To Kill a Mockingbird Post 2: Chapters 1-3

Chapter 1

Jean Louise Finch. That's the full name of the protagonist of this story. She almost always goes by Scout, though. The story is told through a first-person narrative from Scout's perspective. She's all grown up now, but she tells us her story starting from when she was young. She begins the novel by explaining to us that her brother, Jem, broke his arm right before he turned thirteen. Scout and Jem don't seem to agree on the preceding events leading up to the accident. Their father, Atticus, says that they're both correct. This is where the story begins.

The family lives in Maycomb, Alabama. Maycomb is a small, quaint little town that was suffering from the detrimental effects of The Great Depression in 1933, when the story begins.

The family consists of four people: Atticus (father), Jem and Scout (children), and Calpurnia (the cook, a black woman). The mother died when Scout was two. Scout is now five; Jem is nine.

A boy named Dill moved into town in the summer of '33. Dill quickly became good friends with Jem and Scout. Scout tells us that there is a strange house in the neighborhood. I instantly thought of a haunted house. The inhabitants are rarely seen. It's very mysterious. A boy named Boo Radley lives inside, but no one has seen him for fifteen years! At prima facie, this seems pretty creepy, but I'm a rational thinker so I just think the kids are overreacting and making up stories to entertain themselves. Dill dared Jem to simply go up and touch the house. He took the dare, and nothing happened.

Chapter 2

"First day of school! Wake up! Come on. First day of school!"

Scout has been looking forward to her first day of school for a long time. That time has finally come. She quickly learns that it wasn't quite what she was expecting. Her teacher doesn't know how to deal with kids. She's only 21 years old. When she finds out that Scout's father has been teaching her how to read, she told Scout that that was bad, and to stop having her father educate her. After recess, the teacher announces that it is lunch time. When she learns that one of the boys doesn't have any lunch money, she is very confused. Scout says that the boy is a Cunningham, in an attempt to explain things to Miss Caroline Fisher. The kids live in a small town, and everyone knows that the Cunninghams are poor. Miss Fisher just moved to Maycomb, and didn't understand. She offers the boy a quarter saying that he can pay her back the next day, but Scout explains that he won't be able to pay her back. Miss Fisher became very agitated and stuck Scout's hand with a ruler.

Her teacher didn't look quite like this, but you get
the idea.

Chapter 3

Naturally, Scout was pretty mad at Walter Cunningham. Scout then proceeds to rub Walter's face in the dirt. Luckily, Jem was around to stop it. Jem invites Walter over for lunch. Scout is astonished when Walter soaks all his food with molasses. She exclaims a rude comment and is taken into the kitchen by Calpurnia and is punished. Scout finishes her food in the kitchen. The next day at school, a new kid comes into play. His name is Burris. Burris is a filthy bad boy who looks as if he doesn't know the meaning of the word "bathe." Burris only comes to one day of school a year to stay out of trouble with the law. The teacher screams when she sees a "cootie" (a small insect) crawl out of his hair. She demands he goes home and take a bath. He goes home alright, with a bang. His exclamations are so offensive that Miss Fisher begins to cry. Scout tells her father that she doesn't want to go to school anymore. Atticus disagrees. The duo compromises. Atticus will continue to read to Scout at home, and Scout will go to school and keep the home-education a secret.