Harper Lee; To Kill A Mockingbird CHAPTER SUMMARIES Part 1 Chapter 1 The story is narrated by a young girl named Jean Louise Finch, who is almost always called by her nickname, Scout. Scout describes her family’s history and her town, Maycomb. She and her brother, Jem, are also introduced to Dill, and the children share their stories and imaginations about the man next door. Chapter 2 September arrives, and Dill leaves Maycomb to return home. Meanwhile, Scout goes to school for the first time, of which she has been eagerly waiting for. However, it does not go as well as she had expected….
Chapter 3 Walter Cunningham comes to lunch with the Finches and Scout learns a lesson in manners from Calpurnia and a lesson of compromise from Atticus. Back at school, Miss Caroline discovers what a ‘cootie’ is. Chapter 4 The rest of the school year passes grimly for Scout as she does not like the slow curriculum. After school one day, Scout and Jem find some mysterious presents in the knothole of an old oak tree on the Radley property. Dill returns, and the kids play a new game. Chapter 5 Jem and Dill grow closer, and Scout begins to feel left out of their friendship.
As a result, she starts spending time with one of their neighbors: Miss Maudie Atkinson. And the children’s fascination with Boo Radley continues. Chapter 6 On Dill’s last night, the three kids venture out to try and see into Boo Radley’s back window. This adventure leads to terrifying results, especially for Jem. The kids are forced to lie when the neighbourhood hears the commotion. Chapter 7 A few days after the kids adventure, Jem finally tells Scout what actually happened to him that night and as the summer comes to a close, Scout and Jem find more presents in the Radley tree, but their reward is suddenly cut off by Mr.
Radley. Chapter 8 Winter comes quickly, bringing a rare snowstorm to Maycomb. Miss Maudie’s house is ruined in a fire and whilst the neighbourhood is helping, Jem and Scout are asked to stay put by the Radley place where scout has a rare encounter with Boo without even knowing it. Chapter 9 Scout runs into trouble with both a classmate and a cousin when the two boys taunt her about her father, whom they call a “nigger lover. ” Atticus explains to Scout that he will be defending a black man named Tom Robinson.
Chapter 10 Scout had previously thought that Atticus was too old to do anything. However discovers that he does actually possess some talents, when he is asked to shoot a sick dog with one shot of a rifle and gets it, this amazed Scout and Jem. Chapter 11 Jem and Scout learn more about their neighbour Mrs. Dubose, Jem in more ways than one as he is asked to read to Mrs. Dubose every afternoon as a punishment. About a month after jem had completed this, Mrs. Dubose died of a morphine addiction.