Racism/Stereotypes

In the first couple chapters, racism is shown throughout the book. One clear

example that stuck out a me was on page 37:

"Don't you believe a word he says, Dill," I said. "Calpurnia says that's nigger-talk."

Jem scowled darkly at me, but said, "Well, are we gonna play anything or not?"

When Scout used the term "nigger-talk", Jem received it by scowling at her, as if it

were a bad thing to say. My personal thought on Scout is that she is an innocent child.

Being a first grader, you tend to pick up whatever others say around you, because you

may or may not know the meaning. Scout most likely doesn't know the exact 

meaning of the term "nigger-talk", seeing as how she heard Calpurnia say it.

For that particular reason, I don't think Scout should be blamed. She's little, and

doesn't really know any better. Racism was a lot more common back in this time setting,

so she probably was used to hearing words like these all the time. Neighbors and her other

surrounding friends/family speak like this, so she most likely says what she hears. In my opinion,

she doesn't have the right to be blamed.

BOO RADLEY!

When I read about Boo Radley, I honestly was somewhat scared. By the way that Boo is described in the book, he is a really creepy sort of guy. Someone that you wouldn't want to talk with, or for that matter, make eye contact. Boo's attitude and lack of normality leave all the Maycomb people wondering about him, and hearing the rumors make them want to avoid him as much as possible. In my opinion, the rumors aren't true. "He goes out, all right, when it's pitch dark. Miss Stephanie Crawford said she woke up in the middle of the night one time and saw him looking straight through the window at her. . ." (pg. 12) I think the people of Maycomb are led to believe these things/spread rumors because the Radley's have always been so mysterious.

If I were to be a character, I would react most like Jem. I say this because Jem followed through with his dare, even though he was scared inside. He faced his fears and took a little bit of risks, and that would be how I were to react. If I was dared to run up and touch Boo Radley's house, I would probably gather up my courage as Jem did in the story.

English So Far

Hi Guys,

In my opinion, so far the best thing about English was writing my letter to Mrs. Gilman. I liked it because it was an easy way for her to get to know us, so we could be more comfortable in the class. I also like to write, so the assignment was fun for me for that reason. The best part about the letters was that we got to write about ourselves... It was nice to tell her all about our interests, family/friends, and what we did over the summer. I'm glad we all got this opportunity to tell her a little bit about each of us.

-Katey