The chapter begins with Scout wondering about what happened to Jem. The author immediately makes a reference to a previous part of the book as a way to express Scouts thoughts. Then Scout says that second grade is worse than the first grade, but the author doesn't explain why it is worse. I feel that something that should've been included. Next, Jem starts telling Scout what happened at the Radleys. The author uses ambiguity to make Jems story seem more dramatic. In the conversation that follows, Lee uses a metaphor to describe how Scout is talking to Jem.

When Jem asks Scout a question, the author phrases it as an appeal in order to show Jems desperation and confusion. Afterwards, it starts going into what happens with the knothole Jem and Scout found. Perhaps the author is basing this on an experience he had as a child. Scout begins talking about the second grade again, and the author calls it grim. It seems like he does this to show Scouts struggle with it. Late on, he describes the route Jem and Scout walk along as an orbit. This seems strange to me because orbits typically don't describe walking.

When talking about the dolls the kinds find in the knothole, the author uses the word hoodooing. This word has no definition in the dictionary, so I am not quite sure what it means. However, the author uses two dolls to describe the physical appearance of the kids. Further in the page, the author capitalizes ‘nothing’. This confuses me because it doesn’t seem like anyone is speaking, so it shouldn’t be capitalized. The author then talks about spelling bees, which shows the age of the book.

Afterwards, when the kids find a watch in the knothole, Atticus says it is worth about $10. That may not seem like much, but back then it was a lot of money. Next, when Jem is wondering about telling his father about their gifts from the knothole, he seems to hide it from Scout. This may represent an inner struggle with his conscience. When Jem and Scout are writing the letter, Jem says, “Ar-r” This is a strange expression; I’ve never heard it used before. The next day, when the kids find the concrete in the tree, Jem is described as going stark white. This shows just how shocked Jem is.

When Jem is looking for the culprit, he seems to be looking for someone specific. The author never explains how Jem knows who he is looking for which is a bit strange and is something that shouldn’t have been left out. Something of note is that Jem seems to have gone through the 5 stages of grief for the tree. It ends with acceptance when he pats the tree longingly one last time.

Jem, being only a child, is very confused as to what has happened, and goes to seek help from his father. When Atticus tells his the tree was fine all along, Jem begins crying. He tries to hide his crying though, which implies that Jem is trying to keep up a “tough guy” look, and doesn’t want to be seen in a state of weakness.