To Kill A Mockingbird (Chapter 12)

In Chapter 12 of To Kill A Mockingbird, Jem starts to grow older, as he has reached the age of twelve. Both Scout and Jem are looking forward for Dill to come to Maycomb this summer. They are disappointed when a letter from Dill comes on the mail. The letter says that Dill will not be coming to Maycomb this year and will be staying in Meridian, since he got a new father. Later, the state legislature is called into session, and Atticus must take part since he is a member. He is required to go every day for two weeks. Apart from that, Calpurnia decides to take Jem and Scout to her church, which is only for colored people. While entering the church, they are confronted by Lula, which is bothered by the fact that there are white children in a colored church. The churches’ reverend, Reverend Sykes, however, lets the children stay and attend the sermon. Since the church cannot afford hymn books, one person leads the hymns, which is Zeebo, Calpurnia’s son. During the end of the service, Reverend Sykes call for everyone to donate money for Tom Robinson’s family, whose wife cannot find work because of the current case that he was accused of rape. Seeing that barely anyone donates, he locks the church doors until a certain number of money is raised. When the sermon ends, Calpurnia and the children arrive home to find that Aunt Alexandra is sitting on a chair in the porch waiting for them.
Personally, I liked this passage since it reveals much about the current plot of the court case. It also identifies the hardships of the colored people of Maycomb and their lifestyle. Similarly, the author’s intent was to reveal information about the plot of the Tom Robinson court case. I observed that the pattern of organization used in this passage was mostly Chronological Organization, since the story is being described in order of things that happened.

To Kill a Mockingbird (Chapter 1)

Recently, I have started reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The whole book is narrated by a girl called Jean Louise Finch, which is called by her nickname, Scout, throughout the book. In chapter one, she starts explaining her family history and how her brother, Jem, broke his arm. Scout also goes on to describe her father, Atticus and the house maid, Calpurnia. In the summer of 1933, they both meet a boy called Charles Baker Harris, or as he calls himself, Dill. During the summer, Dill starts suggesting that they try to lure out Arthur "Boo" Radley. Boo Radley is the neighborhood mystery, in which all people know about him is conveyed through rumors. He is kept locked in his house by his father after an incident that occured some years ago. Rumors about him include that he is a monster, eats animals, and creeps around at night and stares into peoples windows. Toward the end of the chapter, Dill dares Jem to touch the Radley's home, in which he does so quickly.

Personally, this chapter was very interesting. It provides much details and foreshadowing of the rest of the book. I really enjoy the main character, Scout, as she is always curious and intuituve, and her father Atticus, which is logical and intelectual. I found the story of Boo Radley to be mysterious and interesting, since there are not many clear facts about him, just rumors.

If I were to use a note taking strategy for this book, I would most likely use an outline. This is because an outline carefully highlights the main points of a reading passage and provides the right amount of supporting details to the main points. Another note taking strategy which can be very useful is listing. This is because in a list, one can correctly place important imformation from the reading passage and carefully organize it.