Chapter 1

The Finch family – Simon Finch escaped religious persecution and started a farm that supported the family Atticus – lawyer, widower, successful,

supports 2 children Jack – doctor Alexandra - farm

Maycomb (5)

Atticus related by blood or marriage to most families

Great Depression “tired old town” “courthouse sagged” – law is in disrepair “there was no hurry, for there was

nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see…”

Calpurnia, their cook, helps to raise the children.

Jem four years older than Scout has memories of their deceased mother.

Sometimes these memories make him unhappy. Dill:

Does not discuss father Playmate of Jem and Scout Visits aunt in the summer

Radley Place (8-13)

Arthur Boo Radley is a recluse and no one has seen him outside in years

Myth: Boo had gotten into trouble and his father imprisoned him in house as punishment.

He was not heard from for fifteen years later when he stabbed his father with a pair of scissors.

Dill dares Jem to touch the Radley house.

Radley Place (8-13)

“inside the house lived a malevolent phantom” “he went out when the moon was down and peeped in

windows” “any stealthy, small crimes were committed by him” “people’s chickens and household pets were found

mutilated” “They did not go to church” “shutters and doors

closed” – stand offish, misfits “he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could

catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained – if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off”

Chapter 2

Scout is excited to go to school Jem walks her (paid by Atticus)

“during school hours I was not to bother him, I was not to approach him with requests to enact a chapter of Tarzan and the Ant Men, to embarrass him with references to his private life…” (16)

Judgment Miss Caroline is from Winston County, which make

the children believe she cannot be completely trusted. Doesn’t understand society in Maycomb

Miss Caroline concludes that Atticus has taught Scout to read.

She makes Scout feel guilty for being educated – insults her father “tell him I’ll take over from here and try to undo the

damage…your father does not know how to teach…” (17) She learned on her own

The Cunninghams Walter has no lunch; Miss Caroline offers him a quarter

to go downtown. He refuses - he will be unable to pay her back Proud and honest family

“The Cunninghams never took anything they can’t pay back” (20) Scout tries to explain the C’s economic situation but is

disciplined by Miss Caroline, who doesn’t understand The C family is hardened by the Great Depression, which

make their farming unprofitable. Pay Atticus for legal services with firewood, nuts and turnip greens. Mr. C does not want to give up his land and willing to go hungry to retain his voting rights.

Chapter 3

At lunch, Scout rubs Walter’s face in the dirt. Jem breaks up the fight and invites Walter to join

them at the house for lunch - fairness Walter discusses farming conditions with

Atticus; Jem and Scout do not understand. Different worlds:

“Reason I can’t pass the first grade…is I’ve had to stay out ever’ spring an’ help Papa with the choppin’, but there’s another’n at the house now that’s field size” – children have to work

“he and Atticus talked together like two men” – Walter had no childhood, unlike Jem and Scout

Judgment

Walter asks for molasses; Scout criticizes Calpurnia pulls Scout into the kitchen and

tells her that Walter is a guest in the house and should be treated with more respect. “’Don’t matter who they are, anybody sets foot

in this house’s yo’ comp’ny, and don’t‘ you let me catch you remarkin’ on their ways like you was so high and mighty!” (24) – hospitality and equality regardless of social status

Burris Ewell

The Ewell’s are much poorer than the Cunningham’s and less respected by the community.

Only comes to the first day of school “Been comin’ to the first day of o’ the first grade fer

three year now” (27)

Lice – “cooties” “He was the filthiest human I had ever seen. His neck

was dark gray, the backs of his hands were rusty, and his fingernails were black…” (27)

Leaves cursing the teacher – pride (doesn’t want it to seem that he is listening to her)

School

Scout confesses that she does not want to return to school and that Atticus should teach her at home. “’You never went to school and you do all right,

so I’ll just sat home too. You can teach me…’” “’No I can’t…I have to make a living” (29)

Atticus: law requires her to attend school, but he will continue to read to her as long as she does not tell her teacher. “You never really understand a person until

you consider things from his point of view” (30) THEME

Bending the Law

Scout wants to be treated like Burris and be allowed to stay home, but he’s from a disgraced family and she’s not “None of them had done an honest day’s work” (30) “They were people, but they lived like animals”

Laws are different for the Ewells – people pretend not to notice their behavior “Mr. Bob Ewell…was permitted to hunt and trap out of

season” “when a man spends his relief checks on green whiskey

his children have a way of crying from hunger pains” “Are you going to take out your disapproval on his

children?”

Chapter 4 Scout is disappointed in school

“I could not help receiving the impression that I was being cheated out of something…I did not believe that twelve years of unrelieved boredom was exactly what the state had in mind” (33)

Hole in the tree Gum – Jem thinks it’s poisoned Indian head pennies

“Finders were keepers unless title was proven” (35) “They’re real strong magic” - imagination

Children’s games

Jem rolls Scout in a tire onto the Radley property Jem calls Scout a girl (offensive to her) since she’s being

emotional and imaginative; he wants to make her seem like a coward so that he becomes the hero

Imaginative role play “A Hot Steam’s somebody who can’t get to heaven, just

wallows around on lonesome roads an’ if you walk through him, when you die you’ll be one to, an’ you’ll go around at night suckin’ people’s breath” (37)

Dill, Jem and Scout pretend to be the Radley family and make up stories to re-enact

Chapter 5

Scout feels neglected by the boys – tries to beat up Dill to get his attention back

Scout spends time with Miss Maudie “Miss Maudie hated her house; time spent indoors was

time wasted. She was a widow, a chameleon lady who worked in her flower beds in an old straw hat and men’s coveralls, but after her five o’clock bath she would appear on the porch and reign over the street in magisterial beauty. She loved everything that grew in God’s earth…” (42)

Baptist prejudice – “foot-washing Baptists” believe that anything that is a pleasure is a sin (even Miss Maudie’s flowers) “The thoughts I spent too much time in God’s outdoors and

not enough time inside the house reading the Bible” (44)

Arthur/Boo

He used to be a polite young man; Miss Maudie suggests that Mr. Radley and his strict religion drove Arthur crazy“sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man

is worse than whiskey bottle in the hand of – oh, your father” (45)

“if Atticus Finch drank until he was drunk he wouldn’t be as hard as some men are at their best. There are just some kind of men who – who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one”

Jem and Dill plan to give Boo a note inviting him for ice cream, thinking some time outside might make him feel better

Atticus catches him: “stop tormenting that man” (49) – Warns them about being politeWhat Arthur does is his businessHe’s entitled to his privacyWhat might seem peculiar to children is not The civil way to communicate is through the front

door, not the side windowStay away from the house until invitedStop the asinine imitations making fun of people

and putting Boo’s history on display

Chapter 6

Children go peep into the Radley house and see a shadow of a man

Shotgun sounds – Mr. Radley thought a black man was stealing his greens “Says he’s got the other barrel waitin’ for the next

sound he hears in that patch, an’ next time he won’t aim high, be it dog, nigger, or – Jem Finch” (54)

As they crawl beneath the fence by the schoolyard, Jem’s pants get caught on the fence.

To escape he has to leave his pants behind – goes back at night to retrieve them (trembling of fear)

Chapter 7 Jem’s pants they were mended and

neatly hung over the fence. Treasure in the tree:

Twine – no one claims it, so they think it’s theirs.

Soap carvings that resemble themselves. A pocket watch Spelling bee medal

Scout is still unhappy in school, but Jem encourages her that it gets better the further she goes.

The children see Mr. Nathan Radley filling the hole with cement.

He tells Jem he plugged the knothole because the tree was dying; however, Atticus points out that the tree is still green.

Chapter 8

Cold winter: “Mr. Avery said it was written on the

Rosetta Stone that when children disobeyed their parents, smoked cigarettes and made war on each other, the seasons would change: Jem and I were burdened with the guilt of contributing to the aberrations of nature, thereby causing unhappiness to our neighbors and discomfort for ourselves” (63)

Mrs. Radley’s death: “Old Mrs. Radley died that winter, but her

death caused hardly a ripple – the neighborhood seldom saw her” (63).

Snowman (judgmental) – Atticus makes them disguise the caricature: Snow and mud = dark snowman (racist

comments from Scout) Fat snowman with a mean face = Mr. Avery Woman with small arms on her large hips =

Stephanie Crawford

Fire

Neighbors help her save some furniture – neighborhood works together in times of tragedy

Boo Radley puts a blanket around the chilled Scout – she’s upset at being so close to him

Despite losing her home, Miss Maudie is in good spirits and plans to build a smaller house and a larger garden.

Chapter 9 Fight with Cecil Jacobs – “Scout Finch’s

daddy defended niggers” (74) Atticus says fighting is childish and reprimands

Scout for the n-word “’Do you defend niggers, Atticus?’ ‘Of course I do.

Don’t say nigger, Scout. That’s common’” (75)

Tom Robinson Atticus thinks it’s the right thing to defend Tom –

morality and justice are important to him “If I didn’t I couldn’t hold my head up in town, I

couldn’t represent this county in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something”

Tom Robinson

Black man accused of raping a white woman “He lives in that little settlement beyond the town

dump. He’s a member of Calpurnia’s church, and Cal knows his family well. She says they’re clean-living folks…there’s been some high talk around town to the effect that I shouldn’t do much about defending this man…”

The town is racist and judges Atticus Even though he cannot win the case, but Atticus

explains to Scout that it is the proper thing to do and that Tom deserves the best defense he can offer.

Scout’s Reaction

Compares the attitudes of the Maycomb neighbors to the Civil War

Atticus prepares Scout for the racism she might encounter from neighbors “This time we aren’t fighting the Yankees, we’re

fighting our friends. But remember this, no matter how bitter things get, they’re still our friends and this is still our home” (76)

She feels noble when she walks away from a fight with Cecil – doesn’t want to disappoint Atticus

Christmas

Uncle Jack comes to visit; a doctor who explains all procedures he does; not terrifying

Scout learns to swear hoping that if she says she learned it in school Atticus won’t make her go anymore

Francis – cousin; Scout can’t stand him; they are polar opposites

Aunt Alexandra Aunt Alexandra – Atticus’s and Jack’s sister that owns

the farm; Scout thinks she was swapped at birth; a cold lady that want Scout to be a lady

Criticizes Atticus for letting Scout “run wild” and not disciplining her, but Atticus likes her just the way she is “Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I

could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn’t supposed to be doing things that required pants. Aunt Alexandra’s vision of my deportment involved playing with small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace she gave me…I should be the ray of sunshine in my father’s lonely life” (81)

Racism and Ageism Scout has to eat at the small table – Aunt

doesn’t think she is civilized enough for the adult table

News that Dill is homeless – “passed around from relative to relative”

Fight with Francis Aunt A’s opinion through Francis’s mouth: “If Uncle Atticus

lets you run around with stray dogs [referring to Dill] that’s his own business…it ain’t your fault if Uncle Atticus is a nigger-lover besides, but I’m here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family…we’ll never be able to walk the streets of Maycomb again. He’s ruinin’ the family” (83)

Scout defends her family With fists…

“I split my knuckle to the bone on his front teeth. My left impaired, I sailed in with my right” (84)

…and gets a spanking from Uncle Jack, which she thinks is unfair because he never heard her side of the story (unfair).

Atticus on his family Mad at Jack for not telling Scout the meaning of a

swear word– believes children should never be lied to Thinks all children go through a stage of bad

language and she’ll outgrow it when she stops getting attention for using it

However, Scout does have a temper and needs to learn to control it soon, especially given the up-coming court case and what people will say

Knows that Scout tries to obey him and loves her for it – doesn’t judge when she’s “bad”

Wants to raise his kids not to be judgmental

Chapter 10

Atticus’s age; compared to other fathers in town, he’s “feeble”

The children feel embarrassed because Atticus enjoys reading as opposed to hunting, fishing, drinking, poker or smoking, which the other fathers enjoy

He works in an office; is not visibly helping the community like the sheriff, the dump-truck driver, the farmer or the mechanic

Mockingbird (90) “Shoot all the bluejays you want…it’s a sin to

kill a mockingbird…Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out.” INNOCENCE Atticus does not allow Jem and Scout to hurt the

harmless animals in nature (unfair to destroy something that lives peacefully)

Can’t point the air rifle at the neighbors either

Mad Dog (rabies) Scares the whole town because of it being

February and its strange behavior “I thought mad dogs foamed at the mouth, galloped,

leaped and lunged at throats, and I thought they did it in August. Had Tim Johnson behaved thus, I would have been less frightened” (94).

The town is deserted, behind locked doors, as they wait for someone to take care of the dog “Nothing is more deadly than a deserted, waiting

street. The trees were still, the mockingbirds were silent” (94) – loss of innocence; the kids witness their father shoot the animal.

Mad Dog (rabies) Scares the whole town because of it being February

and its strange behavior “I thought mad dogs foamed at the mouth, galloped, leaped

and lunged at throats, and I thought they did it in August. Had Tim Johnson behaved thus, I would have been less frightened” (94).

The town is deserted, behind locked doors, as they wait for someone to take care of the dog “Nothing is more deadly than a deserted, waiting street. The

trees were still, the mockingbirds were silent” (94) – loss of innocence; the kids witness their father shoot the animal.

Atticus keeps his nickname of One-Shot Finch a secret from his kids, since he wants to appear civilized, not a killer.

Chapter 11

Mrs. Dubose: old, bed-ridden, ill kept a pistol concealed has a wrathful gaze interrogates the children about their behavior,

saying they will amount to nothing; thinks the Finch kids are wild

“You should be in a dress and camisole, young lady! You’ll grow up waiting on tables if somebody doesn’t change your ways” (101)

Conflict (racism)

Mrs. Dubose calls Atticus a “nigger lover” Jem, who normally controls his temper, reacts by

destroying Mrs. D’s flowers with Scout’s new baton toy

Atticus makes him apologize; Scout is worried about Jem’s safety given Mrs. D’s reputation – she thinks Atticus doesn’t care about his son “I did not understand how he could sit there in cold blood and

read a newspaper when his only son stood an excellent chance of being murdered with a Confederate Army relic. Of course Jem antagonized me sometimes until I could kill him, but when it came down to it he was all I had” (104)

Punishment and Lesson Learned Atticus defends the black community because

otherwise he would not be able to live with himself Jem has to go to Mrs. Dubose’s house on

Saturdays to read to her as payment; by spending time with Mrs. D the kids learn to

ignore insults, since she still calls Atticus names – lesson (words don’t hurt) each session she has fits that seem to last longer and longer until finally

the punishment is over – she’s a morphine (pain killer) addict and is trying to kick the habit before she dies so she’s not dependent on a substance; each session, she is able to last longer before needing the drug

Freedom from Outside ForcesLive for Yourself

“She said she was going to leave this world beholden to nothing and nobody. Jem, when you’re as sick as she was, it’s all right to take anything to make it easier, but it wasn’t all right for her. She said she meant to break herself of it before she died, and that’s what she did” (111) – FREEDOM, PRIDE, COURAGE to face pain

She had her views and Atticus respects that According to Atticus, Mrs. Dubose had more courage than a

man with a gun – he wanted to show his kids what real strength of character was, so they would stop worshiping him over the dog incident Atticus does not respect violence and guns, but strength and freedom and

bravery to fight against the odds The lesson mirrors what Atticus is trying to do by defending Tom

Robinson – a fight against the odds

Chapter 12

Jem reaches 12 and wants Scout to stop pestering him He’s difficult, inconsistent, and moody, acquired an air

of wisdom; yells at Scout for not being a girl; Calpurnia calls him Mister as a sign of adulthood – PUBERTY

“Mister Jem’s growin’ up. He’s gonna want to be off to himself a lot now, doin’ whatever boys do, so you just come right on in the kitchen when you feel lonely” (115)

Calpurnia and Scout become a bit closer due to Jem’s absence - LONELY

Church

Dill has a new family and is not coming to visit Atticus has work Calpurnia decides that the children should attend

church, so she takes the children to the “colored” church. She takes time to make sure they look their best (new

clothes, checks on them in baths)– concerned about appearances; proud of the kids and family she works for

Maycomb’s only black church is called First Purchase because it was bought with the earnings from the first freed slaves.

Church Lula criticized Cal for bringing the children to

their church, but the congregation is friendly and Reverend Sykes welcomes them. No hymn books or decorations - poor

Rev. Sykes takes up an offering to help support Tom Robinson’s wife. Forces everyone to donate more – locks the doors

until there is $10 – GUILT – the community has to help those in trouble; Helen can’t find work since Tom has been accused of rape

Calls specific people out for their sins; especially women, who are “worse than bootleggers”

Scout discovers that Tom is being charged by Bob Ewell. She cannot believe that anyone would believe a Ewell.

Calpurnia Most of the blacks in the community can’t read –

Calpurnia is proud of the fact that she can Taught by a friendly neighbor, since she couldn’t go to

school being black and a woman Taught Zeebo, her oldest son, who leads the hymns in

church – everyone follows what he says Cal speaks proper English, unless she is in her own

community; she doesn’t want to seem stuck up “folks don’t like to have somebody around knowing more

than they do. It aggravates them” (126). Scout is shocked that Cal has a “double life” – a life of

her own, with children and a community, outside of the Finches

Chapter 13

Aunt Alexandra will stay with the children for a while to give them a feminine influence.

Very concerned about appearances, but part of it is illusion “…she chose protective garments that drew up

her bosom to giddy heights, pinched in her waist, flared out her rear, and managed to suggest that Aunt Alexandra’s was once an hour-glass figure” (128)

Concerned about manners, morals, gossip, to advise, caution and warn

Judgment

Alexandra pointed out the shortcomings of various families in Maycomb to make hers look better

Preoccupied with heredity – thinks Jem and Scout lack pride in their history and attempts to teach them Morbid Merriweathers – suicide of a young boy Flighty Penfield women – girl giggling in church Drinking Streak Gambling Streak Mean Streak Funny Streak

Cast System in Society To Scout: the old citizens vs. the young Gestures and behaviors repeated generation

after generation “No Crawford Minds His Own Business” “Every Third Merriweather is Morbid” “The Truth Is Not in the Delafields” “All the Bufords Walk Like That”

Alexandra’s opinion is that the longer the family has owned the same piece of land, the more fine they are; gentle breeding

Tries to get Scout to behave like a lady by telling her family history

Chapter 14

As the Robinson trial draws closer, the Finch children become the focus of whispers amongst the townspeople; accused of being Atticus’s children

Aunt Alexandra forbids Scout to return to First Purchase and attempts to make Atticus fire Calpurnia, but Atticus defends her “Calpurnia’s not leaving this house until she wants

to…I couldn’t have gotten along without her all these years…She’s a faithful member of this family…she’s been harder on them in some ways than a mother would have been…the children love her” (137)

Jem is growing up – tries to discipline Scout, telling her not to bother Alexandra

Causes a fight (Scout doesn’t want to listen to her brother)Is pleased that he fights her back – means

that they are still equalsJem and Scout are sent to bed – Scout is

pleased that Jem has to go to bed at the same time as her

Dill Found under Scout’s bed – ran away from his new

family Imaginative – tells a grand tale of escape

“in chains and left to die in the basement…secretly kept alive on raw field peas by a passing farmer who heard his cries for help...[broke the chains and walked 2 miles]…discovered a small animal show and was immediately engaged to wash the camel…traveled” (140)

Actual story: he was lonely Dills new family gave him toys and food and all

material goods, but not attention (they would tell him to go play and spend time with each other only)

Even though Jem tells on Dill (and is a traitor since he takes the adult side) Scout realizes through Dill’s story that she is lucky to have a family that loves to spend time with her Atticus needed her advice Jem still sometimes liked to play Calpurnia “couldn’t get along” without her

Dill escapes into fantasies when his life is terrible – a dreamer; defense mechanism “Beautiful things floated around in his dreamy head.

He could read two books to my one, but he preferred the magic of his own inventions…he preferred his own world” (144)

Chapter 15 As the trial nears Tom Robinson is moved to the

Maycomb jail and concerns of a lynch mob arise. Atticus trusts his neighbors with doing the right

thing Alexandra believes Atticus’s decision to represent

Tom will bring disgrace to the Finch family name, but Atticus will not budge “that boy might go to the chair, but he’s not going till the truth’s

told…[I’m] in favor of Southern womanhood as much as anybody, but not for preserving polite fiction at the expanse of human life” (146-147)

Atticus goes to the jail at night to stand guard over Tom

The children follow, afraid for his safety.

Lynch Mob – out to hurt Tom Scout runs out from her hiding place to aid her

father. Jem and Dill follow. Atticus orders the children to return home. Jem

refuses – stands up to his father. Scout recognizes Mr. Cunningham and speaks to

him about his son Walter and his court case, trying to diffuse the situation. Mr. C eventually tells the crowd to go home. Mr. C, once recognized, becomes embarrassed and

withers. There is strength in a mob and anonymity – once

actions could be attached to a specific person, it is different

Mr. Underwood had the scene covered with a shotgun – aiding Atticus.

Chapter 16

Mob mentality (remember the Salem witch trials) – in a group, people don’t think for themselves; follow the actions of others and are more likely to turn to violence Mr. Cunningham: “a gang of wild animals can be stopped,

simply because they’re still human…you children last night made Walter Cunningham stand in my shoes for a minute” (157)

Interracial children: “They don’t belong anywhere. Colored folks won’t have

‘em because they’re half white; white folks won’t have ‘em ‘cause they’re colored” (161)

“Once you have a drop of Negro blood that makes you all black” (162)

The Trial

People from all over the county flood Maycomb. Miss Maudie refuses to attend the trial saying

that watching someone on trial for their life is like a Roman carnival.

Jem, Scout and Dill wait for the lunch group to reenter the courthouse so they can sneak in without their father noticing.

They wait too long and all the seats are taken. Reverend Sykes lets them seat in the balcony with all the other blacks – SIGNIFICANT – shows that the Finch family supports the black community and values equality.