Chapter Analysis
Chapter One
The story is narrated by Jean Louise Finch,
who is known by her nickname, Scout. She is one of the characters introduced in
this first chapter along with Jem Finch and Atticus Finch. A young boy called
Charles Baker Harris, or Dill, moves in next door and stays for the summer
along with his aunt, Miss Rachel Haverford. You are also introduced to Boo
Radley who lives in the run down Radley place. Boo has not been seen in years,
and there is lots of rumors surrounding what happened to him. You get a sense
of what Maycomb is like.
Chapter Two
Dill leaves Maycomb after the summer and returns to Meridian. Scout
prepares for her first day of school, however she finds that her teacher, Miss
Caroline Fisher, concludes that Scout must have been taught to read as she does
not believe she is literate. We are introduced to Walter Cunningham, a boy in
Scouts class who is very poor. They do not borrow from anyone, because they
can’t ever re pay them.
Chapter Three
Jem invites Walter Cunningham round for
dinner. Walter and Atticus discuss farm conditions ‘like two men’, and Walter
puts molasses all over his meat and vegetables. When Scout interrupts and
complains about Walter, Calpurnia calls Scout to the kitchen, where Calpurnia
then slaps her. There is an outbreak of ‘cooties’ at school. Originating from
the boy Burris Ewell, a member of the Ewell clan. He only arrives for the first
day of school every day.
Chapter Four
After school, Scout passes the Radley place
and spots a piece of tinfoil located in the knothole one of the Radleys’ oak
trees. She finds two pieces of chewing gum. They return to find two ‘Indian
head’ pennies in the knothole. Summer arrives and Dill returns to Maycomb. They
start to play childish games in which they act out the entire Radley family.
Chapter Five
Scout starts to drift from Jem and Dill, she
starts spending time with Miss Maudie Atkinson instead, one of the neighbors. She’s
convinced that Boo Radley is still alive and she thinks he was the victim of a
cruel father. She goes on to explain how Boo was always polite and friendly as
a child, and that most of the rumors are false. Jem and Dill try to give a note
to Boo, inviting him out. They try to stick the note on the window but Atticus
catches them and insists that they leave him alone.
Chapter Six
Jem, Dill and Scout sneak over to the
Radley place to look through one of the shutters. They see a shadow of a man
and run away, hearing a shotgun blast as they run. Jems pants get caught on the
fence as they’re making their exit. They return home to find that the
neighborhood, including Atticus are surrounding the Radley place. Miss Maudie
informs them that Mr. Radley shot ‘a negro’. When asked about where Jems pants
are, Dill interrupts and says he won them off him whilst playing strip poker
using matches.
Chapter Seven
School starts again. They visit the
knothole every week, finding a gift each visit. They received a ball of grey
twine, a spelling bee medal, a pocket watch and two figures carved in soap,
resembling Jem and Scout. One day they leave a note in the hole for Boo, only
to find it cemented the next day. When they ask about it, Mr. Radley insists
that he had to because the tree is dying. You learn from this chapter that Mr.
Radley is very controlling, and that Boo is given a childlike sense, in that he
leaves little items in a tree.
Chapter Eight
For the first time in a while, Maycomb has
a real winter, even some light snowfall. School is closed and Jem and Scout try
not to waste any of their snow, so they collect snow from Miss Maudies house
and place it in their own. They build a small snowman made with mostly dirt, as
there’s not enough snow. They make it look like one of their neighbors, Mr.
Avery. Atticus demands the disguise it, as it resembles Mr. Avery so much. That
night, Scout is woken by Atticus to find Miss Maudies house on fire. Whilst
devastated by the event, a blanket is stealthily placed on Scout. When she
realizes that Boo Radley placed it on her, Jem reveals the story of the
knothole and presents to Atticus. Scout nearly vomits when she finds out.
Chapter Nine
Scout finds herself in a situation with a
classmate, Cecil Jacobs, after he declares that ‘Scout Finch’s daddy defends
niggers’. But she just walks off. Atticus has been asked to defend Tom
Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman. At Christmas, Atticus’s brother Jack visits
for a week. They go to Finch’s landing, a house in the country where Atticus’s
sister and her husband live. Scout is introduced to Francis, Alexandra’s
grandson, who Scout finds the most boring person she has ever met. Francis
insults Dill and Atticus to the point that Scout beats him up. Scout overhears
Atticus telling Jack that the black man he’s defending is innocent, but will
not be found innocent over an all white jury.
Chapter Ten
Scout identifies that Atticus isn't like
the normal men in Maycomb. Instead of shooting and hunting he spends his time
reading. And he is somewhat older than all the other fathers in Maycomb. There
is a mad dog wandering the street. Calpurnia calls Atticus who returns with
Heck Tate, the sheriff of Maycomb. Atticus shoots the animal with a rifle and
hits it first time, to Scout and Jems amazement. They are then told that as a
young man, Atticus was the best shot in the county.
Chapter Eleven
Scout and Jem are on their way to the business district located downtown of Maycomb. However to get to downtown Maycomb they must pass the house of Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose. This woman hurls insults art them every time they walk past no matter how nice they are to her. One day she insults they're father for defending a black man, that Atticus is no better than 'the niggers and trash he works for'. Jem snaps and takes Scouts new baton and uses it to destroy all of Mrs. Dubose's camellias. As punishment, Jem must visit Mrs Dubose every day for a month and endure all of her abuse and peculiar fits. Once the punishment is over, Mrs Dubose dies about a month later, and Atticus reveals that she was addicted to morphine. Atticus then gives Jem a box that Mrs Dubose had left her maid for Jem. Inside it lies a single white camellia.
Questions
1) What is Dills full name?
2) Where does Dill come from?
3) Who is the boy that arrives only for the first day of school each year?
4) What two items does Scout find in the knothole?
5) How do Jem and Dill plan to contact Boo Radley?
6) What was the excuse for losing Jems pants?
7) Why did Mr Radley cement the knothole?
8) Who do Jem and Scout build a snowman to represent?
9) Who does Jem get into a fight with and why?
10) What is the name of Maycomb county sheriff?
11) What is Mrs Duboses' full name?
Chapter Eleven
Scout and Jem are on their way to the business district located downtown of Maycomb. However to get to downtown Maycomb they must pass the house of Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose. This woman hurls insults art them every time they walk past no matter how nice they are to her. One day she insults they're father for defending a black man, that Atticus is no better than 'the niggers and trash he works for'. Jem snaps and takes Scouts new baton and uses it to destroy all of Mrs. Dubose's camellias. As punishment, Jem must visit Mrs Dubose every day for a month and endure all of her abuse and peculiar fits. Once the punishment is over, Mrs Dubose dies about a month later, and Atticus reveals that she was addicted to morphine. Atticus then gives Jem a box that Mrs Dubose had left her maid for Jem. Inside it lies a single white camellia.
Questions
1) What is Dills full name?
2) Where does Dill come from?
3) Who is the boy that arrives only for the first day of school each year?
4) What two items does Scout find in the knothole?
5) How do Jem and Dill plan to contact Boo Radley?
6) What was the excuse for losing Jems pants?
7) Why did Mr Radley cement the knothole?
8) Who do Jem and Scout build a snowman to represent?
9) Who does Jem get into a fight with and why?
10) What is the name of Maycomb county sheriff?
11) What is Mrs Duboses' full name?
