The novel To Kill a Mockingbird begins with narrator, Scout Finch, introducing to the reader her brother Jem, her father Atticus, and her town, Maycomb, Alabama. She tells us a little of her family history, and then begins her story : It is the summer of 1933. Scout is five, and Jem is nine. They pass the summer happily with their new friend Dill, a six-year-old boy who has moved into their neighborhood for the summer. They are very curious about one of their neighbors, Boo Radley, who hasn't been seen by any one for years. The children are scared of Boo because of the morbid legends about him. Dill resolves to get him to come out of his house, but nothing comes of it that summer. Scout dislikes school from the first morning. A few times when Scout and Jem walk home from school, they discover small gifts in the hollow oak tree at the edge of the Radley yard. When Dill returns for the summer, the children devise a new game of acting out their own version of Boo's story. One night they sneak up to the Radley house to look in at a window. Mr. Radley, Boo's uncle, chases them off with a shotgun, and as the children flee Jem's pants get stuck in a fence and left behind. Later when Jem retrieves them, he finds that Boo clumsily mended them where the fence tore them. When school begins again, Scout and Jem find more trinkets in the tree. They write a thank you note to whomever is leaving the things for them, but Mr. Radley cements up the knot hole. During the winter it snows and Jem builds a snow man by making a form out of mud and then covering the mud with snow. The house of Miss Maudie, a friendly neighbor, burns down that night. While the children watch the fire from the street in front of the Radley's house, Boo Radley puts a blanket around Scout without her noticing. When Atticus, an attorney, is assigned to defend Tom Robinson, a innocent black man accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, the children are ridiculed by their classmates, other towns people, and even their cousin about their father being a 'nigger-lover.'; Atticus advises the children to not let the insults bother them. Scout and Jem feel a little ashamed of their father, but when they find outthat he is famous around town for his markmanship, they become proud of their father for being who he is.
Jem and Scouts’ father, Atticus, is very misjudged by their children. They believe that Atticus is a very semantic man that goes to work, comes back, and has no skill whatsoever in sports. Scout criticizes Atticus by saying “Atticus did not… or do anything that could possibly arouse the admiration of anyone”(118). This demonstrates that Jem and Scout are not satisfied with Atticus’s physical and amusing skills. They thought of him as an old man in his fifties that had no energy left, and had a routine of going to bed and reading in the living room instead of running around. Later, they visit there across the street neighbor, Mrs. Maudie to talk about how boring their Dad is, when Mrs. Maudie says” ‘Well, he can make everybody’s will so airtight can’t anybody meddle with him’… ‘Well, did you know he is the best checker-player in this town? Why down at the Landing when we were coming up, Atticus Finch could beat everybody on both sides of the river”(120). This establishes that they find out that their Dad isn’t so useless anymore. Even though the children find out all these activities he is excellent at, sometimes even the best, they are still not overly impressed. After Calpurnia calls the cops on the dog, Tim Johnson, The sheriff and Atticus arrive at the scene “ ‘Take him, Mr. Finch’. Mr. Tate handed the rifle to Attics; Jem and I nearly fainted…’’d you see him, Scout? ’d you see him just standing there?...’n’ all of a sudden he just relaxed all over, an’ it looked like that gun was a part of him’”(126-129).
Among the many plots within the story, many of them surround Boo Radley or attempting to have Boo Radley come out of his house. In these stories show Jem, Scout, and Dill are terrified of the Radley house and what be inside. However, they are mistaken, for Boo Radley wants to do the exact opposite of scaring the children. For example, Boo tries to show friendship to Scout and Jem by leaving them gifts in the tree outside of his house. These gifts include dolls, gum, a knife, a watch, etc. Boo also is thought to have wrapped Scout in a blanket during the chapter in which Miss Maudie’s house had burned down. Boo Radley is thought to have done it because Atticus says “Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you.” (Lee 96) supporting the fact that Boo Radley was looking out for Scout. Lastly, Boo Radley saved Scout and Jem when they were attacked by Bob Ewell. This heroic effort was not only full of care, but also, full of
Scout recognized who Boo really was, and she recognized the affection and reinforcement he had given Jem and her over the years. She saw that he observed their experiences, their hardships, the summer heartbreaks, and watched them mature through the years of their lives. Jem rolls Scout down the s...
As the book comes to a close, readers can see just how mature and empathetic Scout has become. After Scout and Jem, Scout’s brother, are saved by Arthur “Boo” Radley, the town shut-in, Scout walks Boo home and after he walks back into her house, she turns around and just stares out at the street from Boo’s point of view instead of from her own. Her father taught her that you should
watch. Jem and Scout write the gift-giver a thank you note intending to put it in the tree
The narrator of the story, Scout Finch, is a curious young girl who is surprisingly mature for her age. When her older brother Jem, and shared friend Dill go to the intriguing Radley house to deliver a note to Boo Radley, whom Macomb County hasn’t seen in 15 years, Scout is
In the beginning of the story, Boo represents the unknown. The children wonder about Boo and his strange way of life, but really have no concept of who he is. At first, the children ask questions about Boo with regards to his "weird" living style. When this does not satisfy their curiosities, they make up games and stories about Boo which present him as being a monster. At one point, the children invade the Radley property in hopes of finding some clue which will better explain Boo's character
In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee includes many contrasting perspectives that provide an understanding into each character’s attitude as well as what was anticipated of people at the time. The book is the story of a young girl, Jean Louise, her father, Atticus and brother, Jem, in a small town called Maycomb, which is racially segregated during the time of the great depression. As Jean Louise, otherwise known by her nickname Scout, reflects on her childhood with her brother, Jem, the reader is able to see and hear the story as she relives the events in her memory. Scout tells the story around the time she was almost six years old, and she is living with her ten year old brother, Jem, and her father Atticus, “the lawyer who defends Tom Robinson” (Saney). The quarrels between characters regarding racial oppression and gender roles throughout the novel cause tension and uproar in the town, as each person has their own perspective on a situation. The novel opens with Jean Louise reflecting on past events with her brother Jem, and it leads into the first perspective of a child against the adult perspective.
In To Kill A Mockingbird Lee tells the story of a Mr. Tom Robinson who is an African American who is being charged with rape against a white women. Atticus is the lawyer who must defend Robinson in court. In the Scottsboro case a central figure was a heroic judge who overturned a guilty verdict against the young men. The judge went against the public in trying to protect the rights of the African American men. In reading the novel you learn that Atticus arouses anger in the small community when he tries to defend Robinson.
During Dill’s last night in Maycomb for the summer, the children wrongfully venture onto Boo Radley’s property. He shoots at the children, and in their escape, Jem loses his pants. He later returns to find them mended and hung over the fence. The children continue to find gifts for them hidden in a tree (presumably from Boo himself). A fire at a neighbor’s house breaks out, and as Scout stands in awe of the flames, someone slips a blank...
I am reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and I am on page 35. This book is about two kids who live next to a house said to have a murderous man inside that goes by the name of Boo Radley. They hear morbid stories of Boo Radley and his childhood. The kids continue to live their lives, but they always fear what lies inside the house. In this journal I will be predicting that the kids will never meet Boo Radley.
Scout starts to understand people’s needs, opinions, and their points of view. In the beginning, Scout does not really think much about other people’s feelings, unless it directly pertains to her. Jem and Dill decided to create a play based on the life of one of their neighbors, Boo Radley. According to neighborhood rumors, Boo got into a lot of trouble as a kid, stabbed his father with scissors, and never comes out of the house. The children create a whole drama and act it out each day. “As the summer progressed, so did our game. We polished and perfected it, added dialogue and plot until we had manufactured a small play among which we rang changes every day” (Lee 52). Scout turned Boo’s life into a joke, something for her entertainment. She did not think about how Boo would feel if he knew what they were doing. Near the end of the book, while Boo was at the Finch house, Scout led him onto the porc...
The Radley family has a presence that startles nearly all of Maycomb County in some way. For example, every resident of Maycomb County would never set foot in even the Radley house yard. However, this was not the case for protagonist Scout Finch and her brother Jem. This show of bravery represents outstanding courage. Moreover, the main area of fear of the Radley family is provided by Boo. Boo is the child of the family, and is rumored to eat grotesque foods such as live rats. Although very few people had ever seen Boo, nobody dared to search for him. That is, except for Scout and Jem. Despite being terrified of what Boo could be, Jem and Scout searched tirelessly for him. Even after their father forbid them to search for Boo, Jem and Scout would not be denied and searched for him anyways. The courage shown by the young children in this novel is good.
When Scout escorts Arthur home and stands on his front porch, she sees the same street she saw, just from an entirely different perspective. Scout learns what a Mockingbird is, and who represents one. Arthur Radley not only plays an important role in developing Scout and Jem, but helps in developing the novel. Boo can be divided into three stages. Primitively, Boo is Scout’s worst nightmare. However, the author hints at Boo actually existing as a nice person when he places things in the tree. The secondary stage is when Mrs. Maudie’s house burned to the ground. As Scout and Jem were standing near Boo’s house, it must have been rather cold. So, Boo places a warm and snug blanket around Scout and Jem, to keep them warm.
Scout and Jem are very close. They are very protective of each other and worry about each other often. When Jem, Scout , and Dill went to the Radley house at night Jem’s pants became stuck on the fence. Jem went to retrieve his pants and Scout wanted to come with to help and protect him, but Jem did not let her because he was protecting her making sure that she would not hurt herself. When Jem was gone Scout waiting for him to return because she was worried he would hurt himself. Another example is when Jem and Scout were attacked by Bob Ewell. Before they were attacked Jem thought he heard someone following them so Jem walked with his hand on Scout’s head worried about her and trying to protect her. When Mr. Ewell attacked them, they were trying to help each other and protect each other. After the attack while Jem was unconscious Scout was even more worried about Jem then she was before. Scout learns from Jem as well. An example is that Jem taught Scout and Dill the history of the Radleys and the superstitions that the town has of Boo Radley. The actions of Jem and Scout reveal the close relationship that they have with each