CAUSE: Scout narrates the history of Arthur "Boo" Radley. When he was a teen, he ran with the Cunninghams from Old Sarum and accompanied them to gambling at the Dew-Drop Inn & Fishing camp; he drank whiskey and went to dances. One night Arthur and the others were arrested by the constable for "disturbing the peace, assault and battery, and using abusive and profane language." (Ch. 1)
EFFECT: When the young men went to court, the judge sentenced them to the state industrial school. Believing that such a sentence was disgraceful, Mr. Radley asked that Arthur be released to him, promising that the boy would be no further trouble. "The doors of the Radley house were closed on weekdays as well as Sundays, and Mr. Radley's boy was not seen again for fifteen years."
CAUSE: Scout attends her first day of school. Her teacher, Miss Caroline Fisher, has Scout go to the blackboard where she has printed the alphabet in large square letters. She asks Scout to read the letters; Scout does so with ease. Frowning, Miss Caroline then asks Scout to read from My First Reader and The Mobile Register.
EFFECT: Miss Caroline is infuriated; she tells Scout not to have her father teach her anymore; doing so will interfere with her reading. Scout becomes confused and tells her teacher, "He hasn't taught me anything, Miss Caroline."
CAUSE: Jem invites Walter Cunningham to come home with him and Scout and join them for "dinner." When Scout observes Walter pour molasses upon his meat and vegetables, she asks him "what the sam hill he was doing." Putting down the syrup pitcher, Walter is embarrassed and lowers his head. When Atticus shakes his head at Scout, she explains, "But he's gone and drowned his dinner in syrup . . . "
EFFECT: Calpurnia whisks Scout out of the room into the kitchen. Furious, Calpurnia scolds Scout, saying that some people do not eat food in the same way that she does. Because Walter is her company, Calpurnia tells her, she should not criticize him. Scout tries to protest, but Calpurnia silences her, insisting that she has been rude to Walter and if she cannot behave at the table, she will eat in the kitchen. Calpurnia then sends Scout back with a "stinging smack" on her backside.
CAUSE: Scout and Jem have been receiving little gifts placed in the knothole of a tree on the Radley property that they pass by on their way home from school. On one mild October day, Jem allows Scout to peek into the knothole; she pulls out two small figures of a boy and a girl carved from soap. Although Scout "shrieked and threw them down," Jem notices that they are accurate depictions of him and his sister.
EFFECT: Jem is quite moved by the sight of these soap figurines because of the artistry and the detail that indicate they are made to resemble him and Scout. At home, he places the figurines in his trunk where he saves mementos.
Chapter 7
CAUSE: After receiving Indian head pennies, a medal, a pocket watch on a chain with an aluminum knife, and soap figurines, Jem eagerly looks forward to checking the knothole. But, one day after having written a thank you note and placed it in the hole, Jem hurries ahead of Scout and stops. "Someone had filled [the] knot-hole with cement." The next day Jem sees Mr. Nathan Radley and asks him if he has put cement in the tree's hole. Mr. Radley replies "Yes . . . I filled it up. . . . Tree's dying. You plug 'em with cement when they're sick. You ought to know that, Jem." Later, Jem asks Atticus if he thinks the Radley tree is dying; Atticus says that "the tree's as healthy as you are, Jem."
EFFECT: Later on, Scout observes Jem rubbing his shoulder against the pillar of the porch. He stays out there until dark, and when he comes inside Scout sees that Jem has been crying.
CAUSE: The family goes to Finches' Landing for Christmas dinner. While there, Scout's cousin Francis calls her father "a disgrace" and a "n****r-lover," among other things. Enraged, Scout splits her "knuckle to the bone on his front teeth."
EFFECT: Uncle Jack punishes Scout. Later, after he drives to his brother's house, Scout and he talk. She tells him that he was not fair because he did not give her a chance to tell her side. But she asks her uncle not to say anything to Atticus because her father urged her not to let anything about the upcoming trial of Tom Robinson to bother her. Uncle Jack and Scout come to an understanding, and he tends to Scout's torn knuckles. Afterwards, Scout overhears Uncle Jack and Atticus talking, and she listens to Atticus as he says why he has taken on the defense of Tom. Scout learns that Atticus practices what he preaches.
1. Cause: Scout decides to help out her friend, Walter Cunningham Jr., by attempting to explain why he will not accept Miss Caroline's quarter during lunch. Effect: Scout accidentally offends and upsets Miss Caroline, who ends up making her stand in the corner.
2. Cause: Jem invites Walter Cunningham Jr. over for dinner. Effect: Scout ends up making rude comments about Walter's eating habits and is chastised in the kitchen by Calpurnia.
3. Cause: Scout contradicts Jem about his belief in hot steams. Effect: Jem gets upset and pushes Scout in the tire as hard as he can. Scout ends up slamming into the Radleys' porch.
4. Cause: Dill and Jem wish to get a look at Boo Radley through his window and decide to go on a nighttime raid into the Radley yard. Effect: The children get the attention of Nathan Radley, who fires his shotgun in the air as they escape from his yard.
5. Cause: Atticus requires Jem and Scout to stand outside at a safe distance from Maudie's burning home. Effect: Boo Radley notices that Scout is cold and places a blanket over her shoulders to warm her.
6. Cause: Atticus has to travel to Montgomery to fulfill his legislative duties.
Effect: Calpurnia decides to take Jem and Scout to her church, First Purchase African M.E. Church, for Sunday service.
- CAUSE: Dill bets Jem that he is too afraid to enter the Radley yard.
EFFECT: Jem accepts the dare and runs up and slaps the side of the Radley house. - CAUSE: The children discover items in the knothole of the Radley oak.
EFFECT: They try to determine who is putting them there. - CAUSE: Boo's parents both die.
EFFECT: Their son, Nathan, moves from Pensacola to take care of Boo. - CAUSE: A mad dog stalks the street on which Atticus lives. EFFECT: Atticus is called upon to kill the dog since he was once the best marksman in Maycomb County.
- CAUSE: Jem becomes angry and chops down all of Mrs. Dubose's camellias.
EFFECT: Atticus requires Jem to read to her for a month as punishment. - CAUSE: Atticus is away from Maycomb on business one Sunday.
EFFECT: Calpurnia decides she can't trust Jem and Scout to be sent to their own church alone, so she takes them to her own church in the Quarters.
See eNotes Ad-Free
Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts.
Already a member? Log in here.