Name:________________________________
To Kill a Mockingbird—Part 1 Notes
English 9R
Chapter 1:
Home Notes
Setting: Maycomb, Alabama (5)
Tired old town (6)
Poor town (6)
Characterize:
Jem: (Jeremy Atticus Finch) (9)
four years older than Scout (3)
Scout: narrator, girl,
Smart—can read (8), stubborn, outspoken
Atticus: father to Jem & Scout, a lawyer (5),
Fair, easy-going, simple
Calpurnia: strict, African-American, literate, (24) motherfigure, seems like one of the family
Dill: (Charles Baker Harris), almost 7 years old
From Meridian, Mississippi—comes every summer
Adventurous—knows stories
Offers a view of the “world beyond Maycomb”
Makes up dares (16)
Legend of Boo Radley: Arthur Radley
6 ½ feet tall, car, yellow teeth, eyes popped out (16)
Stabbed his father with scissors & resumed activities
Chapter 2:
Home Notes
Scout’s Character: Jean Louise, outspoken (26)
Walter Cunningham:
Has hookworm, poor—no shoes or lunch (25)
Scout’s School Experience:
Unfavorable experience, seems to get in trouble all
the time. She tries to explain to the teacher about
Walter but gets in trouble instead (26-7) hand gets her
hand smacked with a ruler & must stand in the corner
(28-9)
Calpurnia and Scout: Calpurnia taught Scout how to
write, but Scout seldom pleased her & was seldom
rewarded. (24)
-
Class Notes
Families live there for generations
Radley Place 3 doors to the south
Mrs. Dubose 2 doors to the north
-
Calpurnia always won her battles with
Scout
Mrs. Finch—Scout & Jem’s mother died
when Scout was 2, 15 yrs younger than
Atticus
-
Dill - “A pocket Merlin”—imaginative (10)
Key Points
Scout was almost 6 & Jem 10 when Dill
came to visit (7)
Boo Radley ran around with a bad crowd
and got in trouble. His father did not
want him to go to a state facility, so he
promised to take care of him. Boo was
never seen again for 15 years.
Locked in house by father (14)
Legend of Boo Radley (Continued)
- Boo Radley – amalevolent phantom (10)
- His breath would make plants freeze
- Small crimes were blamed on him
- Radley pecans were poisonous (11)
- Blamed for killing pets even though knew
it wasn’t him (10)
- Dined on raw squirrels & cats (16)
Miss Stephanie Crawford – neighborhood
scold (find fault in people) & gossip (14)
Dill gave them the idea of making Boo
Radley come out (16)
Jem runs up & touches the Radley house
on a dare. They think they see a shutter
move in the house
Class Notes
Dill goes back to Meridian
Key Points
Scout starts school & Jem walks her
Miss Caroline Fischer – teacher, 21, red hair,
looked & smelled like a peppermint drop
Teacher gets mad that Scout can read &
tells her to tell Atticus not to teach her
anymore. (22)
Cunningham family are farmers hit hard by the
crash
Walter Cunningham is called out by the
teacher for not having lunch. She tries to
lend him money, but he refuses to take it.
“The Cunningham’s never took anything
they can’t pay back.”
Chapter 3:
Home Notes
Burris Ewell vs. Walter Cunningham:
Walter—clean shirt, neatly mended overalls; polite, shy &
respectful (25), proud people (27)
Burris—filthiest human being, neck dark gray, back of
hands rusty & fingernails black; he’s mean, rude—talks
back to teacher; no mother & father is argumentative;
(36-37)
Atticus’ Lesson to Scout:
“You never really understand a person until you consider
things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin
& walk around in it.
Calpurnia’s lesson to Scout:
Calpurnia reprimands Scout for questioning Walter at
dinner for drowning his food in molasses. Cal smacks
Scout & then makes her eat in the kitchen for insulting
her company (33)
Role of Social Class:
The common folk must obey the law and not hold the
children responsible for their parents’ (Ewell) faults
Chapter 4:
Home Notes
Signs of Boo Radley:
Two pieces of chewing gum were in the tree (44),
Two shiny polished pennies (46)
Boo Radley Game:
Scout is Mrs. Radley, Dill is Old Mr. Radley, Jem is Boo
Radley (52), They played Boo getting in trouble as a teen
& Jem played Boo w/ scissors
Class Notes
“Calpurnia had more education than most
colored folk, but when she was furious her
grammar became erratic” (32)
Miss Caroline gets upset when she sees a cootie
(lice) in Burris Ewell’s hair (34).
Little Chuck Little is a poor boy, but a true
gentleman (34)
Calpurnia shows affection to Scout & kisses her
Key Points
Jem invites Walter Cunningham home to
dinner because he feels sorry for him(30)
Burris makes a scene in school and leaves
the classroom after making Miss Caroline
cry.
Compromise—Atticus and Scout will
continue to read if Scout continues to go
to school and doesn’t mention it to the
teacher.
“The Ewells have been the disgrace of Maycomb
for three generations. They were people but
they lived like animals.” Atticus
Scout is a tomboy and she gets upset
when Jem tells her she is acting like a girl.
Class Notes
-Mrs. Dubose—the meanest old woman who ever
lived.
-Dill claims to have seen his father—he is taller
than Atticus and president of the railroad
-Atticus catches them playing the Boo Radley
game. Scout doesn’t want to play Boo anymore
because Atticus caught them & because of the
laughing she heard in Boo’s house (54)
Key Points
Jem (arbitrated) worked out problems
between Dill and Scout (49)
Class Notes
Dill & Jem hang out together and ignore Scout.
She starts to hang out with Miss Maudie.
Key Points
Jem & Dill try to give Boo a note on the
end of a fishing pole to ask him to come
out and talk to them (62) Atticus catches
them he tells them, “stop tormenting Boo
Radley...wait until you are invited there”
(65)
Jem pushes Scout in a tire. It crashes
into Boo’s steps (50) Scout hears
someone in the house laughing (54)
Chapter 5:
Home Notes
Characterize Miss Maudie Atkinson:
Hated being indoors, widow, chameleon, straw hat &
men’s overalls during the day for gardening, bathed and
royal beauty at night, crisp speech, 2 gold prongs on
teeth, made best cakes in neighborhood (56-57)
Trusted friend to Scout & Jem (59)
Scout catches Dill in a lie about his father. “Dill
Harris could tell the biggest ones I ever heard” 63
Voiceof reason—not a gossip
The “real” Boo (insight into Boo):
Arthur Radley always spoke nice to Miss Maudie when he
was a kid. He lived in a “sad house” (61).
Chapter 6:
Home Notes
“Things aren’t always what they seem”—How does this
connect to Maycomb County?
Boo Radley is not what they think he is.
Boo’s Father was a foot-washing Baptist—
anything that is a pleasure is a sin
Miss Maudie is an adult character who
respects the kids. She also is another
female influence for Scout to relate to.
Class Notes
They are going to peek in the Radley’s window to
see Boo. They lift Dill up to look in the window &
he can’t see in, so Jem goes to the back porch.
Key Points
Jem decides to go and get his pants
because he doesn’t want to change his
relationship with Atticus because he
values this relationship (75)
Jem in the Radley Yard:
Jem climbs the back porch to try & look in the window. A
shadow appears above him, so he runs. He gets stuck in
the fence, so he takes his pants off to get away (72).
When the kids circle back from running through
the school yard. They see everyone outside and
are told that Mr. Nathan Radley shot at a “Negro
in his collard patch” (72)
When Jem returns with the pants, he is
trembling.
Atticus sees Jem with no pants on and Dill tells
everyone they were playing strip poker.
Chapter 7:
Home Notes
Jem’s Pants: When Jem went back for his pants, they had
been folded up over the fence, and they had been
sloppily mended (78) It was as if someone knew he was
coming back for them (78).
Gifts in the Tree:
A gray ball of twine (78)
Two small images of Jem & Scout carved in soap (80),
A tarnished spelling medal, & a broken pocket watch with
a chain & knife attached (81)
Chapter 8:
Home Notes
Snow in Maycomb: When Scout sees the snow, she
thinks the world is ending (86). They build a snowman
with dirt and cover it with snow. They say it looks like
Mr. Avery (88-90).
The Fire: Miss Maudie’s house catches fire & it burns to
the ground. Atticus wakes the kids up and tells them to
stand in front of the Radley place (92). The town comes
together to help. Scout is afraid other houses will catch
fire. Jem says, “it’s not time to worry yet”
Class Notes
Second grade was as bad as first (77).
The carved soaps spook Scout because someone
has to be watching them to get that much detail
about them (80).
Scout and Jem decide to write a letter to thank
the person who is leaving them the gifts (82).
When they go to the tree it is cemented up (83).
Class Notes
Mr. Avery tells them, according to the Rosetta
Stone, it is snowing because they were bad
children.
Atticus wants them to change the snowman a
little because it looks just like Mr. Avery. Jem
puts Miss Maudie’s hat on the snowman’s head
and her hedge clippers into the crook of the
snowman’s arm (90).
Key Points
Mr. Nathan Radley claims he cemented
the tree because it was dying. Atticus
tells them the tree looks healthy (83).
Jem cries at the end. He is discouraged,
upset and disappointed. The mystery
cannot be solved, his connection with
Boo is over and he is maturing (84).
Key Points
Jem tells Atticus everything about their
interactions with Boo Radley. Jem is
afraid for Boo. Atticus says they can keep
this to themselves and some day Scout
can thank Boo for covering her up (96).
Miss Maudie bounces back from the fire
and says she will build a smaller house, so
she can have more yard and azaleas (97).
She is optimistic.
The Blanket: When the fire is over, Scout has a blanket
around her. She is not sure where she got it, but Atticus
says, “it looks like all of Maycomb was out tonight, in one
way or another” (95)
Chapter 9:
Home Notes
Tom’s Arrest: Tom Robinson was arrested for going
against the Ewells. It is a black man’s word against a
white man’s.
Atticus’ Conflicts: If he doesn’t defend Tom Robinson, he
can never hold his head up high in this town again. He
knows it is going to be hard for Jem & Scout, but he can’t
turn his back. He just hopes they don’t get hurt or get
“Maycomb’s usual disease” (117).
Scout’s Conflicts: Doesn’t want to use her fists because
Atticus said it is childish, but she needs to defend her
father. Cecil Jacobs says “Atticus defends niggers” (99).
Atticus tells her to “try fighting with your head” (101)
Scout is willing to walk away from being called a coward
by Cecil because Atticus asked her not to fight (102).
Chapter 10:
Home Notes
Tim Johnson: A twitching, rabid dog that comes moseying
down the street. The Sheriff, Heck Tate, doesn’t think he
can make the shot, so he asks Atticus to shoot the dog.
Atticus kills it in one shot.
Mockingbird: “It is a sin to kill a mockingbird, because
they don’t do one thing, but sing their hearts out for us”
(119). Mockingbirds are innocent and don’t hurt
anything. They represent the innocence in the world.
Chapter 11:
Home Notes
Mrs. Dubose: Close on to 100 (119), a negro girl
attendant, she was sickly & spent most of the day in bed
and the rest in a wheel chair, interrogated the kids when
they walked by, and they could do nothing to please her.
The fire truck breaks down & the men must push
it to the fire.
Class Notes
Atticus says, “nigger is common” don’t say that.
Christmas: Atticus gave them air rifles for
Christmas. He tells Uncle Jack he will have to
teach them to shoot. They go to Finch’s Landing
every year to see Atticus’ siblings, Uncle Jack,
Aunt Alexander, and her grandson, Francis
Hancock (103).
Aunt Alexandra: was opinionated and felt Scout
should behave like a girl. Treated Scout poorly
and continually hurt her feelings (108). She was
“a back porch listener” (110)
Key Points
Scout asks if they are going to win the
case, and Atticus says “no…but just
because we were licked 100 years before
we started is no reason for us not to try
to win” (101).
Francis—“8—a year older than Scout and
enjoyed everything Scout disapproved
of” (103). He was a tattletale and would
get Scout in trouble all the time (107).
Francis insults Scout and calls Atticus a
“nigger-lover” (110). Scout punches
Francis in the mouth, but Francis is a
sneak and gets Scout in trouble saying
she started it and called him names (112).
Class Notes
Scout and Jem are upset because they think that
Atticus can’t do anything at his age. Miss Maudie
tells them he is the best checker player in town &
he can play the Jew’s Harp. They are not
impressed until he kills Tim Johnson and they find
out “Atticus is called One-Shot Finch the deadest
shot in Maycomb County” (128-129)
Key Points
Atticus has many outstanding qualities,
but he is a gentlemen who is humble
about them.
Class Notes
Jem & Scout are going into town. Mrs. Dubose
insults the children and insults Atticus. “Your
father’s no better than the niggers and trash he
works for” (135). On the way back from town,
Jem takes the baton he bought Scout and “flailing
Key Points
Even when Jem and Scout are getting
verbally abused about Atticus and the
trial, they need to keep their heads about
them because when they look back on
life, they need to know Atticus “didn’t let
Atticus’ Lesson about Conscience: “Before I can live with
other folks, I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing
that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s
conscience” (140). You have to live with your own
conscience, not matter what other people believe.
wildly…cut the tops off every camellia bush Mrs.
Dubose owned” (137).
Atticus’ Lesson about Courage: Atticus tells Jem that
“Mrs. Dubose was the bravest person I ever knew.”
Courage is “when you know you’re licked before you
begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no
matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do”
(148-9)
Mrs. Dubose made Jem come every day for over
a month and read to her for two hours (140).
Atticus makes Jem go down and talk with Mrs.
Dubose.
Mrs. Dubose was trying to break her morphine
habit which she had, had for years. She wanted
to go out of this world not relying on anything or
anyone (147-8).
them down” (139).
Mrs. Dubose courage parallels Atticus’
courage for taking on the Tom Robinson
case, “because you know you’re licked
before you begin.”