To kill a Mockingbird #1

Journal #1
Chapters 1-3
Perspective of Jem


Scout is driving me nuts. She keeps telling stories about my broken arm, and mom. She notices in the middle of some games we play, I start getting sad. Mom died when Scout was 2 years old because of a sudden heart attack. I miss her because I remember her more than Scout. She was just a baby. Well, moving on, dad. Dad is a lawyer from Maycomb, Alabama. Maycomb is poor, there is not much going on there. The great depression is bad because many people are so poor. Daddy went to law school while his brother went to med school. Ah, Calpurnia, our cook. She is black and she takes care of us while daddy is working. One morning, Scout and I were just about to play in our backyard and we heard something next to our house, in Miss Rachel Haverford’s collard patch. We went to the wired fence to see if there was a puppy, but it was just a person sitting down. We kept staring at each other till he spoke.

“Hey yourself,” I replied pleasantly.

His name was Charles Baker Harris. He was Miss Rachel Haverford’s nephew and he was staying at her house for the summer. From now on, he will be here every summer. Every other time, he returns to Meridian, Mississippi. He said he could read, and I thought it was strange that he was saying that.

When I asked how old he was. “Goin’ on seven,” he said.

He looked very ‘puny’ for seven years old. He said folks call him Dill. I asked him about his father, and he hasn’t got one. We started playing characters. It was good to have him around. We told Dill about the Radleys, and Dill wanted to get Boo out of his house to see what he looked like. “Boo” Radley never came out in years. His first name is Arthur. He lives in an old place. Boo was bad when he was young, and got into trouble. His father protected him, so they put him in the courthouse basement. No one heard him since. Fifteen years later, he stabbed his dad’s leg with a pair of scissors. His mom went bonkers. She said he was killing them. The sheriff came and Boo was just sitting down, cutting out the newspaper. Others said Boo was malevolent, but his dad, Mr. Radley said refused. When he died, Boo’s bro, Nathan started living with Boo. Ever since, he stayed inside the Radley place. Dill tried to make us help him get Boo out of his house, so he dared me to touch his house. I ran to the house, slapped it then ran back. We were sure we saw a shutter move a second.

It was finally September, and Dill went back to Mississippi. Scout was getting ready to go to school for the first time. She has been waiting for this. During recess today, she whined to me that her teacher was not very good with kids, and that she was irked by her for learning how to read from Atticus. I just kept trying to calm her down by telling her that she is just using a new way to teach. She also told me that Miss Caroline was being mean to her when she tried to explain that Walter Cunningham didn’t have enough money to pay her back for lunch when he didn’t bring his own lunch. His family is so poor. They pay others back with goods. Miss Caroline got irritated by her and slapped her hand with a ruler a half a dozen times and made her stand in the corner.

When I watched Scout at lunch, she looked really mad. She kept making Walter feel bad for getting her in trouble. I told her to stop and that she is bigger than he is. I invited Walter for lunch. When he came over, he and Atticus kept talking about persevere farming issues like two men, and then Walter interrupted to ask if they had molasses. Scout was really mean to him and Calpurnia told her to come to the kitchen. It looked like she was mad at her and when Scout came back she got her plate and ate in the kitchen, I think. Scout was really mad at Calpurnia when she came back to school. Scout said that Miss Caroline got scared of a ‘cootie’ coming out of Burris Ewell’s hair. The Ewell’s were poorer than the Cunningham’s, so he was dirty. Burris usually only goes to school for the first day only. He was a mean one, one of the students said, who was Little Chuck Little. Burris argues with the teacher, and was intimidating the teacher. He left when he notices the teacher was crying. When Scout got home, Atticus was about to read Scout a book, when Scout goes outside. Atticus followed her and asked what was wrong. She replied by saying she wasn’t feeling well. She then brings up Atticus’ past and says that she doesn’t want to go to school and Atticus didn’t go, and he was brought up all right being homeschooled. Atticus said that they would put him in jail. Scout told him about what happened at school, and that Atticus taught her wrong, so they can never read again. Atticus talks to Scout about the laws. He and Scout then made a compromise thathe will continue to read to her if she goes to school, but not tell the teacher about this agreement.

Tell you more later. Thats all for right now,
Jem