To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird

Chapter 1 Summary:

As any beginning would, TKM started off introducing each character and mentioning a little bit of a background of each one. The reader also learns about the main character’s family. Scout’s father is a lawyer and her mother passed away when she was two. She also has an older sibling named Jem. The story goes on to talk about how it’s summer and she is spending time with their neighbor’s nephew, Dill, who has come to stay for the remainder of the summer.

Chapter 2 Summary:

It's now September and Dill decides to leave Maycomb to return back to Meridian and Scout is preparing for her first day at school. She soon discovers that her teacher, Miss Caroline isn't very good with children. After witnessing Scout's reading skills, Miss Caroline concludes that it's her father to blame for her lack of literacy skills. Scout then complains to Jem at recess about the events that had unfolded. Jem then defends Miss Caroline, saying that she's trying out a new method of teaching. Still having a deteriorating relationship, a young boy in Scout's class, named Walter, goes to school without a lunch. Knowing that, Miss Caroline offers him a quarter so that he can buy lunch and says that he can pay her back tomorrow. She says so without the knowledge of him having a large family that also gets payed mostly in hickory nuts, turnip greens, or other goods when they need legal help. Meaning that he'll ever be able to pay her back or bring a lunch to school. Scout tries to explain, but Miss carol still doesn't understand and grows more frustrated instead, and slaps Scout's hand with a ruler.

Chapter 3 Summary:

Continuing the events that had unfolded in the previous chapter, Jem invites Walter to lunch.

Chapter 4 Summary:

In this chapter Scout continues her first year in school. The lesson was so slow that it frustrated her. Though she hated it, she made it through the day, and on her way back home she came across a knot-hole on the property of the Radley Place. In it, she discovers two pieces of chewing gum. She decides to chew on both pieces and tells Jem about it. He panics and makes her spit it out. Summer comes and school ends. As Dill returns to Maycomb, they start creating new games. One day, they tried getting into an old tire and rolling down a hill, that was coincidentally right in front of the Radley Place. When it was Scout's turn, she landed right in front of the Radley's front steps, which leads Scout and Jem to start panicking. This leads Jem

Chapter 5 Summary:

In this chapter, Scout explains how she often gets excluded from Jem & Dill's endeavors. Scout and Dill have a peculiar relationship. Dill says that he loves Scout and that he wants to marry her, and other times he ignores her and treats her badly. Scout grows tired of it and ventures off to Miss Maudie's residence. She starts hanging out with her and talks about Boo Radley and what he was like when he was younger. They also talk about Miss Maudie's hobbies, such as gardening & baking. Towards the end of the chapter, Scout goes back to her yard only to find Dill and Jem huddled up scheming another one of their plans. This time they planned to take a fishing pole and stuck a note at the end of it asking if Boo could come outside more often, they even invited him to ice cream. Fortunately, Atticus caught them doing the act and scolded them in a way.

Chapter 6 Summary:

In this chapter Dill and Jem decided to obey Atticus, until the day came when Dill had to leave Maycomb. They continue out their plan on the last day. This time Scout joined them. They decide to return to the Radley Place and peek through some loose shutters. Soon after they here a shotgun fire off and they booked it out of there. On the way out, Jem's pants got stuck on the fence so he had to take them off.

Chapter 7 Summary:

Scout is now in 2nd grade. She doesn't seem to find anything too important and that there isn't much of a change. Jem tries to reassure her and tells her to wait until sixth grade, that that grade is when you begin learning things that are a bit more useful. Out of nowhere they find a knot-hole that had a pair of dolls made out of soap that looked very similar to Scout & Jem. Scout shrieked and threw them on the ground because she thought they were some sort of voodoo dolls. Jem said that they might've belonged to someone so he said that they should leave it there and if no one took it, they would. Little did they know that almost everyday there's some sort of treasure. For example, one day they found a spelling bee medal, a watch that had a chain and a knife, but the watch itself didn't work.

Chapter 10:

In this chapter, the reader gains more knowledge on Atticus' background along with a few of his hobbies and hidden talents. He picks up reading again, instead of fishing and hunting again, before a mad dog runs wild throughout their neighborhood. Calpurnia calls Atticus, who returns home with Heck Tate, the sheriff of Maycomb. Heck brings a rifle and asks Atticus to shoot the animal. Despite the distance between the animal and Atticus, he shoots it with just one shot to his children's amazement. Miss Maudie reveals that he was quite a talented shooter in his younger days, he was even called "One-shot Finch". With this newfound perspective on their father, Scout wants to go around and brag to others about how her father used to be the best shot in the county, but Jem stops her. He says that if he wanted them to know, he would've told them; it wasn't of any relevance to his children.

Chapter 11:

In this chapter the reader learns about an older resident in their neighborhood, Mrs. Dubose. She's a cankerous old lady that often shouts at the Finch children whenever they pass by. Whilst Atticus encourages his children to be polite to her, she insults Atticus, telling him that he is no better than the "Negroes and trash that he works for". Infuriated, Jem decides to take a bat and destroy her Camellia bushes. When Atticus catches wind of his deed, he punishes Jem by forcing him to read to Mrs. Dubose everyday for a month. Scout decides to accompany him and endures all of her abuse and fits. Mrs. Dubose passes away a little more than a month after Jem's punishment ends. Atticus reveals that she was addicted to morphine and that the reading was part of her successful effort to combat this addiction. He also hands Jem a box, within it held a single white Camellia from Mrs. Dubose.

Part 2

Chapter 12:

In this chapter, Jem is now around the age of twelve and starts acting more mature. Whenever Scout starts pestering him, he says that she should act more like a girl. Scout, frustrated and annoyed, finds herself very excited for Dill's arrival in the summer. To her displeasure, she soon finds out that he won't be returning to Maycomb this summer. He writes to her saying that his mother will be getting remarried an that they'll be staying in Meridian. To make matters worse, Atticus will be out of town for two weeks. Later on, Calpurnia decides to take Jem to her church for people of color for the first time. The congregation is usually friendly. A woman named Lula, however, criticizes Calpurnia as to what she was thinking when she brought along white children to the church. Soon after, Reverend Sykes welcomes them, saying that everyone knows their father. Due to the fact that Calpurnia's eldest son is the church's hymnal reader, they try to stay on good terms with the church.

Chapter 13:

In this chapter, Alexandra decides to stay over at the Finches house in order to get the children to act more prim and proper towards their family and to give them a "feminine influence". She quickly became apart of the town's social circle, and enjoys discussing their family lineage and it's history. However, Jem and Scout lack the pride that Aunt Alexandra considers commensurate with being a Finch. She orders Atticus to lecture them on the subject of their ancestry. He makes a valiant attempt but succeeds only in making Scout cry.

Chapter 14:

Tom Robinson's case is getting closer and closer, and with every passing day, the whispers and glances toward the Finch children in town increases. One day Scout asks Atticus what "rape" is and the visit to Calpurnia's church comes up which Aunt Alexandra then instructs them to not go again. Later, she tries convincing Atticus to fire Calpurnia, but he refuses. That night, Scout attacks Jem after being lectured about making Aunt Alendra seem like a villain, only to find Dill under the bed.

LINK TO THE REST OF THE CHAPTER UPDATES:

docs.google.com/document/d/12FvvX1VANpgglwHAY3N9sJ5bwge62lm_Fos7SGpxcKY/edit