Chapter Summary

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Chapter Summary
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Chapter 1. Summer, 1933. Maycomb, Alabama.

bulletScout (Jean Louise Finch) narrates the book.
bulletFather-Atticus, Brother-Jem, Cook-Calpurnia
bulletDill (Miss Rachel’s nephew) visits for the summer and tells Scout and Jem about Boo Radley.
bulletBoo Radley never comes out of his house and rumor has it he once stabbed his father with scissors.

 

Chapter 2. Fall, 1933.

bulletFirst day of school. Miss Caroline is Scouts teacher.
bulletScout is very smart for her age and is good at reading and writing cursive.

Chapter 3. Fall 1933.

bulletEwell’s are a very poor family and they only send their kids to school on the first day.
bulletBurris Ewell was sent home because he had a rat crawl out of his hair.

 Chapter 4. Spring/Summer, 1934.

bulletScout finds two pieces of gum in a knothole of a tree in the Radley yard
bulletHer and Jem also find 2 Indian-Head Pennies.
bulletWhen Dill arrives for the summer they make up a game about Boo Radley’s life. Atticus tells them to stop playing.

Chapter 5. Summer, 1934.

bulletScout talks to Miss Maudie about Boo Radley. She says his name is Arthur and the rumors are false.
bulletJem and Dill create a plan to get Boo Radley out of his house. They will attach a not to a fishing pole and get the note through the window. Atticus caught them and said don’t do that.

Chapter 6. Summer, 1934.

bulletJem, Scout and Dill try and peak through the window of the Radley house. Jem sees a shadow of a man and they run. A shotgun is fired towards them and Jem loses his pants on the gate.
bulletDill tells Atticus Jem lost his pants because they were playing strip poker.

Chapter 7. Fall, 1934.

bulletScout and Jem find more stuff in the oak tree. They find a ball of twine, a pack of gum, a spelling bee medal, a broken pocket watch, and two soap dolls that looked like them.
bulletJem wants to leave a thank you note in the hole, but when he goes to put it in the hole it is filled with cement. Nathan Radley said he filled it because it was dying.

Chapter 8. Winter, 1934.

bulletSnowed for the first time in a long time.
bulletMiss Maudie’s house caught on fire and Atticus tells Scout and Jem to stand in front of the Radley house where it’s safe.
bulletSomeone mysteriously put a blanket around Scout and she didn’t notice it.

Chapter 9. Winter, 1934.

bulletUncle Jack comes for Christmas. Scout and Jem get air rifles.
bulletScout punches her cousin, Francis, because he was saying bad things about Atticus defending a black man (Tom Robinson).

Chapter 10.

bulletAtticus says never shoot a mockingbird with their new rifles because it is a sin and all they do is sing their heart out.
bulletTim Johnson, a dog, walks down the street and everyone is scared because he is dangerous. Atticus came home with the sheriff, Heck Tate, and shot the dog.

Chapter 11.

bulletScout and Jem have to walk by Ms. Dubose house to get to town.
bulletJem buys Scout a baton with his birthday money. He took it from Scout and started knocking it against Ms. Duboese’s flower bush.
bulletJem said he would read to Ms. Dubose every day for a month to make up for it.
bulletMs. Dubose dies and Atticus says it was because she was a morphine addict.

 Chapter 12.

bulletScout is told Dill isn’t going to come to Maycomb this summer.
bulletCalpurnia took Scout and Jem to church. When they got there Lula told Calpurnia they don’t belong there because they were white and it was a black church.
bulletWhen they returned back home, Aunt Alexandra (who Scout doesn’t like) was there.

 Chapter 13.

bulletAunt Alexandra said she’d be living with them which made Scout upset

 Chapter 14. Summer

bulletScout gets tired of Aunt Alexandra taking over the house. She said Atticus should let Cal go, but he said no.
bulletDill snuck away from home and came to Maycomb and was hiding under Scouts bed.

 Chapter 15.

bulletMen come to talk to Atticus about moving Tom Robinson to the Maycomb jail. Jem is concerned
bulletAtticus has to go to the jail. Jem, Scout, and Dill sneak out to check it everything is all right. While at the jail, some people came.

 Chapter 16.

bulletThe Tom Robinson case starts. Jem and Scout watch it with Reverend Sykes.

Chapter 17.

bulletMr. Gilmer questioned Bob Ewell asking him what happened.
bulletAtticus points of that Bob Ewell is left handed, and a left-handed person had to have hurt Mayella because her injuries were on the right side of her face. (Tom Robinson’s left hand is crippled, so eh couldn’t have possibly hurt her)

Chapter 18.

bulletAtticus questioned Mayella next. She was stubborn about it and thought he was trying to make fun of her.
bulletAtticus called Tom Robinson to the stand.

Chapter 19.

bulletAtticus testifies Tom Robinson.
bulletScout and Dill talk to Mr. Raymond

Chapter 20.

bulletAtticus makes his final statement trying to prove that Tom is innocent and Bob Ewell is guilty.

 Chapter 21.

bulletAfter a long time, the jury decides that Tom Robinson is guilty.

 Chapter 22.

bulletTom’s family and friends give the Finches a big breakfast.
bulletBob Ewell threatened Atticus after spitting in his face.

 Chapter 23.

bulletJem says that Boo Radley stays in his house because he wants to.

 Chapter 24.

bulletAunt Alexandra has some neighbors over and they gossip about everything that’s going on.

 Chapter 25.

bulletSummer is almost over, so Dill is going to have to go home soon.
bulletThey hear Tom Robinson was shot trying to escape from jail.

 Chapter 26.

bulletMiss Gates, Scout’s new teacher, talks about how bad Hitler is.

Chapter 27.

bulletThree things happen in Maycomb.
bulletJem is going to take Scout to the pageant where she’s a ham.

Chapter 28.

bulletCecil Jacobs scares Scout and Jem on the way to the school.
bulletJem was hearing strange noises and told Scout to be quiet on the way home.
bulletSomeone attacked Scout and Jem and Scout heard a crack in Jem’s arm.
bulletBob Ewell was under the tree dead with a knife in him.

Chapter 29.

bulletScout tells Heck Tate and Atticus what happened.
bulletBoo Radley saved Scouts life.

Chapter 30.

bulletAtticus think Jem stabbed Bob Ewell in self-defense but Heck Tate insists that Bob Ewell fell on his knife.
bulletBoo Radley really killed Bob Ewell to save the kids.

Chapter 31.

bulletScout walked Boo home and she never saw him again.