To Kill a Mockingbird Chapter 1 Annotations – 2nd copy
Chapter one of To Kill a Mockingbird introduces us to the main characters, setting and plot. The author intentionally leaves the reader with questions that will not be answered until later in the book. In doing this the author entices reader to continue reading the book to unravel the mystery’s that have been introduced in the first chapter.
One question that came to mind after reading the first chapter of To kill a mockingbird is will we learn more about how Jem breaks his arm? Scout talks about Jem broke his arm for almost half a page. There is clearly some significance to Jem breaking his arm that has not yet been told in the book. This is a great example of the author leaving mysteries in the first chapter that we will have to read more into the book to find out about. When Scout mentions that Jem breaks his arm at some point she says that the Ewell’s were the cause. Will the Ewell’s have a bigger role in the rest of the book? In the next two pages we learn about one of the Finch ancestors named Simon Finch who made a fortune as a fur trader. We also learn that Simon studied medicine which Jack Finch would also later do. We learn that the Finch’s have always been religious and was not something that just the current Finch’s do. One thing that was left unanswered is what happened to Simon Finch’s fortune. It is never explained what happened to it. Scout says that Atticus’s first trial was with two members of the Haverford family. Will we ever hear anything else about these Haverford’s? A couple of pages later we learn Miss Rachel (Dill’s Aunt) is a Haverford.
Scout says that Maycomb is a very tired town. What does this mean exactly? I think that this means that the town is very boring and not much happens there. Scout says that in Maycomb everyone takes there time with everything and no one has any money to spend. Since this book takes place in the great depression we can assume that the town of Maycomb (which seems to be a poor town regardless) is at an all-time low with the people of Maycomb having no money. This proves that Maycomb is a poor town and most if not all the residents are poor. Scout mentions that boys would be sent to industrial school just so that they could have shelter and food. This speaks volumes to the living situations of some families. People from other towns say that Maycomb has nothing to fear but fear itself. Does this just mean that nothing ever happens in Maycomb or something else?
Scout talks about her family on pages six and seven. Scout claims that she finds Atticus a satisfactory father. Will Scout’s views of Atticus change later on in the book? Scout talks about her Mother in this chapter. We learn that she died of a heart attack when Scout was very little. My question is will we learn anything about the mother later on in the book or is this small bit of information all we will get?
We are first introduced to Dill in chapter one. We are not told much about Dill’s personal life and I was left with these questions: Does everyone call him Dill or just friends? Will we learn more about Dill’s family and living situation? Why is Dill unwilling to talk about his father? Where is his father and what happened to him? By the end of chapter one none of these questions have been answered. I think that the author added this bit of mystery to Dill because it creates questions that the reader will want to find the answers to.
In chapter one we also introduced to Boo Radley. Dill is very interested in Boo and wants to make him come out of the house. This is similar to the 2006 movie “monster house” where 3 kids live near a mysterious house and want to find out more about the inhabitant and what is inside the house. The Radley place is described as run down. Is this because the two current owners don’t care about their home or they don’t have the money to fix it? The town refers to Boo as the town phantom. Do they call him this because he is never seen or because he is scary like a phantom? Boo is also referred to as malevolent. What did Boo do to earn a name like that? Boo Radley is treated like a legend with stories about his past and claims from the town that he roams at night. This chapter also mentions that black men do not walk by the Radley place. Could this be foreshowing to when Nathan shoots at the kids because he thinks they are black men? Scout also says that there are chickens in the Radley’s backyard. This is foreshadowing to when the kids try to sneak into the backyard but realize the chickens will give away their location.
When Scout tells us about Boo’s backstory she refers to it as a legend. Since it is referred to as a legend this could mean that not all of Boo’s backstory is true. When Scout talks about the Boo’s backstory she mentions someone named Mr. Connor who Boo and his friends locked in the courthouse. If Mr. Connor is still alive could Scout ask him more about Boo? Boo’s backstory also mentions Mrs. Radley. What happened to her? Is she still alive? The person who informed Scout about Boo’s story is Jem who got it from Miss Stephanie. Miss Stephanie is referred to as the town gossip. Can her story about Boo be considered to true?
When Jem says how he thinks Mr. Radley kept Boo in the house Atticus’s shuts down his idea and says “there are other ways of making people into ghosts”. What does this mean? Does Atticus know how Mr. Radley kept Boo in the house? The town says that the Radley house died when Boo came back. This is very cryptic and the book does not explains what it means much like Atticus’s comment about making people into ghosts. Calpurnia states the Mr. Radley was the meanest man to ever live. What did Mr. Radley to Calpurnia to make her think this? Mr. Radley may have been a racist and that’s why Calpurnia did not like him this would also give a reason for why Nathan Radley is racist because if his father was a racist I likely would have rubbed off on him.
In this chapter we learn about Jem’s views of the Boo. When Jem describes Boo to Dill he describes him as looking like a monster despite never seeing him. Jem also claims that he has heard Boo scratching at the backdoor. Whether that is true or not is not said. Jem seems to think of Boo as some kind of crazy murderer similar to characters like Jason from Friday the 13th and Michael Myers from Halloween. Although he claims that he is not, Jem is terrified of the Radley place. It took all the courage Jem had to go hit the front door. After Jem does this Scout claims that she saw the shutters move. Did this actually happen or was Scout just seeing things? I guess we will have to wait to find out.