Scout And Jem Walk Home From School example essay topic

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird begins with narrator, Scout Finch, introducing to the reader her brother Jem, her father Atticus, and her town, Maycomb, Alabama. She tells us a little of her family history, and then begins her story: It is the summer of 1933. Scout is five, and Jem is nine. They pass the summer happily with their new friend Dill, a six-year-old boy who has moved into their neighborhood for the summer.

The yare very curious about one of their neighbors, Boo Radley, who hasn't been seen by any one for years. The children are scared of Boo because of the morbid legends about him. Dill resolves to get him to come out of his house, but nothing comes of it that summer. Scout dislikes school from the first morning. A few times when Scout and Jem walk home from school, they discover small gifts in the hollow oak tree at the edge of the Radley yard. When Dill returns for the summer, the children devise a new game of acting out their own version of Boo's story.

One night they sneak up to the Radley house to look in at a window. Mr. Radley, Boo's uncle, chases them off with a shotgun, and as the children flee Jem's pants get stuck in a fence and left behind. Later when Jem retrieves them, he finds that Boo clumsily mended them where the fence tore them. When school begins again, Scout and Jem find more trinkets in the tree.

They write a thank you note to whomever is leaving the things for them, but Mr. Radley cements up the knot hole. During the winter it snows and Jem builds a snow man by making a form out of mud and then covering the mud with snow. The house of Miss M audie, a friendly neighbor, burns down that night. While the children watch the fire from the street in front of the Radley's house, Boo Radley puts a blanket around Scout without her noticing.

When Atticus, an attorney, is assigned to defend Tom Robinson, a innocent black man accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, the children are ridiculed by their classmates, other towns people, and even their cousin about their father being a 'nigger-lover. ' ; Atticus advises the children to not let the insults bother them. Scout and Jem feel a little ashamed of their father, but when they find out that he is famous around town for his marksmanship, they become proud of their father for being who he is. Scout and Jem are routinely insulted by Mrs. Dubose, a vicious old woman.

In a fit of rage Jem cuts off the tops of her camellias. She punishes him by getting Jem to read to her every afternoon for a month. After Mrs. Dubose dies, Atticus tells the children that she was the bravest lady he ever knew because she broke her addiction to morphine before she died. When Atticus leaves on business, Calpurnia, their faithful negro cook, decides to bring the children to her own church. The children are welcomed by the black community for the sake of their father.

When they return home they find out to their dismay that their prim Aunt Alexandra has moved in to help Atticus take care of them. Their aunt tries to impress on them how proud they should be of their birth in the Finch family and is determined to make Scout, a true tomboy, into a young lady. The night before Tom's trial, he is moved to the town jail. Atticus stands watch, afraid that a mob will kill Tom. He is followed secretly by the children who are worried about Atticus. When the mob arrives, Scout's innocent friendliness to Mr. Cunningham, a member of the mob, convinces them to disperse.

The day of the trial, the children go to court (without permission) to watch. They see their father clearly illustrate that Tom is innocent. He shows that Mayella made advances to Tom, and was beaten by her father when he found out. The jury takes hours to reach its decision, but their verdict is unanimous: Tom is guilty. The children share Atticus's defeat. Atticus has hopes that his appeal will be successful, but Jem is heartbroken by the injustice of it all.

Mayella's father, Bob Ewell hates Atticus for showing him a liar and threatens to kill him. At a missionary tea hosted by Aunt Alexandra, Scout is struck by the hypocrisy of the women of Maycomb, who are so uncharitable to the black community near home, but talk sympathetically about the tribes of Africa. That same day, Tom Robinson tries to escape from jail and is killed; Atticus gently breaks the news to his wife, Helen. One night as Scout and Jem walk home from a Halloween party, Mr. Ewell Attacks them. Boo Radley hears their screams and saves them, but kills Mr. Ewell. Jem's arm is broken and he is knocked unconscious.

The sheriff and Atticus decide to keep Boo's involvement a secret and tell everyone that Mr. Ewell fell on his knife. Scout finally meets the quiet man she has dreamed of meeting for years. Ass he walks him home, she realizes what Boo must have thought as he watched her and Jem from his house through the years.