Zusammenfassung der Ressource
To Kill A Mockingbird
Chapter One
- History of the Finch family, Maycomb, the
Radleys described. Main characters
introduced. (Scout/Jem/Atticus/Calpurnia)
- 'he played with us,
read to us, and
treated us with
courteous
detachment' (p11)
- Scout's mother dies
when she was two and
Atticus does the job of
both parents.
- Atticus is also breaking away from family tradition by
becoming a lawyer. He also believes to treat his black
housekeeper with respect and his children as
individuals.
- Jem (9) and Scout (5) meet
Dill (6). Dill comes from
Mississippi every summer to
stay with his aunt Miss
Rachel Haveford.
- His name-dill- is a herb
as he adds flavour and
excitement to the
events.
- 'we came to know Dill as a pocket
Merlin, whose head teemed with
eccentric plans, strange longings,
and quaint fancies.' p8
- Although he is small, he
turns everything into
magic.
- Jem, Scout and Dill
become fascinated
with the Radleys.
- Boo has not left the house for 15
years since he got into trouble
with other teenage boys and
supposedly attacked his father
with scissors.
- 'malevolent phanotm' p9
- 'Mr Radley's boy was not seen again
for fifteen years' p10
- Mr Radley had 'colourless
eyes which didn't reflect
light'
- Light is a symbol for hope,
freedom and happiness.
- 'from the day Mr Radley took Arthur
home, people said the house died'
- Jem gives a completely
hyperbolic description of
Boo.
- 'Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall,
judging from his tracks; he dined on raw
squirrels and any cats he could catch,
that's why his hands were blood-stained -
if you ate an animal raw, you could never
wash the blood of. There was a long
kagged scar that ran across his face; what
teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his
eyes popped, and he drooled most of the
time.'
- 'The Radley Place was inhabited by an
unknown entity the mere description of
whom was enough to make us behave
for days on end' p7
- Descriptions of Radley House: 1.
'sharp curve' 2.'once white' 3.
'darkened to the colour of slate-grey'
- 1. oxymoronic language- suggests something
strange and unusual 2. suggests the darkness of
the house and what is inside 3. this idea of
darkness links to Boo himself.
- 'droopy and sick' p16
- They are surprised when Calpurnia
speaks badly of Mr Radley as she
doesn't usually comment on white
people's behaviour.
- 'the meanest man ever God blew breath into (Ch1 p18).
- African-Americans had lower status in society so it would
have been considered out of place or even disrespectful
to comment on a white person.
- Dill dares Jem to knock on the
Radley's door. Nothing happens but
they think they see an inside shutter
move.
- We are introduced to the narrative voice
and perspective that will be used
throughout.
- Scout is the fist person narrative as well as a participant in the story. Events
are recounted first hand, through a child's eyes. However, Scout is also
describing the events in retrospect so we see the story not only from a
chi;d's viewpoint but also from a more mature, adult perspective, offering
the benefits of hindsight.
- Harper Lee gives us information to
understand how important family
background and characteristics are in this
society. This becomes significant in later
events.
- 'I maintain that the Ewells started it all,
but Jem, who was four years my senior,
said it started long before that.' p9
- We are introduced to the theme of growing up
and childhood games- an important topic in
the first part of the novel.
- 'In all his life, Jem had never
declined a dare' p14
- The Maycomb setting is established.
- It is descirbed as a character (p11) as
'old' and 'tired', but also with hope (it
was a time of 'vague optimism'.
- Reveals the small-town mentality and the
divisions and prejudices that exist in
Maycomb where there are different rules
for black and white people.
- Introduces ideas of prejudice. We are
reminded of the recent history of
black slavery in Alabama. SImon
Finch, a family ancestor, bought three
slaves.
- 'Atticus was related by blood
or marriage to nearly every
family in the town' p5
- people were 'unwilling to discard
initial suspicions' p9 prejudice
- 'nothing to buy and no money to
buy it' p6
- They are feeling the
effects of the great
depression.
- Harper Lee foreshadows
the future events.
- 'my brother Jem got his arm
badly broken at the elbow'