My first encounter reading the first few chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird

At first, I was confused of what Jem breaking his arm had to do with Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. I've heard of the novel before but I only saw the 1961 movie based on the book when I was in middle school. The purpose of watching the movie was to understand what life was like in the United States during the Great Depression. The only characters that I remembered from watching the movie were Scout and Atticus.

As I read on, I began to recognize that Scout is a proud, young individual who is not afraid to say the first thing that comes to her mind. For example, she will punch anyone who says something bad about her family. I also learned that she truly acts like a tomboy and does not act girly so she can spend time with her brother, Jem, since he is four years older than her. They live in Maycomb, Alabama, thus, as it was part of the Confederate States during the Civil War, they strongly believed that social status was based on the color of your skin.

Every summer, they hang out together with Dill, the nephew of Ms. Rachel. As the story progresses, Dill becomes interested in who lives in the Radley Place. Based on the knowledge of the neighborhood's gossip, "Boo Radley" (his real name is Arthur) happens to be Maycomb County's town crazy, however, he is rarely seen in public. Yet, is Boo Radley really crazy? For instance, as the children leave from not being able to see Boo Radley "in the window with the loose shutter" (Lee, 31), Jem encounters a shadow (who probably is Boo Radley himself) as they sneak out the back. The children run once they see him and escape through the fence, but Jem's pants get stuck and eventually takes them off and leaves it there. In the middle of the night, Jem goes back to retrieve it and finds it neatly folded on the fence. Another example is when Scout had a blanket that was given to her by no other than Boo Radley when Miss Maudie's house caught on fire. Could it be that Boo Radley is sincere and is just helping the children when they least expect it?

Atticus is the perfect and just father for Jem and Scout. He allows the children to view not only just one side of a story, but also the other side. Although he does not let his work interfere with his children's lives, the gossip from the community finds a way to the children, such as Cecil Jacobs, Mrs. Dubose, and their cousin Francis, who tell Scout as well as Jem that their father is a "nigger-lover". Atticus clarifies this statement by telling Scout and Jem that he is defending a Negro by the name of Tom Robinson. Based on what I've read so far, Atticus is the type of person who does not see only one perspective of the problem, as most of the town does all because Robinson is a Negro. He doesn't want his children to think like most of the community and let's them know everything that they should know for their age.

So far, I don't understand why Atticus is defending Tom Robinson. Hopefully, the book will reveal it soon. Will Scout be lonely as Jem grows up or will she just have to stay with Calpurnia until she grows up? When will Boo Radley not be a mystery to Scout and the town anymore? I know for a fact that Boo Radley won't be a bad person in the end. For now, further reading must occur! :]