They started to eat dinner and Walter asked for some syrup. There are several important ideas introduced in these first few chapters. Additionally, the first few chapters serve as an introduction to the town of Maycomb. The reader sees the first glimpse of racism with Nathan Radley who, in some of his comments about the trespasser, seems to equate a black man with a dog. Eventually, he convinces Jem to run up and touch the Radley home.
Jem boasted that he had touched the house one time. The novel centers largely around the Finch family and, in the first chapter, they are introduced. Curiously enough, Jem tells his sister that, when he went back for the pants the night they tried to spy on Boo, they were neatly hanging over the fence and the hole in them had been mended. He said that if Scout kept going to school they would keep reading together. The events of the trial have made the children consider that maybe Boo needs a good home to run to Dill's theory or maybe he prefers to stay out of contact with people Jem's theory.
Glossary Big Mules political term referring to modern Alabama power brokers. Ewell is lying outside dead with a kitchen knife in his ribs. Atticus finds them playing in the yard and suspects that their game is at the expense of their neighbors and tells the trio to stop. After dinner, Atticus called Scout to sit on his lap for their usual reading time. As Scout tells us, when Calpurnia gets mad, her grammar starts going downhill. Atticus looks at Scout with a sense of wonder, and thanks Boo for the lives of his children. Chapter 4 On this particular day, as Scout runs back home from school, she sees something glistening on the oak tree outside the Radley house.
When Burris leaves, he shouts obscenities at Miss Fisher, causing her to cry. When they arrive home, there are several adults gathered at their house including Miss Maudie, Atticus, and Stephanie Crawford, the neighborhood gossip. This idea of appearance is also apparent in gender roles throughout the novel. Walter eagerly accepts the invitation and when at the house, quickly gives himself a healthy portion of food. Tate notes the mark that Mr. At recess, Scout complains to Jem, but Jem says that Miss Caroline is just trying out a new method of teaching.
Miss Caroline told Burris to sit back down but Burris started to get mad. Instead, she plays with the boys and speaks her mind. She is thinking of returning to get them, when Jem stops her because he hears a strange noise. Scout is all the more confused because her father is not like the authority figures she meets at school. Ewell meant to seriously harm or kill the children.
Despite this moment of passion, the boys spend most of their time together and neglect Scout. The ordinary and harmless event Halloween pageant develops into an evening fraught with horror. When Scout begins to feel left out by Jem and Dill, she starts to spend considerable time with a neighbor, Miss Maudie Atkinson. She knows that at heart, Boo is a good person. Ewell fell onto his knife and killed himself, which irritates Atticus, who wants Jem to be treated as fairly as anyone else and not have exceptions made. There is a crunching sound and Jem screams. When they got in the kitchen Calpurnia angrily whispered to Scout that Walter comes from a different family than them and that he was a guest and that if he wanted to eat out the whole table cloth you let him.
While they are playing together, Scout gets into an old tire which is pushed over by Jem. They are two figurines carved out of soap who looking suspiciously like Jem and Scout. However, her new teacher-Miss Caroline-insists that her father must have taught her to read, basically calling her a liar and making Scout feel guilty over her education. Additionally, the mending of Jem's pants and the gifts in the tree can be attributed to Boo, though the novel never explicitly mentions he is behind this. Scout's mother died when she was two years old; however, Jem does have some memory of her. Given all the injustices he had experienced in his life, Tom did not think it possible that his case would be appealed or that the outcome would be favorable. After her first day of school, Scout reflects on her experiences with her father, who realizes something is wrong.
Lee does an expert job of getting this message across to readers simply by having the children call Atticus by his first name. One reason that Dill dwells in fantasy rather real life is that nothing can be as frightening in fantasy as it can be in reality. Chapter 27 Scout relates a few events that have recently occurred in Maycomb. She doesn't understand why the boys eventually pull away from her and exclude her from their activities. Toward the end of the summer, Atticus catches Jem and Dill when they plan to leave a note on the window at the Radley house, inviting Boo out to have ice cream. So, Scout spends her time hanging out with Miss Maudie Atkinson, a usually stand-off-ish old lady.