To Kill a Mockingbird Part 1 Notes

1960 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Copyright (C) 1960 by Harper Lee. Copyright (C) renewed 1988 by Harper Lee. Published by arrangement with McIntosh and Otis, Inc.
DEDICATION for Mr. Lee and Alice in consideration of Love & Affection
"Lawyers, I suppose, were children once." - Charles Lamb
Chapter 1: Introduces the setting and main characters, focusing on Jem's broken arm and the childhood perspectives of Scout and Jem.
The story begins with Jem's arm being badly broken at the elbow when he was nearly thirteen. His left arm remained somewhat shorter than his right
The children sometimes discuss the events leading to Jem's accident, Scout insists that the Ewells started it all, while Jem believes it began the summer Dill came to them, sparking the idea of making Boo Radley come out.
The story traces back to Andrew Jackson, suggesting that if General Jackson hadn't run the Creeks up the creek, Simon Finch would never have paddled up the Alabama.
The family history is traced back to Simon Finch, a fur-trapping apothecary from Cornwall, with piety exceeded only by his stinginess. To escape the persecution of Methodists, Simon seeks religious freedom in America.
Simon Finch established a homestead with the aid of three slaves on the banks of the Alabama River, becoming wealthy but conflicted due to his religious beliefs against extravagance and the possession of human chattels.
It was customary for the men in the family to remain on Simon’s homestead, Finch’s Landing, and make their living from cotton.
Atticus Finch, breaks family tradition by going to Montgomery to study law while his younger brother studies medicine in Boston. Alexandra remains at Finch's landing
Atticus establishes his law practice in Maycomb, where his office contains little more than a hat rack, a spittoon, a checkerboard and an unsullied Code of Alabama, and develops a distaste for criminal law after his first two clients are hanged.
Maycomb is described as a tired and old town where Atticus is related to nearly every family, and people move slowly because there is nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with.
The narrator, Scout, lives with her father Atticus, her brother Jem, and their cook Calpurnia on the main residential street in town.
Scout describes Calpurnia as a tyrannical presence who is always ordering her out of the kitchen and calling her home when she isn't ready to come home.
The children's mother died when Scout was two, so she never felt her absence, but Jem does remember her
The children's summertime boundaries were Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose’s house to the north and the Radley Place to the south.
Charles Baker Harris, nicknamed Dill, arrives from Meridian, Mississippi to spend the summer with his aunt, Miss Rachel Haverford.
Dill's family is from Maycomb County originally, and his mother works for a photographer in Meridian, and Dill won five dollars in a Beautiful Child contest which he spent on picture shows
The children spend their summer days improving their treehouse, acting out dramas based on adventure stories, and trying to make Boo Radley come out.
The Radley Place is described as a dark and mysterious house inhabited by a malevolent phantom named Boo Radley, who is said to peep in windows at night and cause azaleas to freeze.
According to neighborhood legend, Boo Radley got in with the wrong crowd as a teenager, leading to an incident where they locked the town beadle in the courthouse outhouse.
To avoid sending him to the state industrial school, Mr. Radley promised to keep Arthur (Boo) out of trouble, leading to Boo's seclusion in the Radley house for fifteen years.
Miss Stephanie Crawford said Boo was sitting in the livingroom cutting some items from The Maycomb Tribune to paste in his scrapbook, As Mr. Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parent’s leg.
Sheriff said old Mr. Radley said no Radley was going to any asylum, when it was suggested that a season in Tuscaloosa might be helpful to Boo
Mr. Radley employed some form of intimidation to keep Boo out of sight, and Jem figured that Mr. Radley kept him chained to the bed most of the time.
The Radley house died from the day Mr. Radley took Arthur home
Mr. Radley died and Boo’s elder brother returned from Pensacola
The children became fascinated by the Radleys and wonder what Boo does in the house and Jem slides his feet through the gravel to mimic his feet.
Jem describes Boo as six-and-a-half feet tall, dined on raw squirrels and cats, has bloodstained hands, a long jagged scar across his face, yellow and rotten teeth, popped eyes, and drools.
The children dared Jem to touch the Radley gate.
Jem speeds to the side of the house, slaps it with his palm and runs back. The children thought they saw an inside shutter move.
Chapter 2: Scout begins school and encounters challenges with her teacher, Miss Caroline Fisher, who disapproves of her literacy and punishes her for defending Walter Cunningham.
Dill leaves early in September. Scout is miserable without him but looks forward to starting school in a week.
Jem explained that during school hours Scout was not to bother him.
Miss Caroline Fisher, Scout's teacher, is described as being no more than twenty-one, boarding across the street from the Finches, and being from Winston County in North Alabama, which seceded from Alabama when Alabama seceded from the Union.
Scout is punished for being literate and told to tell her father to stop teaching her to read, which Scout says Atticus doesn't do anyway because he's too tired at night.
Miss Caroline insists Scout was not born reading The Mobile Register and thought Scout was lying about it's origins.
At recess, Jem explains to Scout that Miss Caroline is introducing a new way of learning called the Dewey Decimal System, where students learn by experiencing things firsthand rather than reading about them in books.
Miss Caroline catches Scout writing a letter to Dill and tells her to tell Atticus to stop teaching her, and that they don't write in the first grade, they print.
Miss Caroline offers Walter Cunningham a quarter to go eat downtown, which he refuses because he is one of the Cunninghams, who never take anything they can't pay back.
Scout tries to explain the Cunninghams' ways to Miss Caroline, sharing her knowledge of their lack of money and their tradition of paying back debts with goods instead of cash.
After being shamed, Miss Caroline whips Scout and makes her stand in the corner for trying to explain Walter Cunningham's situation and for being literate.. Miss Blount tells Miss Caroline that the sixth grade cannot concentrate on the pyramids for all this racket!
Chapter 3: Scout fights Walter Cunningham, and Jem invites him to dinner. Calpurnia scolds scout
Catching Walter Cunningham in the schoolyard gave Scout some pleasure though Jem tells her to stop, inviting Walter home to dinner with them instead.
A discussion occurs about the Radley house, growing boastful of going up to the house with Walter and Scout
During dinner at the Finches' house, Walter pours syrup all over his vegetables and meat, which Scout criticizes, leading to a reprimand from Calpurnia for not respecting their guest.
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!
Atticus advises Calpurnia's iniquities after a smack and a solitary sprint past the Radley Place
Miss Caroline is scared from a mouse. After which, Little Chuck Little said that the cootie scared her some way
Finding out the cootie host was Burris Ewell, Miss Caroline wanted him to go home and wash his hair but he leaves and Miss Caroline cries after a retort.
Burris Ewell one of Ewells the teacher should mark em absent due to bad parenting
Because the boy did not answer. He gave a short contemptuous snort. One of the elderly members of the class answered her: “He’s one of the Ewells, ma’am,”
Atticus followed Scout after after school and and agrees it would be best to bend the law by reading to Scout every night and for her not to say anything at school about it.
Chapter 4 Two live oaks stood at the edge of the Radley lot. Scout found chewing gum in it and later, Jem found a box with indian heads and kept it.
The next day Dill arrives with a story about his father who has a black beard and is the president of the L & N Railroad
Dill leans over and sniffs Scout. “Jean—Louise—Finch, you are going to die in three days.”
Jem pulled an old car tire from under the house. He did, by pushing the tire down the sidewalk with all the force in his body. The tire bumped on gravel, skeetered across the road, crashed into a barrier and popped me like a cork onto pavement.
Scout lay on the cement and shook her head at the Radley Place steps.Jem thought up new Boo Radley game.
Threw shade at Dill’s dead because He could get into any character part assigned him. After which Atticus came and asked What are you all playing?
She and Jem said nothing because Atticus already arrived was the second reason I wanted to quit the game. The first reason happened the day I rolled into the Radley front yard when she heard another sound, so low
Dill arrives in Meridian and Jem has the idea of if Atticus said not to play the Boo Radley game that he would change their names
scout spent summer twilights with Miss Maudie, whom she learned to not provoke. Summer was everything good to eat and colours in a parched landscapet and Dill
Radley’s name s Arthur and he still stays in the house cause he doesn’t want to come out
Radley old Mr. Radley was a foot-washing Baptist and her confidence in pulpit Gospel lessened at the vision of Miss Maudie stewing forever
When the kids went to leave a letter by the window, Atticus got mad and told them to stop tormenting him.
Chapter 6: The first part of the chapter has two main themes. The first is that Jem would not let Scout tell Atticus about the Radley Place
Scout and Dill was upset and they know he knows and he used the oldest lawyer’s trick in the book
Scout, Jem and Dill walk at the front yard with death smell. Jem said they act like they leave in Hat Steams and he won’t say it back and Jem scowled darkly at me after i said they was like nigger time.
It ended up at the Radley Place with the wire and the gate squeaked. Also they touch the floor and heard a baby walking then saw a shawdow then was shot by shotgun back at there house.
Dill told Atticus that they had won the pants in poker and Atticus said poker again, poker in any form, and settle it yourselves.
Going back to that place by himself—I remembered Miss Stephanie. Atticus was a shotgun and they were mean.
Jem had told Scrout that Atticus never whipped me Jem in his life and i want to keep it that way. Also to have you a testimate and to get some writing as well.
Jems was in a funk for a week. Scout went to the Radler house for it was all that was. School was bad again cause they wave card and want her to do her home. Work.
Sconut saw a ball but asked Jem don’t take it that person can’t protect and take them a way. Jem found the two kids one was boy on the other for a girl
Jem was 1906 and Scout was 1900 there Indian heads these come from the Indians. Because he and Scout like long life and good health, passing six weeks tests