To Kill a Mockingbird

A few weeks ago when I began to read Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, the first chapter did not capture me as much as I had expected, although through the second chapter I began to get a more firm interest on the book. I am glad we get to see the story through Scout's eyes rather than anyone else's because her point of view makes the story seem more interesting to me. I notice how Jem calls her a girl, and how she never mentions any girls her age, so I would wonder if maybe Maycomb Valley does not have many girls, or maybe Scout gets along better with boys than girls? I think it is great how her father had taught her how to read before school, because this would help her with school and further her knowledge and put her past other kids in her classes. Her first year of school seemed to have not been as she expected, seeing how she was so eager to come before it started, and then when her first day went by she was already ready to quit school.
Her teacher hadn't liked that she had already been taught how to read, which made not much sense to me, I do see how the teacher wants to teach her the correct way, but I believe the teacher should have gone to a better way of explaining to Scout how she should solve the problem. The teacher seemed to be unprofessional because she was completely clueless to the events that had occured in the class on the first day. I think that the teacher could have handled the class differently and she should have been prepared for how the students would behave. Scout achieved a better relationship with Calpurnia throughout the first year of school, which seemed like a good thing for her, to feel more comfortable around her house. The second summer with Dill came and it looks like Scout and Dill have liked eachother, although Dill made Scout feel left out which made Scout resort to hanging out with Miss Maudie when Dill and Jem did not need Scout. Scout, Jem, and Dill are replaying what they believe to have been the history of the Radley family in their front yard, and it seems like the neighbors had noticed what they were up to. Near the end of the summer Jem, Scout, and Dill had gotten in trouble from Atticus after he caught them trying to put a note inside the Radley household's window, I thought they would have learned their lesson, and they would stop trying to talk to Boo Radley, but then the last day of Dill's prescense had come, and they decided to go back to the house. The were caught and could have been killed if Boo Radley had better aim, but afterwards Boo Radley tells the neighbors he saw a "white nigger" and that he tried to shoot him. My question is, did Boo Radley honestly think it was someone else? Or did he actually know who was on his yard? This book so far has not showed me any signs of a certain direction it is headed to, but it has shown me how much different life can be in other places and times. This book is a great way for me to understand that I should not take things for granted, because maybe her life is simple and fun right now, but they are not nearly as cautious as people are now. I have enjoyed the book and I plan to take the read slowly and deeply. I want to be able to understand what the writer is trying to put across, and I would like to understand how the characters progress through the story.