Chapter 21

In chapter 21 Calpurnia came into the court room in the middle of the case. She had a note for Atticus saying that his kids were missing, only to find them sitting in the balcony above. Calpurnia took Jem, Scout and Dill straight home and fed them supper, still in wait of a verdict. "...we glimpsed Calpurnia's indignant profile...(p. 210)."she felt that they were not old enough to hear the content of the trial, therefore was furious. After supper they returned to the trial to hear the verdict. Finally Judge taylor anounced that the verdict was guilty. To learn how the verdict of a case is decided and announced click here.

Chapter 20

In chapter 20, Scout and Jem await at the court house for the verdict of Tom Robinson's case. While waiting they discovered a secret about Mr. Raymond. For the longest time everyone in Maycomb was under the impression that Mr. Raymond was an alcoholic. However when Mr. Raymond offered Dill a sip of his mysterious beverage, to Dill's surprise it was nothing but Coca Cola. " 'Hee hee,' said Mr. Raymond, evidently taking delight in corrupting a child (p. 202).' "Mr. Raymond explained to them that he pretend to drink because it explained to folks that drinking was the reason for his different life style. Unlike the rest of the whites in Maycomb Mr. Raymond enjoyed socializing and living with Black's. To learn how a alcoholic is defined click here.

Chapter 14

In Chapter 14 Jem and Scout were still adjusting to living with Aunt Alexandra. Scout was emotionaly affected by her Aunt Alexandra. Atticus stated" 'Scout, try not to antagonize Aunty, hear (p. 140).' " She restricted Scout and Jem from doing their normal routines such as playing in the mud or climbing trees. It seemed their Aunt didn't share the same views of society and race as they did. Aunt Alexandra was not acustom to their daily transactions, as they differed from hers. I feel that it was unfair of Atticus to bring Aunt Alexandra to live with them so suddenly. However I do think that it was mostly their Aunt's doing. I have found that Aunts in books are often potreyed as cruel and unplesant, such as the Aunts in "James in the Giant Peach" To learn the similarities between the aunts of "To kill a mockingbird" and "James and the giant peach" click here.

Chapter 17

In Chapter 17 Jem, Dill, and Scout attended a trial in which Atticus was a lawyer. Tom Robinson, a black man was convicted of sexualy asulting/abusing Mayella Ewell. In this chapter Mr. Ewell, Mayella's father was on the witness atan. He stated that while he was in the woods he heard his daughter scram, he ran into the house. He stated" '-I seen that black "n-" yonder ruttin' on my Mayella (p. 175)!' "He asked her who had done this to her and she replied Tom Robinson. I have the feeling that Mayella is not telling the whole truth or the truth at all. Knowing for a fact that her father is a drinker, I suspect that he harmed his daughter, but how he harmed her is uncertain.To learn how a sex offender is defined legally click here.

Chapter 11

In chapter eleven, Mrs. Dubose fell ill from addiction to morphine. Every day Jem would go to her house and read to her. Previously Mrs. Dubose had continuously been disrespectful to Jem and his family, as a result Jem cut down her bushes."He did not begin to calm down until he had cut the tops off every camellia bush Mrs. Dubose owned...(p. 107)." I feel that even though Jem didn't want to read to her, he knew it was the right thing to do and deep down gave him a sense of pride. To learn more about morphine click this

Chapters 10

In chapter ten, Scout was starting to notice the signs of her father ageing. "Atticus was feeble; he was nearly fifty (p. 93)."She was frustrated that her father didn't have a special talent or a "cool" job. However when a rabid dog approached the neighborhood Atticus shot him in one shot. From then on Scout was proud of her father, although he did have the same sense of pride. The book does not explain Atticus's past, but in my oppinion he has not had the best expirience with guns and or death. To learn more about rabies click this.