1 Jacob Thompson

September 09, 2012

Chapter one
Chapter Notes
-At age 13 Jem had his arm badly broken
-Scout blamed the Ewells saying they started it all but Jem (who is 4 years older) says it started
the summer Dill meet them when Dill gave them the idea of trying to get Boo Radley come out
of his house.
- Scout says in a broad view it really began with Andrew Jackson that if he never ran the Creeks
up the creek Simon Finch would of never of had to paddle to Alabama. They couldnt decide
who was right so they asked their dad who said theyre both right.
-The Finches were shamed because they didnt have any recorded ancestors on any side of the
Battle of Hastings.
-Simon bought 3 slaves and built a home on the Alabama river, he lived long then died rich.
-It was a tradition for men from the family to live there and make their living from cotton
-Atticus Finch went to study law then eventually came back to Maycomb County to be a lawyer
though his first two clients were the last two people to be hanged in the county jail. Atticus like
maycomb and knew almost everyone there and was related to almost every family through blood
or marriage because of Simon Finchs industry.
-Scouts and Jems mother died when Scout was 2 so she never really remembered her but Jem
did and would sometimes let out a lengthy sigh and go play by himself.

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Chapter two-three
Some Questions
Miss Carolines teaching methods are to teach by the book and exactly that. She thinks
its harder to teach someone with some background knowledge then without because they
already know stuff they are teaching and thinks they would get it mixed up. They do not make
sense because not everyone learns the same way and reading is reading whether you learnt it at
home or at school. Luckily I have not had a teacher like Miss Caroline. Scout is trying to teach
Miss Caroline the habits of some of the kids that some do not go to school other then the first day
to try to save her some hassle of wondering where they are all year. Scout also teaches Miss
Caroline the financial habits of one of the students because the student did not wish to speak up
because of embarrassment. Atticus treats Scout like a child a lot of the time acting like she does
not understand things happening or what she is saying.

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Chapter 4-6
Chapter notes
When coming home from school one day Scout noticed a knot hole in a tree she noticed
two pieces of gum in wrappers, after testing to see if they were poisoned she chewed it until Jem
made her spit it out. On the last day of school Scout and Jem walked by the knothole together
and found a ring box wrapped in gum wrappers and inside were two scrubbed Indian head
pennies. Jem kept the pennies in a trunk in his room, they didnt know who had left them those
treasures but they thought about it all summer. Dill came back to Maycomb a few days later the
three of them enjoyed rolling in large tires until one time Scout rolled down to the front lawn of
the Boo radly place. After that Jem made a game, The Boo Radly Game, the game involved
acting out certain parts of the stories they heard about Boo Radly. Atticus caught them and said if
that game was about Boo Radly they better quit playing it, Jem said it wasnt so they kept
playing it.
Scout convinced Jem to stop playing the Boo Radly game which was reacting the
stabbing scene that allegedly happened between Boo and his father. Even though Dill had asked
Scout to marry him, Jem and Dill spent a lot of their time by them selfs and not including Scout
so Scout began visiting Miss Maudie Atkinson, she always let Jem and Scout play in her yard if
they stayed out of her flowers. Jem and Scout never really got to meet her but once they did they
found out she was really nice. Scout asked her about Boo Radly, she said that all the stories
Scout heard about him were lies and not to be listened to. Dill and Jem wrote Boo a note and
delivered to his window ceil with a fishing pole so they wouldnt have to go up to the house. The
note asked Boo to come out and visit them and they three children would buy him an ice cream

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cone. Atticus caught them and told them to leave Boo to his privacy and he tricked Jem into
telling him that the game they were playing did involve Boo Radly.

Jem and Dill convinced Scout to come with them to look in Boos window. They couldnt see
anything so Jem walked right up the porch and looked in when they noticed a black shadow
leaning over him, the three of them took off running. When they were at the property line they
heard a shotgun go off, they scrambled through the fence but Jem ripped his pants and had to
wriggle out of them to continue. In the front yard a small crowd had gathered and Nathan Radly
said he saw a black guy on his property but he didnt shoot at him but shot the next thing that
made a noise. They noticed Jem wasnt wearing pants so they lied and said they were playing
strip poker played with matches. Jem went back to get his pants so no one would suspect
anything.

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Chapter 7-8
Double entry Journal

There are no clearly defined seasons in South

I have only been to one other place where the

Alabama; Summer drifts into Autumn and

climate is in a similar fashion. That is why this

Autumn is sometimes never followed by

passage reminds me of when we took a trip to

winter, but turns to days old spring that melts

Labrador city. In Labrador, the climate is

into summer again.

similar to Maycombs but is the exact opposite

because in Labrador there is two main seasons,
there is snow from October until late May and
the rest of the months are Autumn
temperatures. I think it is strange that in the
South they would never have experienced
winter before and how up north they have
never known the warmth of summer. Having
only two seasons a year would be very boring,
it would not be as exciting as having ever
changing seasons.

Chapter nine notes

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Cecil Jacobs says Atticus defends niggers and that he is a nigger lover
Atticus tells Scout not to say nigger.
Atticus tells Scout he shouldnt be defending Tom but he is because it would go against what he
stands for, justice. He tells Scout he knows he is going to lose the case already but says just
because they are beat is not a reason from them to not try to win.
Scout doesnt fight Cecil Jacobs the next day even though he provokes her because Atticus told
her not to let this case bother her.
Christmas came and Uncle Jack came to stay with them for the week
The Finches went to Aunt Alexandras for Christmas where Scout had to put up with her
annoying cousin Francais.
Scout and Jem got air rifles for Christmas
Aunt Alexandra kept pestering Atticus to try and get him to teach her to be a lady.
Francis calls Atticus a nigger lover so Scout punched him in the face and Uncle Jack has to break
it up
Scout explains to uncle Jack how he doesnt understand children

Chapter 10-11 character journal

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Heck Tate
I was at the station with Atticus Finch when I get this call about a mad dog, I grabbed my
old rifle and Atticus and I drove there as fast as we could. We pulled up to Atticuss house and
sure enough we could see it once he was in sight I could tell it was definitely mad. I ran up close
to get a shot but that old Tim Johnson was right in front of the Radly place, I wouldnt want to
miss and hit the house so I told Atticus Finch to shoot him since he is a much better shot than I,
he denied at first but then agreed and killed the mad beast with one shot. I was just telling his son
that he was the best shot in all Maycomb but Atticus hushed me up, guess Ill let him tell them
himself.
Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose
I was just sitting on my front porch when I saw them two Finch children walk by. In the
middle of the day! They must of been playing hooky from school. That oldest boy tries telling its
Saturday but they cant fool me, I know its Wednesday. Then I see the young girl wearing
overalls, I prit n near fell out of my wheel chair, who does Atticus think he is letting a young
girl wear overalls, I wouldnt be surprised if she ended up waiting at the OK cafe, a mighty Finch
working as a common waitress HA! I woke up a few hours later and I looked out the widows and
I saw that Finch boy tearing up my flowers! Ill have a word with Atticus about this when he
goes by. He said he will make Jem Finch read to me haha that will teach him for sure.

Chapter 12, 13,14 notes

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Jem is now 12
He tells scout to stop pestering him and act like a normal girl his age.
The state legislature, which Atticus is a member of, is called into emergency meetings, forcing
Atticus to travel to the state capital every day for two weeks.
Cal takes the kids to her black church
They find Aunt Alexandra at home when they get back
13
Aunt Alexandra says she should stay there to teach Scout to be more of a lady
She is very proud to be a Finch and thinks the kids should be too.
14
Lots of rumors about Jem and Scout with Attiucs defending blacks
Aunt Alexandra tells Scout she cant go back to Cals church
Jem tells Scout not to be mad at Alexandra but she doesnt agree so he attacks him and in their
ruckus they discover Dill under their bed.
They found out Dill ran away because he did not get enough attention, Jem tells Atticus, they
give him some food then go next door to tell Dills aunt where he is. Dill goes to sleep in Jems
bed but goes to Scouts bed a while after.

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Chapter 15 chapter notes

Heck Tate takes Tom to jail for his own safety from fear of a mob Alexandra disagrees with
Atticus for defending Tom and that it would be a disgrace to the family
One night Atticus takes his car to town at 10 PM Jem, Scout, and Dill wondering what he is
doing follows him. They find him sitting on the jailhouse porch reading the newspaper and just
as they are about to leave a bunch of cards pull up and lots of men get out of them. They tell
Atticus to get out of the way so they can get Tom. The children run beside Atticus so Atticus tells
Jem to take them home but Jem refuses, one of the men in the mob tell Atticus to get these kids
out of here. Scout sees Mr Cunningham in the mob and asks him how his legal entailments are
working out and about his son and asks him to tell him she said hey. Mr Cunningham gets really
embarrassed so he squats down and tells her that he will say hey and tells the mob to leave.

Chapter 16 Dolphus Raymond

Dolphus Raymond is someone who is on the lower scale of class in the society Maycomb. He is
a wealthy man and he owns a lot of land by the river. People think he is on the bottom of the

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class scale because, his first wife killed herself because she found out he had a black mistress and
the town blames that for the reason why Dolphus is always drunk. He lives with the black folks,
and has mixed children with a black woman people in Maycomb think he does this because he is
too drunk to care or to get his life back in line.

Chapter 17 perspective journal from Bob Ewell

I was sittin in the courtroom when Atticus Finch calls me to the stand, I walk up there and they
make me do some sort of lawyer type thing where I swear to god. I tells him Im the daddy of my
young Mayella then he asks me to tell him what append of November 21st. I tell him I was just
coming home with a load o kindlin when I heard Mayella scream, just fore sundown. So I
dropped my kindling and ran as fast as I could to the window and I saw that Tom Robinson was
on Mayella! I told Atticus I had a clear view and the room was all messed up like there was a
fight. I run in the house and see her laying there then I run to Tate as quick as I can. That tricking
Atticus, he made me look left handed so it looked like I beat up my Mayella! Always those
tricking lawyers like Atticus Finch trying to trick me!

Chapter 18 Mayella Ewell Character sketch

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Mayella Ewell is a victim of assault and abuse. She was not abused by Tom Robinson
even though he is the one on trial for his life. Bob Ewell blamed a black man because of his
hatred for the blacks and it would be perfectly believable in a racist society. Bob is a drunken,
poor man who beat his daughter Mayella and instead of stopping he creates a lie to hide the truth
about his family and what he does to his daughter. Mayella was too scared to say anything bad
about Bob so she went along with the whole trial and because of her fear and lying an innocent
man is on trial for his life.
Mayella is not by nature a bad person, she plant flowers in a garden that she looks after
by herself to try and make herself feel better. The flowers she plants show that she wants to be a
better person and that she tries to be and tries to make her life better but cant because of Bobs
other kids and her abusive father. During the trial Mayella almost says that Tom is innocent by
mistakenly saying that she didnt recall that Tom hit her. Another time while on trial Atticus asks
if Bob is good to her, she says yes but sometimes... And doesnt finish the sentence because Bob
is staring her down and threatening her with more beatings just by the look of his eyes. Atticus
finishes his her sentence with except when hes drinking and Mayella just nods her head.
Tom Robinson was the perfect person for Bob to blame. Tom is a black man who
Mayella tried to seduce just to have a human interaction. Just because of his race, and the huge
amount of racial prejudice in Maycomb, everyone believes he did it. The only reason Mayella
tries to seduce Tom is because she is lonely, during the trial Atticus asks her if she has friends
and she thinks he is making fun of her for not having any friends. One of the reasons Mayella
doesnt have friend is that she is too busy being a mother to Bobs other children, since their
mother died when they were young they didnt have a mother and with Bob being drunk most of
the time they didnt have any parental figure at all.

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Chapter 19 Tom Robinson

Tom is a young, innocent, hardworking black man. He is perfectly healthy and fit except
he has no control over his left arm which had been injured in an accident. Tom was married with
three kids and picked cotton for Mr. Link. Tom is very nice to everyone even when they bring
him to court, never during the trial did Tom say that any Ewell is lying he just says that Mayella
must be mistaken in her mind.
The only thing Tom has even done wrong in his life is he took pity on a white girl,
Mayella Ewell, which in this society all black people are inferior so should never feel sorry for a
white person. He often helped her by doing a bit of work around her house on his way to work
because he thought that she was all alone and had no one else to help her. Maycomb is too racist
of a society to believe Tom that he had not done anything wrong so the jury has to believe the
white person no matter what they say over a black mans words any time.

Chapter 20 Dolphus Raymond

The kids, (Dill, Jem and Scout) learn that Dolphus Raymond is never really drunk and that the
bottle he carries around is only coca-cola. Scout cant comphrend why anyone would want to

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make them self look a particular way when they arent really like that. Dolphus explains it to the
kids that he does this so the society can have an explanation for Dolphuss actions such as
marrying a black woman. The kids also learn that Dolphus has sympathy for the black people
and that he can see the racism in the society of Maycomb.

Chapter 21 double entry journal

"Now don't you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I

This scene happens when Jem is sure the jury

ain't ever seen any jury decide in favour

will find Tom innocent. Jem does not know

of a coloured man over a white man. . . ."

that all levels of government in the US are

legally supposed to be racist. Because of the
Jim Crow laws black people were not
considered to be as equal as white people and
as a result were not treated fairly.
Black people know they are not equal that is
why the reverend still thinks they are going to
lose the case even though the evidence is very
clear that Tom is innocent.

Chapter 22

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How does the Black community repay Atticus

The black community has a lot of respect for Atticus. They did not expect a white man to
actually try to defend a black man (as most lawyers would not try to win a black mans case) but
yet Atticus did. As Atticus leaves the courtroom after the verdict is delivered all members of the
black community in the balconies stand, and stay standing until Atticus leaves the building. In
later days some members of the black community also give him luxury foods that were not as
common in the depression.
Chapter 23 Double entry Journal
Jem,

see if you can stand in Bob Ewells shoes

I can see Atticus is trying to do the noble thing

a minute. I destroyed his last shred of

in this situation. Atticus has always been the

credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin

noble figure in the novel, from taking on a case

with. The man had to have some kind of

he knew he would lose and be shammed by

comeback, his kind always does. So if spitting

some for it to getting spit on just to save

in my face and threatening me saved Mayella

Mayella getting beat by her father.

Ewell one extra beating, thats something Ill

gladly take. He had to take it out on somebody

James Gordon Jr.: Why do we have to chase

and Id rather it be me than that houseful of

him? He didn't do anything wrong.

children out there. You understand?

Lt. James Gordon: Because he's the hero Gotham

deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So
we'll hunt him. Because he can take it. Because
he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful
protector. A dark knight.

This scene from the movie The dark knight is

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similar to the position Atticus is involved in the

novel. Atticus didnt do anything wrong but
still people criticize him and taunt him for
defending a black man. Atticus is a great role
model towards a racist free society but he is
not the role model the people of that time
needed to break them free of racism. Atticus
can take what people do and say about him, he
is trying to be nobler than those who taunt him
to benefit other people such as Mayella from
getting harmed.

Chapter 24
Aunt Alexandras tea party relates to the Tom Robinson plot because they members of the
tea party are trying to act proper and sophisticated. Yet they see nothing wrong with see nothing
wrong with sentencing an innocent man just because he is black. Most members of Maycomb are
the same way, they think just because they have laws that freed black people from slavery they
are being proper and equal.
Members of Maycomb are acting all for show but are really still racist which is why Tom
got sentenced. Scouts teacher is a good example of acting proper but being racist. She says
Germany is a racist country because during world war two they were executing Jewish people.
She also says America isnt racist because it is a democracy and that everyone is equal but finds

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nothing out of the ordinary when an innocent black man is sent to death because he cannot be
trusted over a white person.

Chapter 25 chapter notes

September begins and when Jem doesnt want to squish a bug because the bug is innocent Scout
thinks Jem is the one becoming more like a girl.
Dill went back to his parents house out of state.
Atticus tells Toms wife that he died while trying to escape from prison
Everyone thought Toms death typical for a black man, to just run from justice,
Chapter 26 Questions
The reference to Adolf Hitler in this chapter ties in with racism and intolerance because
Scouts class and teacher says Adolf Hitler is racist for executing Jewish people. The teacher
prints DEMOCRACY on the board and Scout says that democracy in the US means equal
rights for all and special privileges for none. The teacher agrees with Scout and says that the US
treats everyone equally. The teacher fails to see there are no black kids in the classroom, that
black people are considered inferior to white people in Maycomb, and that an innocent man is on
trial for his life because he cannot be believe since he is black.

Chapter 27 Questions

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Bob Ewell got and lost a job within a couple days. (Lee 332)
Judge Taylor was not a Sunday-night churchgoer: Mrs. Taylor was. Judge Taylor
savored his Sunday night hour alone in his big house, and churchtime found him holed up in his
study reading the writings of Bob Taylor (no kin, but the judge would have been proud to claim
it). One Sunday night, lost in fruity metaphors and florid diction, Judge Taylors attention was
wrenched from the page by an irritating scratching noise. Hush, he said to Ann Taylor, his fat
nondescript dog. Then he realized he was speaking to an empty room; the scratching noise was
coming from the rear of the house. Judge Taylor clumped to the back porch to let Ann out and
found the screen door swinging open. A shadow on the corner of the house caught his eye, and
that was all he saw of his visitor. Mrs. Taylor came home from church to find her husband in his
chair, lost in the writings of Bob Taylor, with a shotgun across his lap. (Lee 333)
Helen Robinson, Mr Link (Toms old employer) hired Toms wife Helen to be a cook.
But she took the long way to work every day, Mr. Link asked her about it and she said Mr. Ewell
kept pestering her and bothering her with threats. So Link told Bob he would have him arrested if
he kept bothering Helen for taking the short route. (Lee 334)
Bob Ewell is bothering everyone who is involved in the case in anyway and this foreshadows
that he will also try to cause harm to the others that were in the case, including Jem and Scout.

Chapter 28/29 double entry journal

Hey, Boo

Scout has been lurking Boo for the past few

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years. She has lots of questions to ask him like

if he really did kill his father, why he doesnt
come out to play with them. But when she
finally meets him all that comes out is Hey
Boo. Scout is too nervous and it would be
embarrassing if she started asking questions at
a time like this.

Chapter 30 Journal entry Heck Tate

That Atticus Finch, always wants to follow his precious law, even if it means his own son will be
in jail! I told him I will call it in that Ewell fell on his knife; there is no reason for an innocent
boy to be in jail for defending himself. Then there is Mr. Arthur, the one who really stabbed Bob,
of course he did it to save Atticuss kids, there is no way I can call it in and say the Arthur killed
him, he is too innocent to be sent to prison, or death. Id say in this particular case that we should
just let the dead bury the dead.

Chapter 31 Journal Entry Boo Radly

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I motion towards the door trying to ask Scout to walk with me home but she misinterprets it and
leads me down a hallway were she says I can pet Jem. I grabbed hold of Scouts hand and she
understood I wanted to go. When we got to the front porch she stopped, I had expected her to
walk with me home so I said will you take me home. We linked arms and walked towards my
house up to the front porch and I walked inside and never came out again.

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Chapter notes from To Kill A Mocking Bird

Jacob Thompson
ENG2D1
Mr.Rogers
07/12/12