"Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square. Somehow it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summers day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square. Men's stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o'clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum. People moved slowly then. They ambled across square, shuffled in and out of the stores around it, took their time about everything. A day was twenty-four hours long but seemed longer. There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb County," page 5.

This passage provides the setting of Maycomb, Alabama; Scout's town. Through Scout's eyes her town of Maycomb is boring, tired, and dreary. It's obvious there is no excitement or events that occur in this town. "...there was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go..." The whole town seems to run on a normal routine where men go to work at a certain time and come home the same time, ladies perform the chores they must and take showers around the same time. Scout describes how the town looks gloomy and soggy when it rains. The dirt roads turn muddy and the buildings, like the courthouse, seem to sag under all that weight. Through Scout's eyes her small rural town of Maycomb, Alabama is a small-minded place where excitement, adventure and new things are nonexistent.

"I suppose she chose me because she knew my name; as I read the alphabet a faint line appeared between her eyebrows, and after making me read most of My First Reader and the stock-market quotations from The Mobile Register aloud, she discovered that I was literate and looked at me with more than faint distaste. Miss Caroline told me to tell my father not to teach me any more, it would interfere with my reading........'Now you tell your father not to teach you any more. It's best to begin reading with a fresh mind. You tell him I'll take over from here and try to undo the damage---'........I mumbled that I was sorry and retired meditating upon my crime," page 17.

Miss Caroline thinks it's wrong of Scout to have the ability to read. Scout told her that her Father Atticus doesn't teach her to read that he just sits in the living-room and reads. When she tells Scout to tell her father to stop teaching her Scout tries to defend him and told her he doesn't teach her anything. Miss Caroline, not convinced by her statement, ignores Scout's defense and told her again to not be taught by Atticus. To any reader this would sound absolutely ridiculous. What's the big deal if Scout is more advanced intelligence wise? Miss Caroline makes Scout feel guilty of a "crime". Maycomb and it's people are all so narrow with their perspective and status level of peoples. It's almost like Scout has to be on the same page as everyone; it's wrong that she can read already.

"Safely out of range, he turned and shouted: 'Report and be damned to ye! Ain't no snot-nosed slut of a schoolteacher ever born c'n make me do nothin'! You ain't makin' me go nowhere, missus. You just remember that, you ain't makin' me go nowhere!' He waited until he was sure she was crying, then he shuffled out of the building," page 28.

The students during this time period treated teachers with such disrespect. The young boy in this passage is Burris Ewell, a boy who has repeated the first grade three times. He comes for the first day of school and after that he never comes back. Although some kids today are just as mean and rude, they wouldn't get away with it without serious consequences. However Burris Ewell calls Miss Caroline a "snot-nosed slut" and walks away. Miss Caroline just cries, she doesn't bother telling the principal or reprimanding him for his demeanor. This passage depicts how the education system in Maycomb (1930s) is very different to what we have today.

"'If your father's anything, he's civilized in his heart. Marksmanship's a gift of God, a talent---oh, you have to practice to make it perfect, but shootin's different from playing the piano or the like. I think maybe he put his gun down when he realized that God had given him an unfair advantage over most living things. I guess he decided he wouldn't shoot till he had to, and he had to today.'
'Looks like he'd be proud of it,' I said.
'People in their right minds never take pride in their talents,' said Miss Maudie," page 98.

This passage portrays a secret about Atticus. Atticus, in Jem and Scout's eyes, is a respectful lawyer who has never done anything wrong and he is the bravest man in the world. But when they saw their father shoot a 'mad dog' in a single shot, their perspective was flipped. People called Atticus One-Shot (back in the day) because he could shoot anything or anyone in one shot. In this excerpt Miss Maudie explains to Jem and Scout how their father is a good man with a good heart and despite the fact he had impeccable aim he preferred not to shoot anything unless it was necessary. It's almost like how Superman had amazing powers and he chose to use them for good. Atticus only uses his talent when needed, like when he had to shot that rabid dog. When Scout thinks Atticus should be proud of himself for shooting the dog, Miss Maudie simply says that good-natured people don't act all proud and haughty over their talents.


"Jem was twelve. He was difficult to live with, inconsistent, moody. His appetite was appalling, and he told me so many times to stop pestering him I consulted Atticus: 'Reckon he's got tapeworm?' Atticus said no, Jem was growing. I must be patient with him and disturb him as little as possible. This change in Jem had come about in a matter of weeks. Mrs.Dubose was not cold in her grave---Jem had seemed grateful enough for my company when he went to read to her. Overnight, it seemed, Jem had acquired an alien set of values and was trying to impose them on me: several times he went so far as to tell me what to do. After one altercation when Jem hollered, 'It's time you started bein' a girl and acting right!' I burst into tears and fled to Calpurnia.
'Don't you fret too much over Mister Jem---' she began.
'Mister Jem?'
'Yeah he's just about Mister Jem now.'
'He ain't that old,' I said. 'All he needs is somebody to beat him up, and he ain't big enough.'
'Baby,' said Calpurnia, 'I just can't help it if Mister Jem's growin' up. He's gonna want to be off to himself a lot now, doin' whatever boys do, so you just come right on in the kitchen when you feel lonesome. We'll find lots of things to do in here,' page 115.


Scout is a rough and wild tomboy because of Jem. Scout plays like a boy and dresses like a boy, she also got offended when Jem punched her and he would call her a girl because she would wail. Jem is the main influence of her boyish attitude. Growing up with him meant getting into fights, role playing as men, or just acting wild like boys do. But now Jem is growing up to be a teenager full of angst. He also seems to have no time for Scout's childish nonsense. Scout probably sought his company and Jem found her to be rather annoying. In his rage he told her to start acting like a girl and leave him alone. This really hurt Scout because she's used to being a boy like Jem. Jem growing up hurts Scout more because she'll be losing her fun-loving brother who used to want to play with her. Atticus and Calpurnia accepts Jem's developments. Calpurnia says that he's just old enough to be called "Mister Jem". Atticus acknowledged his ravenous appetite and told Scout to give him some space.