Swag

Blake Hilliker
Ms. Hernandez
Period 2
2/7/2012
To Kill a Mockingbird Reading Log
Prompt 1 Some of life's most important lessons are learned at home, rather than in school. This partains especially to Scout Finch in the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. On Scout's first day in the first grade, her teacher remarks that she is too smart, and that she should read less often. Meanwhile, back at home, Atticus encourages her to read, and also teaches her other important life lessons, such as how to see things from another person's point of view.
Prompt 2 At the end of Chapter 7, some rather peculiar events occur at the Radley estate. The kids had become accustomed to finding new objects within a knothole in a tree at the Radley house, however to their dismay, the hole is clogged up. When they inquire Mr. Nathan Radley, he simply states that the tree is dying. The children later ask Atticus if the tree is dying, and he replies with, "Why no, son, I don't think so. Look at the leaves, they're all green and full, no brown patches anywhere." (Lee 84) This indicates that Nathan Radley wished for Boo to stop placing items within the hole.
Prompt 3 Courage can be defined in many different ways. Courage, according to Atticus, is showing no fear to the people or obstacles that stand in your path. An example of emotional courage is when Atticus shoots Tim Johnson. In my opinion, it takes a strong man to be able to shoot a dog. An example of physical courage is when Jem slices the tops off of every camellia bush in Ms. Duboses' garden. In my opinion, it takes a lot of courage to be able to stand in a ladies yard (who is rumored to have a CSA pistol) and simply slice away at her prize posessions. It is stated that "Jem did not begin to calm down until he had cut the tops off every camellia bush Mrs. Dubose owned." (Lee 137) This shows that Jem was slicing away at the bushes, showing no fear.
Prompt 4 The courtroom is a very important setting in To Kill a Mockingbird. The courtroom can even be used to describe the town of Maycomb. The courtroom is inhabited by Blacks, contains some fair people who are not racist, and is full of some prejudice people. This is a very similar setup to the town of Maycomb. Some people are fair minded and not racist, while others appear to be fair minded, until Black people are mentioned. One example of fair people is the double third cousin of Mr. Cunningham. He originally wanted the case acquitted, however the thoughts of all the other racist people contaminated his mind and caused him to vote guilty.
Prompt 5 While Atticus does a great job with his defense case, Tom unfortunately makes one critical mistake. While Mr. Gilmer was inquiring Tom as to why he helped out Mayella Ewell so much, Tom accidentally replies "Yeh, suh. I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more'n the rest of 'em." (Lee 264). This comment sparks outburst from the audience and Mr. Gilmer. This is serious because in those days, a black man couldn't feel sorry for a white person. I believe Atticus lost this case because of the fact that he was defending a black man. It never was a fair trial. He had no chance of winning, even from the start.
Prompt 6 Transformation is a theme that is prevalent in several aspects throughout the novel. My favorite version is of the kids transforming from very young and innocent, to a bit more mature and smarter. At the first they simply see it as what's good (Atticus) and what’s evil (Boo Radley). Towards the end,they slowly lose innocence and begin to see some bad things in people, however not losing sigh of the good parts of people. As the children mature, they don't just let these evil flaws slip their minds; they question Atticus on what doesn't make sense to them (Racism, prejudice, violence, etc.) Transformation can basically be described as how the kids transition from seeing only the good, to seeing the flaws of people and society as a whole.