To Kill a Mockingbird Summaries 1-10

Living in the sleepy town of Macomb, Alabama, Scout Finch and her brother Jem Finch go on different adventures with their foreign comrade Dill. In doing so, they discover Arthur Radley also known as Boo an old man who has never ventured out past his doorstep. There father, Atticus, a peaceful and quiet lawyer and their black maid Calpurnia teach them import lesson about racial equality. During the fall Dill returns home and Scout goes to school. She detests it, for she is very smart and too advanced for the class. During school Jem and scout find a hole in a tree filled with gum. They take the gum, but little do they know that Arthur Radley had placed it there for them to enjoy. Later in that year they spy on boo only to discover that he wanted to be left alone.

In addition to his curiosity of the children, Boo also demonstrates acts of kindness and concern towards Jem and Scout. This is evident through two scenarios that occur; one involving Jem and the other involving Scout. When Jem leaves the Radley property after retrieving his pants that were stuck the fence, he realizes that the pants were mended and folded, as if someone was waiting upon his arrival. “When I went back, they were folded across the fence… like they were expecting me [...] like somebody could tell what I was gonna do. Can’t anybody tell what I’m gonna do lest they know me, can they, Scout?” (78). Jem’s realization of the situation signifies that Boo Radley does in fact pay attention to the children and wanted to do something nice for them. By mending Jem’s pants and folding them neatly for him, Boo had shown a kindness that they had not seen before. Boo had also shown his concern for the children on the night of the fire, when Miss Maudie's house was erupt in flames. The children were waiting outside for their father, and Boo realized that they must have been cold, so he went and put a blanket around Scout. Scout had not noticed this until she was back at home, when Jem suggested that Boo had put the blanket around her. “‘Someday, maybe, Scout can thank him for covering her up.’ ‘Thank who?’ I asked. ‘Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you’” (96).

Boo Radley is a ‘malevolent phantom’ and a character that has been shaped by gossips and sustained by children’s imaginations. “Stephanie Crawford, a neighbourhood scold… said she woke up in the middle of the night and saw him looking straight through the window at her.” This dialogue is an example of the gossips and how the legend of Boo Radley developed, lies that persecute his innocence. Setting is used to develop Boo’s surroundings and to summon an eerie atmosphere giving Maycomb reason enough to reject and victimise him for being different. “…rain rotten shingles drooped… oak trees kept the sun away and the remains of a picket fence drunkenly guarded the front yard.” The Radley house has been established as a neglected, out of place and isolated home through Harper Lee’s use of connotative words. This evokes within the reader the same view of Boo as the rest of the town and allows us to understand where the misunderstanding comes from before we

The story begins as Scout describes her family history and her town, Maycomb during the time of the Great Depression. Atticus is a prominent lawyer and the Finch family is reasonably well off in comparison to the rest of society. She and her brother, Jem, meet Dill, who has come to live in their neighborhood for the summer, and the children share stories and fantasies about the mystery man who lives near by. The man’s name is Arthur, or Boo, Radley. The house

scout and Jem Finch are growing up in the tired old Alabama town of Maycomb. Their father, Atticus, is the local lawyer and as a single parent tries to raise his children with honor and respect to their individualism. With the Depression on times are hard,

Scout in her childhood faces many adversities a child should not have faced. Her mother died when she was two and lived with only male influences, Jem, 10 and

Jem and Scout grow to understand how to manage their feeling of concern, uncertainty, and anger. Scout is learning that she must learn to calm her responses whereas Jem is learning that he may need to find a way to express his feelings rather than suppressing them. Over time, Jem grows older, which means a big difference comes between him and his sister. Scout understands that Jem now feels superior to her, but she is not fond of the fact that Jem no longer treats her like a playmate. She really wants them to be able to talk and play like they use to. Jem begins attending football practice afterschool since he is now of age which results in Scout walking home alone. Scout was running home one after when she spotted something within a tree at the edge of the Radley lot. “Some tin foil was sticking in a knot-hole just above my eye level, winking at me in the afternoon sun” (Lee 44). Scout stuck the gum in her mouth, and continued home. Later, Jem and Scout together find two polished Indian-head pennies in the same knot-hole Scout found the gum. “Well, Indian-heads–well, they come from the Indians. They’re real strong magic, they make you have good luck. Not like fried chicken when you’re not lookin’ for it, but things like long life ‘n’ good health, ‘n’ passin’ six-week tests… these are real valuable to

Scout like most young girls, is very observant about the world around her. Scout tends to show an observant side to her personality when people started to talk trash and spread rumors about Boo Radley. Being a young girl at that time she followed along with the rumors and stories she had heard. Scout, Jem, and Dill then decided to make a game out of the Radle’s ever so

He is always watching over the people he knows, especially Scout and Atticus. One day, as Scout was walking home, she spotted two pieces of chewing gum in the nook of a tree. She checked to see if the gum was safe, then ate it. When she got home, she told Jem that she found the gum in a tree. He then becomes concerned for her safety and states, “‘Don’t eat things you find, Scout’... ‘Spit it out right now!’ ... ‘Don’t you know you’re not supposed to even touch the trees over there? You’ll get killed if you do!’ … ‘You go gargle -- right now, you hear me?’” (Lee 33-34). When Jem discovers what Scout has done, he shows that he will be protective of her, even over a couple pieces of gum, and make sure she stays healthy. In another major scene, Jem’s defensive actions saved his and Scout’s lives. As the two siblings were walking home from the Halloween pageant, Jem kept hearing footsteps following them. At first they thought it was their friend Cecil Jacobs trying to scare them again. However, when they stopped for the last time, the footsteps didn’t follow suit and stop with them. Jem tells Scout to run, but with her cumbersome costume on, she tripped and the wire around her was crushed. Jem got stuck with their follower, Bob Ewell, and was attacked. When he was flung back towards Scout, he immediately tried to rescue her from the costume and get both of them out of the fight. Unfortunately, Jem was pulled back by Mr. Ewell and severely hurt (Lee 261-262). Even though both Jem and Scout were in danger, Jem did everything in his ability to try and save her. The situation they were in was very dangerous but despite the challenges, Jem was sure to be protective of himself and his little sister. Someone who takes good pride in protecting you and others will always be good person to have around, especially if it is one of your

On Dill’s last night in Maycomb before returning to Mississippi at the end of the summer the children decide to sneak into the Radley yard and go peek in the window. Scout has been feeling left out as the friendship between Jem and Dill has become closer and when she asks to join them, Jem tells her to go home. When she questions their intentions, the author states, “Dill and Jem were simply going to peep in the window with the loose shutter to see if they could get a look at Boo Radley” (Lee 51). Jem tells Scout she can either go with them or go

In the rural town of Maycomb, Alabama, Scout Finch lives with her brother, Jem, and Father, Atticus. Scout teaches many lessons as well as defies stereotypes. Scout gives readers her perspective of things. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the growth and characterization of Scout to reveal to readers how innocence slowly falls away through Scout’s obliviousness about other people, Scout’s protection towards her family, and Scout’s curious ways.

Jem and Scout had found a few items inside of the knothole in the tree on the Radley property. One day, they see that the hole has been filled with cement. Scout then asks Atticus if the tree is dying, like Mr. Radley said, and he says no. Scout continues to ask him questions when he simply replies “‘I’m sure Mr. Radley knows more about his trees than we do.’” (Lee 84). This is another example of Atticus teaching Scout morals and manners. This may have taught her that she does not always know everything that is going on. It opens up the new perspective that she must consider what other people say and do before she jumps to conclusions or judgment.

Chapter 1 begins as a flashback told by the main character and narrator, a young girl named Scout. This retelling of the story continues through the entire book. the author of this novel, Harper Lee, characterizes scout the narrator as an intelligent tomboy who is not so sure she wants to deal with the Radleys. Scout always hung around her older brother Jem and Dill, a boy who visited Maycomb every summer. She was always up for whatever they did and really did not like it when they called her girly. Dill became fascinated with the Radleys and their mysteriously hidden son Boo. Scout urged Dill to let the Radleys keep to themselves, but her harassing of Dill did nothing. Even though Scout is a clever girl, Lee makes it obvious that Scout still

Scout hung out with friends/people her own age. She mostly hangs out with people older than her. This is the first step of Scout becoming independent. She doesn't always need Jem around. Since she’s going to start hanging out with other people than her brother she will learn to protect herself and learn from life on her own. She will have more people she can rely on and come to when she needs help or feeling

The chapters 1 and 2 of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the story begins at the beginning of summer, with the introduction of Scout and Jem two kids trying to enjoy to dog-days of summer in the plain and simple town of Maycomb. Their summer stays this way until they meet a boy by the name of Dill; Dill, Scout, and Jim play together by reenacting scenes from famous movies like Dracula. But when Dill hears about the legend of the Radley’s and there abandon estate, he becomes entranced with the Radley’s and wants to find out what really happened to Boo Radley. His interest in the Radley’s goes to such an extent that he dares Jem to get Boo Radley to leave his house by going on his property. After the deed was done summer winds down to an end as Dill leaves for Meridian, bored with nothing to look forward in summer Scout realizes that school is going to start. Jem starts to distance himself from Scout saying “Jem was careful to explain that during the school hour I was not to bother him”. Scouts starts to realize that school is different as she is punished for speaking out of turn and trying to explain why Walter cannot accept money from Miss Caroline. She takes this as an insult against Walter and punishes her, as it turns out school is a lot different than home.