SparkNotes: To Kill a Mockingbird: Chapters 2–3
& Chapters 2–3
Summary & AnalysisChapters 2&3
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee
Chapters 2&3Part One, Chapter 1Chapters 2&3, page 2
page 1 of 2
Summary: Chapter 2
September arrives, and Dill leaves Maycomb to return to
the town of Meridian. Scout, meanwhile, prepares to go to school
for the first time, an event that she has been eagerly anticipating.
Once she is finally at school, however, she finds that her teacher,
Miss Caroline Fisher, deals poorly with children. When Miss Caroline
concludes that Atticus must have taught Scout to read, she becomes
very displeased and makes Scout feel guilty for being educated.
At recess, Scout complains to Jem, but Jem says that Miss Caroline
is just trying out a new method of teaching.
Miss Caroline and Scout get along badly in the afternoon
as well. Walter Cunningham, a boy in Scout&s class, has not brought
a lunch. Miss Caroline offers him a quarter to buy lunch, telling
him that he can pay her back tomorrow. Walter&s family is large
and poor&so poor that they pay Atticus with hickory nuts, turnip
greens, or other goods when they need legal help&and Walter will
never be able to pay the teacher back or bring a lunch to school.
When Scout attempts to explain these circumstances, however, Miss
Caroline fails to understand and grows so frustrated that she slaps
Scout&s hand with a ruler.
Summary: Chapter 3
At lunch, Scout rubs Walter&s nose in the dirt for getting
her in trouble, but Jem intervenes and invites Walter to lunch (in
the novel, as in certain regions of the country, the midday meal
is called &dinner&). At the Finch house, Walter and Atticus discuss
farm conditions &like two men,& and Walter puts molasses all over
his meat and vegetables, to Scout&s horror. When she criticizes
Walter, however, Calpurnia calls her into the kitchen to scold her
and slaps her as she returns to the dining room, telling her to
be a better hostess. Back at school, Miss Caroline becomes terrified
when a tiny bug, or &cootie,& crawls out of a boy&s hair. The boy
is Burris Ewell, a member of the Ewell clan, which is even poorer
and less respectable than the Cunningham clan. In fact, Burris only
comes to school the first day of every school year, making a token
appearance to avoid trouble with the law. He leaves the classroom,
making enough vicious remarks to cause the teacher to cry.
At home, Atticus follows Scout outside to ask her if something
is wrong, to which she responds that she is not feeling well. She
tells him that she does not think she will go to school anymore
and suggests that he could teach her himself. Atticus replies that
the law demands that she go to school, but he promises to keep reading
to her, as long as she does not tell her teacher about it.
You never really understand a person
until you . . . climb into his skin and walk around in it.
Analysis: Chapters 2&3
Scout&s unpleasant first day of school has a threefold
purpose: it locates the reader&s sympathies firm
it offers a further introduction to Maycomb&s to
and it provides sharp social commentary on the theme of children
and education, one of the book&s most important themes. In her interactions
with Miss Caroline, Scout is victimized by her teacher&
Scout means well but receives only punishment in return. The rigid,
impersonal protocols demanded by the law and by Miss Caroline&s
method of teaching are shown to be insufficient and irrational&Burris
Ewell can keep the law happy by coming to school only one day a
year, while Scout incurs her teacher&s wrath simply by learning
to read at an early age. This topsy-turvy educational outlook fails
catastrophically to meet the needs of either student. Scout, who
is commonsensical enough to perceive this failure immediately, is
frustrated by her inability to understand why her teacher acts as she
does, and why she, Scout, continually incurs disfavor for well-intentioned
Throughout these chapters, Scout&s well-meaning
missteps (telling the teacher about Walter&s poverty, criticizing
Walter for putting molasses on his meat and vegetables) earn harsh
rebukes from the adult world, emphasizing the contrast between the
comfortable, imaginative childhood world that Scout occupies in Chapter&1 and
the more grown-up world she is now expected to occupy. This interaction
sets a pattern for the book and for the basic development of Scout
as a character: whether dealing with adults or with other children,
Scout always means well, and her nature is essentially good. Her
mistakes are honest mistakes, and while there is evil all around
her in the novel, it does not infect her, nor does injustice disillusion
her, as it does Jem. At the end of Chapter&2,
Scout, acting on her best intentions (as always), tries to explain
the Cunninghams to Miss Caroline.
Are you ready for the test?
by , December 16, 2012
I don't know about others, but it helped me a lot to take the quiz over To Kill a Mockingbird before I had a timed writing the next day. It really helped me review and keep straight the facts in the novel. This is the first time I tried taking a quiz, and I will definitely do it again with other novels in the future.
23 people found this helpful
by , January 06, 2013
I actually already read the book in my English class about a month ago, and you have to admit, the begaining is kind of boring. And actually most of the book is boring. But the end was so good, that i just sat there and read for like, two hours. I really wanted to know why everyone calls it an important literature book.
56 people found this helpful
by , February 18, 2013
Needs a few more Quotations from Atticus, and also one quote will be useful as well: "Your father's the same in the courtroom as he is in the street" Miss Maudie
Hope this helps
29 people found this helpful
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用户482269
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