first day, and then leaves for the rest of the year, making rude remarks to cause the teacher to cry. Scout goes back home and talks with Atticus. Atticus asks her if something is wrong. Scout says that she doesn’t want to go to school anymore. Atticus says that she has to go to school, scout responds that the Ewells don’t need to go to school, but Atticus tells her that if they had to go, they wouldn’t make a living. Scout also says that if she keeps going to school, she wouldn’t be able to read with Atticus anymore. In the end, Atticus and Scout make a compromise, Atticus promises that they will read every night like they have been doing, and that Scout will promise to continue to go to school.

 

Tyler

Chapter 5 : Miss Maudie

Chapter 5 starts off with Scout Convincing Jem to back off on the Radley game, a game that Jem made up. Dill then asks Scout if she would like to marry him. Even though Dill and Scout have bond, Dill still plays with Jem and neglects Scout. So, Scout starts to start to hang out with their neighbor, Miss Maudie.

Miss Maudie was a childhood friend of Atticus. Miss Maudie tells Scout that Boo Radley’s father was a  foot washing Baptist, a more “hardcore” version of a regular baptist. Miss Maudie also tells Scout that Mr.Radley’s footwashers told her that her flowers were going to burn down to hell. They said that “time not spent on reading the bible is time spent on sin.” Miss Maudie also tells them that Mr. Radley is “so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one.” Scout then goes back to Jem and Dill and learn that they are trying to use a fishing pole to give Boo a note. Atticus then shows up not looking pleased. he tells them to stop bothering Boo. Atticus then tells them to stop playing their game. Jem then argues that they weren’t making fun of the Radley’s, revealing to Atticus that they were actually pretending to be the Radley’s.

 

Tyler

Scout Character Post

The person I am talking about is Scout. Scout is the narrator of the story. Scout, in the story, is a fighter. In the beginning of the book, fighting is her solution to everything. She fights with Walter Cunningham, beats up Dill, and was involved with many more fights. Atticus then tells her to stop fighting, and she disagrees. Then one day, the text states “drew a bead on him, remembered what Atticus had said, then dropped my fists and walked away, “Scout’s a cow- ward!” ringing in my ears. It was the first time I ever walked away from a fight.” This was where she finally had the courage to resist the temptation to fight.

Scout also is like a tomboy. She doesn’t like girlish stuff like dolls and dresses. Aunt Alexandra, on the other hand, doesn’t like this behavior. Scout doesn’t like being yelled at Jem. In the story, Jem states, “Stop acting like a girl!” Jem also doesn’t let Scout come to go to the Radley’s Place because she is a girl. Jem thinks that Scout, because she is a girl, would be scared. Scout is not like a regular girl maybe because she never had a mother to guide her like a female’s ways. She had only males in her family and no females, so she didn’t know how to act like one.

In in the end of the story, Scout is a friend of Boo. Scout thought that Boo was a killer, through the rumors that she heard from Jem in the beginning of the story. After seeing Boo save them from Bob Ewell, she had a new perspective on Boo. She liked him and was thankful for Boo saving her life. Another time Boo was nice to Scout was when he placed a blanket to cover her. Instead of a monster that the rumors portray him as, he is now her neighbor. Near the end of the story, she states, “But I still looked for him each time I went by. Maybe someday we would see him. I imagined how it would be: when it happened, he’d just be sitting in the swing when I came along. “Hidy do, Mr. Arthur,” I would say, as if I had said it every afternoon of my life. “Evening, Jean Louise,” he would say, as if he had said it every afternoon of my life, “right pretty spell we’re having, isn’t it?” “Yes sir, right pretty,” I would say, and go on. It was only a fantasy.”

 

Tyler

How does your loss of innocence relate to one’s maturity?

Harper Lee’s award winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird is about the life and experiences of two children, Scout and Jem. Jem and Scout learn about the racism and injustice that live in Maycomb. Jem realizes the unfairness that lives around. For example, in the Tom Robinson trial’s verdict, Jem realizes how unfair they are to Tom Robinson. Even though we know he wasn’t the one who did it, the jurys were racist and declared him guity.

Another example of Jem growing in maturity was with Ms. Dubose. Through Ms. Dubose, Jem realizes the value of tolerance and courage. Another example of Jem growing in maturity was when he realized that Dill was under Scout’s bed. When seeing Dill, Jem ran to tell Atticus. Scout and Dill sees Jem now as a traitor, but Jem thinks differently. He thinks he did the right thing. He says, “Dill, I had to tell him… You can’t run three hundred miles off without your mother knowin’” This shows us that he puts adult’s views in front of a child’s view. Scout and Jem are most maturing when they are exposed to racism.

One time they were exposed to racism was when Cecil Jacobs called her father a n-lover. On page 99, Scout says, “he had announced in the schoolyard the day before the Scout’s daddy defended niggers.” This occasion, like many others, triggers Scout throughout the story on why her father chose to defend Tom Robinson. Another time Jem and Scout were introduced to racism was when they they first went to the First Purchase. They saw how the place was for the African Americans. They also saw how the place was ripped and all torn out. Overall, Jem and Scout gained maturity a lot throughout the novel.

 

Tyler

 

Poem/Song Post : On Turning Ten

On Turning Ten

By Billy Collins

 

The whole idea of it makes me feel
like I’m coming down with something,
something worse than any stomach ache
or the headaches I get from reading in bad light–
a kind of measles of the spirit,
a mumps of the psyche,
a disfiguring, chicken pox of the soul.

You tell me it is too early to be looking back,
but that is because you have forgotten
the perfect simplicity of being one
and the beautiful complexity introduced by two.
But I can lie on my bed and remember every digit
At four I was an Arabian wizard.
I could make myself invisible
by drinking a glass of milk a certain way.
At seven I was a soldier, at nine a prince.

But now I am mostly at the window
watching the late afternoon light.
Back then it never fell so solemnly
against the side of my tree house,
and my bicycle never leaned against the garage
as it does today,
all the dark blue speed drained out of it.

This is the beginning of sadness, I say to myself,
as I walk through the universe in my sneakers.
It is time to say goodbye to my imaginary friends,
time to turn the first big number.

It seems only yesterday I used to believe
there was nothing under my skin but light.
If you cut me I could shine.
But now when I fall upon the sidewalks of life,
I skin my knees. I bleed.

 

This poem is about growing up. The author is telling us that instead of growing, up he would rather have all these diseases, like chicken pox and measles. Even though, he wants to rather have these diseases, he knows that he will have to grow up. This relates to To Kill a Mockingbird because Scout and Jem grow up throughout the book. For example, Scout says, “Atticus had promised me he would wear me out if he ever heard of me fighting any more; I was far too old and too big for such childish things, and the sooner I learned to hold in, the better off everybody would be.” This is an example of Scout growing up and controlling herself to not fight, when she just feels like it.

 

Tyler