To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee (Chapters 1-4)

     So far this book is not what I expected. I was expecting more details on how most families live on a farm because of the time period. Last year I had to read the Grapes of Wrath. In that book there are many details on how people lived after their farms were taken away from them because of the few  jobs left. I thought that this book would be about children living on a farm and the mockingbird would symbolize for something, but I still do not know what it means.
     So far I have thought about the relationship between Jem and Scout. Scout has mainly talked to Jem. They fight often and tease each other, but they prefer to play together and both become friends with Dill. I am surprised that Scout has not played with any girls. She seems to act more as a tom boy than a girl.
     I have noticed the relationhip between Atticus and his children is very formal. Jem and Scout often call him 'sir' or 'Atticus'. They do not call him father. As Scout is narrating the story, she calls Atticus by his first name as if they are not related. I remember reading in one of these chapters that Scout says their relationship is "decent" and he kindly ignores them. It seems that Atticus does love his children, but he is very formal with them because of the time period. This is when you had very strict parents and had to do whatever they said or you could get physically beaten. Even in the school they are hit with a ruler if they do not behave.