Scout Finch

1962

Miss Caroline (1st grade teacher)

### Personalities

Tomboyish, naïve, idealistic, mischievous, tough, curious, intelligent, faithful, confident, witty, adventurous, innocent, kind, virtuous, honest, spirited, attentive, brave, compassionate, quick-tempered, rude (sometimes), perspective (end of story), introverted (end of story)

### Allies

Atticus Finch
Jem Finch
Dill Harris
Calpurnia
Miss Maudie Atkinson
Walter Cunningham
Boo Radley

Jack Finch

### Enemies

Bob Ewell
Cecil Adams
Francis Finch

Alexandra Finch (formerly)

### Likes

Reading, exploring, acting like a tomboy, wearing overalls, playing with Jem and Dill, sneaking onto the Radley property.

### Dislikes

Wearing dresses, going to school, being tormented and called "N-lover", by her peers

### Goal

To find out about what Boo Radley really looks like
To fully understand the evils and prejudice of life (both succeeded)

To find the truth of Atticus' sudden hypocrisy (succeeded, in Go Set a Watchman)

### Fate

Walks Boo Radley back home and tucked into bed by Atticus (To Kill a Mockingbird)Apologizes to Atticus for her turmoil and sees him as a human being (Go Set a Watchman)

### Famous quotes

"Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.""I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks."

> "*I was not so sure, but Jem told me I was being a girl that girls always imagined things, that's why other people hated them so, and if I started behaving like one I could just go off and find some to play with.*"
> ― Chapter 4
>
>

Jean Louise "Scott" Finch is the main protagonist and narrator in Harper Lee's *To Kill a Mockingbird*. She is the daughter of Atticus Finch, the sister of Jem Finch, and the niece of Jack and Alexandra Finch.

Throughout her early childhood, Scout is a precocious child who enjoys causing mischief, such as sneaking and playing around the old Radley Place. But as a few years went by, she learns about Maycomb's social injustice, prejudice and important moral life lessons taught to her by her father, Atticus.

She is considered one of American literature's most beloved and greatest characters, along with her father, Atticus. She reappears in *Go Set a Watchman* as a young adult.

## Description

Scout Finch grew up when injustice and racism were rife in the American Deep South. To fully experience how these harsh issues affect her growing up, Scout has to witness them in first person to understand her environment. She is also an unusual young girl; unlike other girls who play with dolls or wear dresses, she prefers to wear overalls and climb trees, which boys mostly do. The adult Scout looks back at these experiences in her own words about everything she sees, hears and feels. Some critics think her childhood may be too young and unsuitable for learning about racism and unprejudiced values. Regardless of the criticism, Lee wrote Scout’s character to have her cultivate her abilities to learn about life and her society.

Scout learns various lessons from her beloved, wise father, Atticus Finch. The first is understanding a person’s point of view, which she has difficulty learning about throughout most of the story. Scout pictures Boo Radley as a scary, fearsome monster the local children fear. By the end of the story, she finally meets him as a regular human like she is, and she pictures his point of view by standing on his porch and witnessing the various times Scout, Jem and Dill tried to lure him out of his home. Another important lesson is never to kill mockingbirds. When Atticus gives Scout and Jem hunting rifles, he tells them they can shoot any bird except for mockingbirds. Scout recalls in her narration that mockingbirds, unlike other birds who tend to eat other people’s crops, only make music and provide pleasure. These birds also symbolize innocence, and killing one means innocence being destroyed by evils of injustice, such as Tom Robinson being wrongfully accused of rape and Boo Radley being a shunned recluse. The third lesson is to keep fighting even though you will lose. Scout initially believed Atticus would win in the trial of his client Tom Robinson and he would be acquitted. However, Atticus knows he will never stand a chance against an all-white jury who will racially convict Tom, but he will keep believing in himself anyway. Scout and Jem are devastated by the conviction but still proud of their father for standing up for what was right.

Lastly, the final lesson is that the world is very unfair. Everyone will always have misfortunes, and Scout learned this the hard way. Eventually, she had to accept that nobody is perfect and innocent in Maycomb. At the book’s end, she has successfully learned all the lessons that Atticus had taught her, which are important factors in her life as she grows into an adult.

## Storyline

### Family Background

Simon Finch was a fur trader and apothecary who lived in Cornwall, England. He was also a Methodist and emigrated from England to avoid religious persecution. He travelled to Philadelphia, Jamaica, and Mobile before settling in Saint Stephens in America and started practicing medicine. While he became rich from his work, he was still left unsatisfied, so he hired three slaves and established a homestead on the banks of the Alabama River, about 40 miles above Saint Stephens.

Simon only returned to Saint Stephens to find a wife and produced a long family line, mostly daughters. Simon lived to a ripe old age and died wealthy, and his homestead became known as Finch's Landing. It was common for male relatives in the Finch family to stay at the homestead and work as cotton farmers. As a result, the homestead produced everything the public needed except for ice, wheat flour and clothing supplied by boats from Mobile, Alabama. Despite the family losing their wealth during the American Civil War, they continued to live in their homeland until the 20th century, when Atticus Finch left Finch's Landing to study law in Montgomery, and his brother Jack went to Boston to study medicine. Only their sister Alexandria stayed behind at the Landing.

After completing his studies, Atticus moved to the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, 20 miles from Finch's Landing, where he set up his practice and office. Two of his clients were the last people hanged at the Maycomb County Jail, and Atticus had attempted to urge them to plead guilty to second-degree murder and avoid execution. They had allegedly killed a blacksmith over a dispute over a mare, and they dumbly committed this crime in front of 3 witnesses. They ended up pleading not guilty, and Atticus couldn't do anything for them except be there at their execution.

For the next five years, Atticus practiced economy and invested his earnings in his brother Jack's education. After Jack was able to get his start in his study of medicine, Atticus received an income from the government. He became well-known and respected by everyone in Maycomb, as he was related by blood and marriage to almost all of the town's residents.

When he was elected to the state legislature, Atticus met a woman named Jean Graham from Montgomery; he was already middle-aged, and she was 15 years younger than him. They subsequently married and had two children: their firstborn was their son Jeremy Atticus "Jem," and four years later, their daughter Jean Louise "Scout" was born. Jean Graham died from a heart attack when Jem was around six years old and when Scout was 2, and it was a fatal heart condition that runs in the family. Jem misses his mother and has fond memories of her, but since Scout was still too young when her mother died, she doesn't remember or miss her. The Finchs live on the main residential street of Maycomb with their black cook, Calpurnia, who has been living with the family since Jem's birth. After his wife's death, Atticus assigned Calpurnia to be a mother figure to his children. While Atticus is a doting father to Jem and Scout, Calpurnia can act a bit strict with them, mostly with Scout.

### First Summer with Dill/The Radley Place

One morning in the summer of 1933, Scout and Jem play in their backyard when they heard something from their neighbour, Miss Rachel Haverford’s house. They walked over to see what it was but found a boy with white hair and blue linen shorts sitting down and staring at them. The boy greets them and introduces himself as Charles Baker Harris. Jem asks him how old he is, and Charles replies that he will soon turn 7. Jem thinks Charles looks too young to be 7. Charles replies that he may be small but is getting old already.

Charles says he knows Jem’s full name after his aunt told him. He says everyone calls him Dill as he crawls under the fence, and Scout asks him where he is from. She learns Dill is from Meridian, Mississippi, but spends every summer with his aunt in Maycomb. His family was initially from Maycomb County, and his mother was a photographer who entered him in a beauty contest. After winning 5 dollars, she gives the money to Dill and enters the contest 20 times with the money.

Jem says there are only movie showtimes in Maycomb when they play Jesus movies at the courthouse. He asks Dill if he has seen any good movies yet and replies that he has seen *Dracula*. He explains the movie to the siblings, and Scout asks him where his father is. Dill replies that he doesn’t have one, and Scout asks if he is dead. Dill says no, and Scout wonders if he still has a father who isn’t dead.

Throughout the summer, Dill becomes their new friend and playmate, and the children develop a routine. They would spend some time in the treehouse between two chinaberry trees in the backyard. They would read over some drama stories by authors such as Oliver Optic, Victor Appleton and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Dill would re-enact some character roles from the stories, such as *Tarzan of the Apes*, *The Rover Boys* and *Tom Swift*. But by the end of August, the children are bored with their stories. Dill becomes fascinated by the Radley Place, an old, low house in disrepair located on the same street the Finches lived on and decides he wants to make its mysterious inhabitant Boo Radley come out. Scout and Jem have tried to warn Dill not to go near the Radley Place; he cannot stop thinking and staring at the house.

Scout and Jem have never seen Boo Radley, but some town residents say he comes out at night and peers through people’s windows. They say their azaleas became frozen from his breathing on them, and he committed small, stealthy crimes. One time, the town was terrorized by unexplained nocturnal events when their pets and chickens were horribly mutilated, even though the culprit was a man named Crazy Addie, who later drowned himself. Despite this, the townsfolk still cast their suspicions on the Radley Place. A Negro would avoid walking past the house at night and instead walk on the opposite sidewalk. The Maycomb school grounds were adjoined to the back of the Radley Lot, and nuts from the Radley’s pecan trees occasionally fell onto the schoolyard but were left untouched by the children. Whenever a baseball was accidentally thrown into the Radley Place, it was immediately forgotten about.

However, the untold true story of the Radley family goes back to before Jem and Scout were born. The family often kept to themselves from the Maycomb public, which was unusual, and didn’t attend church. Mrs. Radley never joined a missionary group, and Mr. Radley would walk to town at 11:30 each morning and return at noon with a paper bag, which the locals assume is a bag of groceries. The Radleys lived in their house with their two sons, Nathan and Arthur. All the shutters and doors of the house would be closed on Sundays, a day when the locals would dress properly and visit each other in the afternoons. But none of them ever went up the steps and said hello. The house also never had any screen doors, and Scout asked her father, Atticus, if the house ever had one. Atticus replied yes, but it was before she was born.

According to legend, a teenage Arthur became acquainted with some members of the Cunningham family from Old Sarum, located in the northern part of the county. They formed a gang and would do various troublemaking activities, such as hanging out at the local barbershop, taking the bus to Abbotsville to see a movie, attending dances at gambling dens, and drinking whiskey. Mr. Radley wasn’t aware his son was part of the wrong crowd, as nobody had the nerve to inform him about it. One night, Arthur and his friends got in trouble with the town’s beadle, Mr. Conner, and Arthur was locked up in the courthouse’s outhouse. Mr. Conner decided the boys would face justice for their crimes, and the probate judge charged them with disorderly conduct, battery, assault and disturbing the peace. They were also charged with using profane language to a woman, and Mr. Conner explained they swore so loud that every woman in the town could hear them.

The boys were sentenced to stay at a state industrial school, and if the judge released Arthur, Mr. Radley assured his son wouldn’t get into any more trouble. Arthur’s friends received a proper education at the industrial school, and one became an engineer at Auburn. Arthur was kept at home with the entire house shut up all days of the week, and nobody saw him again for 15 years.

Today, Arthur, now called Boo by the local children, was heard and seen by the others. Atticus never talked much about the Radleys whenever Jem asked him about them. Jem then heard the rest of the story from the neighbourhood gossip, Miss Stephanie Crawford. According to Miss Crawford, Boo was cutting out some pictures from The Maycomb Tribune newspaper to paste into his scrapbook in the living room. When his father walked in, Boo suddenly stabbed him in the leg with scissors and returned to what he was doing. Mrs. Radley ran out screaming that her son was going to kill the family, but Boo was still cutting out the newspaper when the sheriff arrived. He was 33 years old at the time.

Mr. Radley decided not to send Boo to an asylum, especially when he was advised that his son should spend some time at an asylum in Tuscaloosa. Boo can be high-strung at times, but he wasn’t insane. However, Mr. Radley insisted his son shouldn’t be charged as a criminal, and the sheriff ended up locking Boo in the courtroom basement instead. He was then transferred back home, and Miss Stephanie Crawford told Mr. Radley his son would have died from the damp mould if he had left him in the basement. Nobody knows what Mr. Radley did to keep his son confined in their home; Jem suggests Boo was chained to his bed most of the time, but Atticus denies this is true.

Scout remembers seeing Mrs. Radley coming out of her house to water her canna flowers, and she and Jem all remember seeing Mr. Radley walking to and from town. He is described as having colourless eyes, sharp cheekbones and a wide mouth. Miss Stephanie Crawford claimed he was so upright that he only abided by the rules from the words of God, and Scout and Jem believed her. But in addition, Mr. Radley never spoke to the Finch children, and whenever they tried to greet him, he would cough in reply. The eldest son, Nathan Radley, lived in Pensacola, Florida, and he came home at Christmas. He was one of the only people ever seen leaving or entering the house, and since Arthur was taken home, it looked like the house had died. Atticus told the children he'd wear them out if they made any noise in the backyard, and Calpurnia was assigned to listen closely to their behaviour.

Before long, Mr. Radley was dying, and the road would be blocked off at each end of the Radley house, with the traffic diverted to the back street. The local doctor, Dr. Reynolds, would park his car in front of the Finch house and walk to the Radley house every time he was called. Scout and the boys would sneak around the yard for days until Mr. Radley died, and Calpurnia murmured about how he was the meanest man who ever lived as his body was taken away from his home. The children looked at her as she hardly commented about white people. The neighbourhood thinks Boo may finally have more freedom now that his father is dead, but Nathan takes his father's place after his return from Pensacola. However, unlike Mr. Radley, Nathan spoke to the children when they greeted him, and they sometimes saw him come back from town with a magazine.

The more Scout and Jem talk about Boo to Dill, the more fascinated he becomes and wants to know more. He murmurs about what he does inside his house and even sticks his head out the door. Jem claims Boo only goes out at night, and Miss Stephanie Crawford said she woke up in the middle of the night and saw Boo staring at her through her window, and his head looked like a skull. Jem describes how Boo walks and claims he has seen Boo's tracks in their backyard every morning and even heard him scratching at their screen door, but he was gone by the time Atticus appeared. Dill is curious about what Boo looks like, and Jem describes him. He is about 6 1/2 feet tall and eats squirrels or cats he catches; his hands are even bloodstained, and it's said you can never wash the blood off after you eat an animal raw. He also has a long, jagged scar across his face, has rotten, yellow teeth and drools a lot.

Dill suggests they make Boo come out so he can see what he looks like. Jem tells him all he needs to do is knock at the front door. However, Dill bets Jem wouldn't go farther past the Radley Gate to the front porch and has never declined a dare. He thinks about it for three days until he eventually gives in on the third day when Dill says people in Meridian are more fearless than the citizens in Maycomb. He walks to the corner and leans against the light pole as he watches the Radley gate hanging on its hinges. Scout and Dill join him, and Jem tells Dill that if Boo kills them, he won't take the blame, as this was all his idea.

Jem insists he isn't afraid but can't think of any ideas to lure Boo out. Scout can tell he is afraid, like when she dared him to jump off the top of the house, and while he landed safely, he lost his sense of responsibility until he found himself at the Radley Place. Dill asks him if he is backing out of the dare, and Jem replies that he needs a minute to think of any ideas. He suggests setting a match under him, but Scout warns him that she will tell Atticus about him if he sets the Radley Place on fire. Jem says it is just a way to persuade him to come out and think of another idea. He becomes so lost in thought for a long time that Dill makes an exception. He won't say he is backed out of the dare if he goes up to touch the house. Jem asks if that is all he must do. Dill says Boo may come out after him when he sees him in the yard, and he and Scout will jump on him and hold him down until they tell him they aren't going to hurt him.

The children cross the side street until they stand at the Radley gate. Dill urges Jem to go ahead, and he and Scout will be right behind him. Jem walks to the corner, opens the gate, runs to the side of the house, hits it with his palm, and runs back with Scout and Dill trailing behind him. After they run back to their front porch, they look back at the Radley Place. It is still as usual, but a window shutter opens, and there appears to be some slight movement before it is silent again.

### First days of School/The gifts in the Knothole

In early September, Scout watches Dill board the 5 o'clock bus back home to Meridian. She is miserable without him and realizes she will start school in a week. She has never looked forward to doing anything, as she spent dozens of hours in her treehouse and looking over the schoolyard. She would also spy on the local children with a two-power telescope she received from Jem, and she would watch them play games, sharing their misfortunes and victories and wishes she could join them.

Jem condescends to escort Scout on the first day of school. Normally, most parents will do that job, but Atticus said Jem would like to show her classroom. They run past the corner to the Radley Place, and she hears an unfamiliar jingling sound in her brother’s pockets. As they walk across the schoolyard, Jem explains that she is not to bother him during school hours, such as embarrassing him with questions about his personal life or tagging behind him at recess. She is to leave him alone, as she focuses on herself being in 1st grade and him being in 5th grade. She asks him if they can’t play together anymore, and he replies they can at home, but it is different at school.

That day, before the first-morning class ends, Scout’s 1st-grade teacher, Miss Caroline, hauls Scout to the front of the classroom, where she slaps her hand with a ruler and makes her stand in the corner until noon. Miss Caroline is a young woman, around 21 years old, with bright auburn hair, wearing high heels and a red-and-white striped dress. She looks and smells like peppermint drops and lives across the street, one door from Miss Maudie’s house.

When class begins that morning, the teacher writes her name on the chalkboard and says she is from Winston County in Northern Alabama. The class murmurs anxiously about whether she would talk about the locals who live in that county. Scout remembers that when Alabama seceded from the Union in 1861, Winston County seceded from Alabama as well. North Alabama is known to have Liquor Interests, Big Mules, steel companies, Republicans, professors and other people with no background.

Miss Caroline starts the school day by reading to the class about cats. She isn’t aware that many of her young students aren’t very imaginative readers, and after she finishes reading, she prints the alphabet on the blackboard and asks the class if they know what they are. Everyone did, as most of the class failed to learn the alphabet last year. Scout suggests Miss Caroline picked her because she knew her name, and as she read out loud the alphabet and from her book, as well as some quotations from The Mobile Register, the teacher notices she is more literate and has a faint look on her face. She tells Scout not to let her father teach her anymore, as it interferes with her reading. Scout insists her father isn't teaching her, as he doesn't have time for that. When Miss Caroline shakes her head, Scout adds that he is so tired at night that he sits in the living room and reads. Miss Caroline wants to know who is teaching her. Scout claims Jem read a book where her full name was Jean Louise Bullfinch, and she was swapped at birth. The teacher thinks she is lying and tells her not to let her imagination get too carried away and tells her not to let her father teach her anymore, and she will take over the teachings for him. When Scout wants to say something, she orders her to sit down.

Scout tries to apologize and gets over it, trying to meditate over her crime. She knew she had never deliberately learned how to read, even though she somehow enjoyed looking through the papers. Whenever she was at church, she was unable to remember reading the hymns. All she knew was that her fluency in reading just came to her, and she even remembers sitting on Atticus' lap and viewing the different headlines he was reading from the paper. She even considered reading a sin when it was being done in class.

Knowing she has annoyed her teacher, Scout stares out the window until recess, when Jem meets with her in the schoolyard and asks how her class is progressing. Scout says she would rather leave, as Miss Caroline thinks Atticus is teaching her how to read and wants him to stop. Jem consoles her and says his teacher claims it was Miss Caroline's new way of teaching, as she had learned it from college. He tells her she shouldn't always have to learn from books and points out how if she wants to know about cows, she could milk one and learn for herself. Scout says she doesn't want to study cows, and Jem replies she should, as they are an important part of life in Maycomb County. She asks him if he has lost his mind, and Jem replies that it is the new way to teach the first grade, and he calls it the Decimal Dewey System.

During class time, Miss Caroline teaches the class with word cards. Scout becomes bored, so she writes a letter to Dill. When Miss Caroline catches her, she tells her to stop letting her father teach her. She also says she won’t learn how to write until she is in third grade.

Scout places the blame on Calpurnia. During rainy days, Calpurnia would keep Scout out of trouble and have her do some writing lessons. Scout would be tasked to write the alphabet and copy Bible chapters. Calpurnia would reward her with an open-faced sandwich whenever she succeeded in her writing skills.

Miss Caroline orders the class to put up their hands if they go home for lunch. After the town children raise their hands, the teacher orders the students who brought their lunches to put them on their desks. Miss Caroline inspects the lunch containers while smiling when the lunches please her and frowning if it doesn’t. When she reaches one of her students, Walter Cunningham, she asks him where his lunch is. He explains he has hookworms, as he wore no shoes, and when some people like him go hunting for hookworms, they find them barefoot in backyards and hog wallows. He says if he had shoes, he would wear them on the first day of school and discard them until winter, although he is wearing a clean shirt and overalls.

Miss Caroline asks Walter if he forgot his lunch this morning. He looks straight ahead and mumbles that he did. Miss Caroline goes to her desk and takes a quarter from her purse. She tells Walter to buy some lunch downtown today, and he’ll pay her back tomorrow. He shakes his head and refuses, and Miss Caroline impatiently insists he takes her quarter. Someone whispers to Scout to tell the teacher, and she turns around to see her classmates staring at her eagerly. She gets up from her seat, tells Miss Caroline that Walter is a Cunningham and then sits down.

Miss Caroline is confused, but Scout and her classmates know that Walter is lying. He never forgot his lunch because he didn’t have one and probably won’t have one for the next day. He also has never seen three-quarters before. Scout repeats her statement that Walter is from the Cunningham family; they are known to never to take anything they cannot pay back, such as church baskets and stamps. They may not ask for much, but they get on with very little they have, and Scout assures her she will soon get to know all the other locals in Maycomb after a while. Scout already knows about the Cunninghams, as Walter's father is one of Atticus's clients.

Last winter, Mr. Cunningham met with Atticus to discuss his entailment, and he told him he had nothing to repay him. Atticus assured him not to worry about it. Scout asked Jem what entailment was, and he described it as "a condition of having your tail in a crack." She then asked Atticus if Mr. Cunningham would repay them, and he replied it wouldn't be in money, but he would still be paid by the end of the year, but she'll watch for herself. One morning, Scout and Jem found a load of stovewood in the backyard, and later, they found a sack of hickory nuts on the back steps. At Christmas, they received a crate of smilax and holly, and by spring, they found a sack full of turnip greens.

Atticus said that is more than what Mr. Cunningham paid him. Scout asked why he paid him like that, and Atticus replied that he had no money and that was the only way he could pay him. Scout then asked him if they were poor, and he replied yes, but not as poor as the Cunninghams because they were farmers and the stock market crash affected them the most. He explained that because Maycomb County is a farming country, many working-class and farming citizens were poor and struggled to find doctors and lawyers. Mr. Cunningham often worried about entailment, as his acres that were not entailed were mortgaged to the hilt, and what little money he made went to interest. His land would be ruined if he left it for another job, and he would instead go hungry to keep his land. Since his family had no money to pay for a lawyer, they paid Atticus with what they had. Atticus promised to tell Scout what entailment is, as Jem's definitions are nearly accurate sometimes.

Scout had hoped that if she explained this to Miss Caroline, it would make her more understanding. But she tells her she is shaming him as Walter has no quarter from home to pay her, and she won't use stovewood. Miss Caroline grabs her by the collar and drags her to her desk, telling her she has enough of her attitude and orders her to hold out her hand. Scout thought she would spit into her hand, as it was common in Maycomb to seal contracts. She looks to the class, who gaze at her puzzled, and Miss Caroline takes out a ruler, slaps it on Scout's hand a couple of times, and then orders her to stand in the corner. The class starts laughing when Scout realizes Miss Caroline has just whipped her. Miss Blount, a sixth-grade teacher, bursts into the classroom and threatens Miss Caroline to burn down the school if she hears another racket from her classroom again, as her class cannot concentrate on the noise.

The bell rings for the lunch break, and Miss Caroline watches the students leave. Scout is the last to leave and sees Miss Caroline burying her head at her desk. Scout wonders if the teacher were more friendly to her, she would have pitied her.

Scout finds Walter in the schoolyard and forces his face in the dirt as punishment for getting her into trouble in class.Jem breaks up the fight and tells her she is bigger than Walter. Scout tells Jem that Walter is as old as he is. Jem urges her to let it go and asks what happened. Scout explains that Walter didn't have lunch and mentions her involvement in his affairs. Walter gets up and listens to Jem and Scout. Scout stomps at him to scare him away, and Jem stops her. He invites Walter for lunch at their house, and Walter initially hesitates. Jem says Atticus knows his father and assures him Scout won't fight him again. Scout calms down, promises to behave, and says Calpurnia is a good cook. Walter is still hesitant, but as Jem and Scout approach the Radley Place, he changes his mind and joins them. Jem points to the Radley Place and asks Walter if he has heard of Boo. Walter replies that he nearly died the first year he went to school and ate some pecans. He heard some rumours that Boo pities those hungry and leaves food for them at the school fence. Jem fearfully recalls when he went to the Radleys' front door. Scout says he shouldn't have run the first time he visited the house.

When Jem and Scout reach their house, Walter has forgotten he is a Cunningham. Jem enters the kitchen and asks Calpurnia to set an extra plate as a guest will be eating with them. Atticus greets Walter, and they discuss farming. Walter explains that he couldn't finish first grade because he had to stay on the farm and help his father with their crops. Scout asks him if he paid a bushel of potatoes for him, and Atticus shakes his head at her. While piling some food on his plate, Walter and Atticus are engaged in a conversation that surprises Jem and Scout. Walter then asks if there are molasses, and Calpurnia comes in with a syrup pitcher. Walter pours the molasses all over his food, and Scout gets angry at him. Calpurnia summons her into the kitchen, and she angrily scolds her that some people don't eat as they do, and she has no right to criticize Walter's eating habits when he is their guest. Scout protests that he is a Cunningham, and Calpurnia says she cannot be rude to guests who visit her home and orders her to eat in the kitchen alone. She also slaps Scout as she retrieves her lunch in the dining room and eats in the kitchen by herself. At least she is relieved she won't be humiliated in front of her family again and vows to make Calpurnia sorry for her by killing herself, telling her it's her fault she got her into trouble today for learning how to write. Calpurnia orders her to be quiet.

Jem and Walter return to school first, and Scout stays behind to tell Atticus that Calpurnia is horrible and that he should fire her, even insisting she likes Jem more than her. Atticus replies that he has no intentions to fire her as the family won't survive without her. Scout hates Calpurnia on her way to school until she hears Miss Caroline screaming in the classroom. The boys rush to comfort her, and she points to a boy Scout has never seen before. Miss Caroline shakily says she saw a bug crawl out of his hair. One of the boys, Little Chuck, calms her down, and he'll bring her some water. As Miss Caroline watches in horror, the boy plucks a bug out of his scalp and pinches it with his fingers. Little Chuck brings her water, and she asks the boy who he is, and he replies that he is Burris Ewell. She asks him if he can spell his first name, and he replies that he doesn't know. Miss Caroline tells him to go home and wash his hair, as she doesn't want the children to have bugs in their hair.

The boy gets up, and Scout sees how filthy he really is, with a dark gray neck, rusty backhands and black fingernails. Miss Caroline reminds him to bathe himself before he returns to school the next day, but Burris laughs and says he is just about to leave and is finished with the school year. One of the oldest students explains to Miss Caroline that Burris is one of the Ewells, and they only attend school for one day and don't come back for the rest of the school year. The truant lady has even given up trying to report them to the sheriff. Miss Caroline asks about his parents, and Burris replies that he has no mother and that his father is a troublemaker. He says he has been coming to school on the first for three years, and Miss Caroline orders him to sit down. Burris gets angry at her, and Little Chuck warns her that he is a mean-spirited child. Miss Caroline demands Burris to go home, or she will report this to the principal. He turns around and insults her by calling her a slut, and she won't make him go anywhere. He then leaves as Miss Caroline starts to cry. The children gather around her to comfort her, and they ask her if she can read them a story. She smiles and thanks them, and then she reads them a story.

Scout walks home and passes by the Radley Place for the fourth time that day. She starts to resent going to school now and thinks about running away. She and Jem race home to meet Atticus coming home from work, and it is their habit to meet him the moment they see him come around the corner of the post office. He has forgotten about Scout's punishment that afternoon and asks the children about school. Calpurnia senses that Scout is miserable and prepares her some crackling bread. Calpurnia tells Scout she missed her today, and she replies that she and Jem are hardly ever in the house unless it's raining. Calpurnia says one of them is always at a calling distance and asks her to leave so she can prepare supper and then kisses her. Scout wonders why Calpurnia decided to make up with her; she is usually strict.

After dinner, Atticus sits down with the newspaper and asks Scout if she's ready to read, but she goes to the front porch. Atticus follows her and asks what is wrong, and Scout replies that she doesn't want to go to school anymore. Atticus sits next to her, and she says she wants to stay home and have him tutor her. Atticus refuses as he has to make a living, and he could go to jail if he keeps her at home. Scout complains that the teacher doesn't want him to teach her how to read anymore, and she begs him not to send her back. Atticus tells her she doesn't understand a person until she sees things from their point of view by climbing in their skin and walking around in it. He tells Scout she has learned many things today, and Miss Caroline has learned some things herself, such as not giving Walter anything. He says if he and Walter walked in her shoes, they would realize she has made an honest mistake. Scout says she saw Burris Ewell today, and he only goes to school on the first day, and the truant lady should have carried out the law. Atticus replies that she can't change the law and still has to attend school. Scout doesn't understand why she must attend school and not Burris.

Atticus explains that the Ewell family have been disgraced in Maycomb for three generations, and they even invited him to see what their life was like, and they live like animals rather than people. He mentions that the Ewell children can attend school whenever they want, but forcing them to live in a new environment would be foolish. Scout says he will make her attend school tomorrow, and Atticus says she is part of the common folk and must obey the law. He further explains that the Ewells live in their own exclusive society, and the common folk people have become blind to the way they live. For example, he says that Burris's father, Bob Ewell, was permitted to hunt and trap out of season. Scout thinks it's bad because hunting out of season is a crime in Maycomb County. Atticus agrees with her, but Bob Ewell's children often starve when he spends money on alcohol, and he cannot change his ways. He asks Scout if she won't disapprove of his children, and she replies no. But she worries they cannot read again if she keeps attending school. He asks her what a compromise is, and she guesses it's bending the law. He says a compromise is agreeing on certain occasions, such as if she promises to still attend school, they will keep reading together every night like they always have. Scout agrees to this compromise, but when she goes inside, Atticus asks her not to say anything at school about their agreement, as he doesn't want Miss Caroline to go after him for this.

For the rest of the evening, Atticus reads some columns to Jem and Scout from the newspaper about a man who sat on a flagpole, and it encourages the children to spend their Saturdays in their treehouse. Jem stays in the treehouse all day, and Scout runs errands for him and provides him with some water and books. She would also bring him blankets for the night since Atticus told her that he would get out of the treehouse if she didn't pay too much attention to her brother.

### Boo's Generosity

The rest of the school year was difficult for Scout. She struggles to learn in her curriculum and even questions the usefulness of formal education. She finishes school half an hour before Jem and would rush home past the Radley Place. One afternoon, when walking home from school, Scout spots something on one of the Radleys' oak trees on their property. It is a tin foil inside a knothole. She reaches inside and takes out two pieces of chewing gum. After hurrying home, she examines the gum and sees it is still fresh. After smelling and licking it, she puts it in her mouth, which is mint flavoured.

When Jem returns home, he demands Scout where she found the gum. She says she found it in a tree, and he orders her to spit it out. He scolds her for eating something she found and touching the Radley property. She argues with him until he threatens to tell Calpurnia.

Summer is quickly approaching, and Scout and Jem look forward to Dill's return. On their last day of school, Jem and Scout walk home together, with Scout suggesting Dill will arrive tomorrow. When they walk past the Radley Place, Scout points Jem to the oak trees where she found the gum inside the knothole. There is another tin foil package inside the knothole, and when Jem reaches it and unwraps it, it is a small box. He opens it, and it contains two Indian head pennies. Jem notices they are old, and Scout assumes the knothole could be someone's hiding place. Jem disagrees with her, as they are the only ones walking down the street. She asks him what they should do with the pennies. He decides to keep them until the school year starts again, and he can try to find the pennies' owners. He also thinks Indian pennies are a symbol of good luck.

Dill arrives in Maycomb two days later. When the children meet again, Jem asks what they should do today. Dill wants to play Tom Rover, but Jem is already bored with their games. While strolling in the front yard, Dill looks at the Radley Place and claims he can smell someone and predict their death. He tells Scout she will die in three days, and she threatens to hit him. Jem mocks them both for being superstitious.

Scout suggests they play rolling in the tire. Jem is too big for the tire, and Scout tells him he can push it. She runs to the backyard, pulling out an old car tire from under the house and bringing it to the front yard. She decides to go first and fits herself inside the tire. Jem pushes her down the sidewalk, and she gets stuck inside the tire while Jem chases and calls after her. The tire rolls across the road until it crashes into a barrier. When she gets out, she is dizzy and nauseous. She lies on the path and shakes her head when she hears Jem yelling at her to get away from there with the tire. She gets up and hurriedly staggers across the street. Jem gets the tire, and Scout realizes the tire has rolled into the Radleys' front yard.

Calpurnia calls the children to the front porch for lemonade. After drinking their cups of lemonade, Dill suggests they play a game by pretending to be Boo Radley. He assigns Scout to play the role of Mrs. Radley and denies that Boo will know what they are playing. Dill suggests to Jem that they play a game to see if it scares Scout. Throughout the summer, their game becomes more complex as it becomes a reenactment of Boo's life. They would quickly stop their game and stand still whenever Nathan Radley or their neighbours walked past their house. When they are prepared to play the scene when Boo attacks his father, Jem steals some scissors from Calpurnia's sewing box and pretends to stab Dill's thigh with them.

While the children are tearing a newspaper with the scissors outside, Atticus catches them and asks what they are doing. Jem denies they are reenacting the Radleys, and Atticus orders him to give him the scissors. Dill then asks if they should keep playing, but Scout says Atticus already knows about their game. She also believes she heard someone laughing inside the Radley house when her tire rolled into their front yard.

After she demands that they stop playing their game about the Radleys, Jem agrees but decides to change their characters' names so Atticus wouldn't suspect anything. Dill also agrees with the plan, but earlier that summer, he asks Scout to marry him. He starts neglecting her, and no matter how much she beats him, he develops a bond with Jem. The boys spend their time in the treehouse, and Scout sees Miss Maudie Atkinson for company. Scout and Jem used to play in Miss Maudie’s backyard while avoiding her azaleas, and they barely spoke to her. But the more Jem and Dill neglect her, the closer she becomes to Miss Maudie.

Miss Maudie is a widow who hates her house. She spent most of her time tending her flowerbeds and then sat on her front porch in the evening. Scout asks about the nut grass in her yard, and Miss Maudie says it’s the only weed she kills because it will ruin her yard. Miss Maudie even asks her to inspect her false teeth, which she calls her “bridgework.” She is also kind to Jem and Dill and makes the best cakes in the neighbourhood. Whenever she sees Jem, Scout and Dill, she gives them some cakes she made just for them.

During the summer, Scout and Miss Maudie would sit on her porch and watch the sunset. One evening, she asks Miss Maudie if Boo is still alive. Miss Maudie finds it a morbid question and knows he’s alive as she hasn’t seen his body being carried out of his home yet. Scout says that Jem and Dill assumed that he died and his body stuffed up a chimney. Miss Maudie thinks Jem is becoming like Jack Finch.

Miss Maudie was childhood friends with Atticus’ brother, Jack. They grew up together at Finch’s Landing, and when he visits Scout at Christmas, he calls Miss Maudie across the street and asks her to marry him, which he has tried for many years. Miss Maudie says that Boo prefers to stay in his house all the time, and Scout asks why. Miss Maudie explains that Boo’s father was a “foot-washing” Baptist, and foot washers considered everything pleasurable to be a sin, even her flowers, because they think she is spending too much time outside in her garden and not indoors reading the Bible, since they take the Bible literally. Scout is confused and claims that Atticus said that God’s people love themselves. Miss Maudie tells Scout that she’s too young to understand and gruffly explains that a Bible in the hands of some men is worse than a bottle of whisky in Atticus’s hands. Scout becomes shocked and says her father never drinks. Miss Maudie explains that men like Atticus are better at their worst while others are at their best.

Scout tells Miss Maudie about the rumours surrounding Boo, and Miss Maudie insists they are just made up of black superstitions and Miss Stephanie Crawford. She remembers that when Boo was a child, he used to speak kindly to her, and she doesn’t believe he is insane. She also doesn’t know what happens behind closed doors at the Radley Place. This offends Scout, and she insists that Atticus treats her and Jem well in their home. Miss Maudie says that Atticus is always the same when he’s at home or in public and offers her some poundcake to take home.

The next morning, Scout finds Jem and Dill in the backyard in deep conversation, but when she joins them, they ask her to leave. Scout insists she has every right to share the backyard with them. Dill warns her that if he tells her what they are planning, she must take part in it. Jem reveals that they are planning to give a note to Boo, and he would use a fishing pole to stick the note through the window shutters. Dill would ring a bell when someone passes along, and Scout would monitor the back of the house. Dill says that in the note they wrote to Boo to come out of his house and talk about what he does in his home. They discuss Boo having a long beard, and Dill accidentally lies when he claims his father has a black beard.

## References

1. ↑ *To Kill a Mockingbird,* Chapter 1
2. ↑ Chapter 2
3. ↑ Chapter 3
4. ↑ Chapter 4
5. ↑ Chapter 5