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CHAPTER 1 - 3 To Kill a Mocking-Bird (TKMB) by Harper Lee starts off by introducing the characters and the town of Maycomb. Characters including The Radley's, especially Boo Radley, and Dill Harris and in less detail the immediate family of Scout, who is narrating the story. Scout is a girl, she would be about six years old but is in the first grade. I find it amazing that she has such a wide vocabulary for a girl so young. Scout is the troublemaker of the class, but does not come out that way to me, this is because she is honest, but her honesty gets her into trouble. I would think that her not appearing to me as a troublemaker might have something to do with her narrating the story.
I found it interesting how it seems like there is a summary of the story in the first couple of paragraphs. The characters mentioned come out later in the first three chapters. A boy called Charles Baker Harris is one of these. His nickname is Dill and this is his title throughout the book so far. It is Dill that persuaded Scouts brother, Jem, to touch the Radley place.
The Radley place seems dark and mysterious. The house is described in detail as are all the other strange places and people in Maycomb. It leads the audience to believe Maycomb is a mysterious place. It may not be the case, but it is because different things are treated with suspicion or fear. Why? Currently I dont know but it may be the mystery about it / them that draws people to the conclusion of this novel.
Boo Radley is an occupant of this household is also seen as different. His life story is told to us which makes you think how it is known. Life in a small community must be like this because unlike in cities, there is less entertainment. Scout seems to know a lot about everyone. This is demonstrated during school. On the first day of school, the new teacher finds herself in trouble when two boys on separate occasions have different problems.
The first boys family, the Cunningham's, are poor and the second are known as budgets. Scout knows this and tries to explain but ends up in trouble. This shows that gossip travels fast in a small town, no-one has a private life in a small town, which could quite possibly even be a quality about the town. Scout finds out later from her father-figure, Atticus why she should stand in someone elses shoes before you judge. You never really understand a person until you climb into his skin and walk around in it is the quote. I found this as a descent quote because it is so true.
Atticus seems to be a wise person. He has taught Scout how to read and have manners, but I am still confused as to what his relation to Scout actually is. I believe father, but who calls their father by their first name? After three chapters of To Kill a Mocking-Bird, I think I may enjoy this novel. I can see it becoming an adventure novel, especially after the first page summary. It will contain already introduced characters and some not, and if that is the way that the novel turns out, Im sure I will enjoy it.
If I am wrong it should still be an interesting novel because reading a book is better if you dont know the outcome, much like many things in life. CHAPTER 4 - 6 To Kill a Mocking-Bird From chapter four, we now hear of the second summer holidays. Dill comes back and visits and we hear of the adventures of the trio. Entertainment in a small town, like Maycomb County has to be produced because there is no entertainment.
In chapter 4, they roll a big tyre down the road with Scout inside. They also have a tree house and they play little skits. It brings me back to when I was a young child and myself and the neighbours of my age would play little games like this. The skit that they produced was of the Radley family.
They played it most of the summer and never got bored with it. They were also very discrete about it, otherwise people would goes, as I discussed in Journal 1 - 3. At the end of chapter 5, Atticus gets a hunch on what the children are actually doing. Jem tries to deny it but Atticus has a way of seeing through him.
This establishes that Atticus was a good lawyer. An entertaining part of the story, I found was when Dill, Scout and Jem were sneaking through the Radley's yard and a gun shot was fired. This scene caught my attention. When Jem, Dill and Scout come out onto the street with the rest of the community, Jem was accused of upsetting Mr. Radley by Miss Stephanie. Miss Stephanie uses a lot of racist remarks.
Racism and discrimination seem to have played a large part so early into the story. One remark, scared him pale though is used along with other quotes in the same paragraph. It seems to be just a casual thing. It is a different situation from todays society where if commitments like that were used in public, the outcome would not be favourable to whoever said it! ! ! I am enjoying the book to a degree but it is not my type of book so far. CHAPTER 7 - 9 To Kill a Mocking-Bird In chapters seven to nine, we find out the tree with the goodies Jem and Scout have been finding in the tree has been cemented up.
Also it snows in Maycomb and Miss Maudies house goes up in smoke and there is a family reunion at Finch's Landing. The tree just outside the Radley place kept filling up with goodies for Jem and Scout but who filled it up? Boo Radley is the prime suspect but why? Is he trying to make contact with the outside world? Later into the chapter, Mr. Radley comes out and fills the hole, saying the tree was dieing when it obviously wasnt.
He is trying to stop Boo from having any contact with the outside world, but why? We do not know much of Mr. Radley but I find him to be very over-protective of his son, trying to make outside contact. I look forward to seeing if Boo comes outside. The snow in Maycomb is the first snow they have had in 30 years.
The community tends to think that Jem and Scout have caused the snow. I have found the book to have a lot of superstitious characters. Everybody is superstitious in the 1930 s. This is one example, but others include things like not killing Mocking-Birds, as well as many others.
As well as all of this, one of the most important things in the book so far is when there is a Finch family reunion. The first signs of two separate sides with black and white and the trial comes up. To start with, Scout is hassled by Cecil Jacobs. She gets upset really easily, but doesnt understand what is being said to her. Atticus tries to get her to not worry and Try fight with your head for a change.
For Christmas, Scout receives more grief, being teased by her cousin. She fights him, but not with her head which leaves her in trouble. She gets a lecture from her Uncle but in the end teaches him a lesson about kids, and Atticus does about Scout. Scout listens in and I think it changes Scouts attitude to the trial and her father. It ends with Atticus knowing she is there, but she finds out her wanted her to hear. I was also thinking this during the speech.
Maybe it would be better if Atticus told this with Scout there but the speech wouldve ended this very important chapter well. The book isnt turning into the adventure I thought it would, but the fire scene sort of was. The book is interesting and puts a definite picture into my head of the town and situations in it. The trial should be interesting. CHAPTER 10 & 11 To Kill a Mocking-Bird Chapter ten and eleven are both significant to the story. In chapter ten there is a mad dog and in chapter eleven, we meet Mrs.
Dubose. When Atticus shoots the rabid dog in the street, Scout realizes her father is like no other. He is One shot Finch. Earlier in the chapter, Scout was questioning why her father did nothing while everyone elses fathers did things with their children.
It was Atticus age that stopped him. Scout couldnt find a quality of her father that is different to every other father. She started to lose a bit of faith, but still loved her father. She couldnt understand why he was so old as well. It seems like Atticus had his children a little late.
When Atticus shot the dog, he tried to not let his children see him as the One shot Finch. Miss Made said People in their right minds never take pride in their talents, and this is how Atticus was. He is quoted to have said; I have an unfair advantage. This is why he gave up. He is a gentleman, just like Jem! Also, we meet Mrs.
Dubose from up the street. Jem, and Mrs. Dubose have a relationship where they do not like each other, but have a mutual respect for eachother. Jem would read her books and didnt like it, but as the days went on, I think he came to enjoy the time with an old, sick person, like Mrs.
Dubose. When Jem learned of how sick she was after she died, it closed that chapter of his life nicely. This is because he learnt what real courage was all about and this made him older and much wiser. Atticus also has a different relationship with Mrs. Dubose. He knows she hates him, but to keep the peace, he tries his hardest to be a curious neighbour.
This continues Atticus perfect ways. The trial is coming up soon and I think it will be a good part of the novel. TKMB is not quite the adventure book I proposed it to be at the beginning, but I dont mind court room drama. The novel is good but some aspects are disappointing, and I will cover that aspect of the novel a bit later.
CHAPTER 12 - 15 To Kill a Mocking-Bird Part two begins by having a build-up to the trial. Aunt Alexandra is in all the action and Jem and Scout start to take a liking to her, even though they dont like her to start with, only respect her. I have found Aunt Alexandra is a mother figure for Jem and Scout that they really havent had. She does the things a mother would do. She looks after them but also punishes them and tells them what to do.
I think it is this that has taken Jem and Scout away from her. Also, Dill, the brave little kid, who will do anything, returns because he has fled from his parents. He escaped by catching a train. It was quite an adult thing to do, but his traveling all the time makes him a more mature boy than the boy that left Scout and Jem on the last summer holidays. These chapters have been building up to the trial of Tom Robinson. It has really split the town of Maycomb in two, Black vs.
White. In this chapter, Mr. Cunningham showed his true colours when he was one of the four men who were going to hang Tom Robinson be...
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