Daniel Yang

Daniel Yang
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee
Realistic Fiction
Just Right
89

1. It has just passed Christmas time in my book. Scout and Jem both got air rifles for presents. They spent their Christmas with relatives such as Auntie Alexandra and Uncle Jack. Auntie Alexandra feels like Scout swears too much and is tom-boyish. She also thinks that Atticus, Scout and Jem's father, is not raising them very well. For example, she is blaming Atticus for Scout's swearing and boy-like attributes. On the other hand, Uncle Jack seems like the nicer relative in the family. But he is not too lenient. Scout seems to favor him. Besides the relatives, there was also a boy named Francis who is 8 years old. Scout and Francis were just talking then Scout mentions that she is going to marry Dill. Francis asks why and says that he is poor and moves from house to house. Scout disagrees but Francis explains that every so often, Dill changes houses and that's why he's only here for the summer. Francis then starts making Scout angry by calling her dad a nigger-lover. Scout tells him to stop but he doesn't and runs away. He hides in the kitchen and Scout waits there for him to come out. Later, Auntie Alexandra comes over and asks Scout where Francis is. Scout says that he's in the kitchen and Auntie Alexandra says that he knows that he is not allowed in there, then yells his name into the kitchen and asks why he's in there. He replies, saying that Scout is trapping him in there and won't let him out. This,  I think, makes Alexandra even more disappointed in Scout; I can imagine her giving Scout the evil eye.  Anyway, Alexandra orders Scout to let Francis out so she does. He taunts her again and she chases him outside. This time when she caught him, she punched him square in the face after he said it one more time. All the adults came over, comforted Francis, and scolded Scout.

2. I felt that the book had a slow beginning. Right now, the book is a bit more exciting with the house fire but other than that, the book hasn't been very interesting. Although, I feel like some characters have been very well thought out in the author's part. The others aren't very unique. I think Scout has the best characteristics. They are very unusual which is not a bad thing. I like how she is very curious about many things and tom-boyish. She is also very tough for her age, even if she was a boy. But Jem's attributes aren't as 'fun' as hers. He has the attributes of the average older brother. Although I could be just missing out on his characteristics. Atticus has maybe one 'fun' characteristic, he goes with the flow of life and just lets things happen because he knows it will fix itself, if it's bad, in the end.

3. A strong theme in this book is courage. Boo Radley has been treated very badly during his childhood and yet he still has the courage to go out and try to befriend the children. He constantly gives them presents as a sign of friendship. He even had the courage to go out into the streets and put a blanket on Jem and Scout during the fire. He knew he might've been seen but he still did it. If he was caught he could have been punished. 'Boo' had enough courage to try and befriend the children even if they only thought he was a frightening myth. This was done even after his inhumane punishment.

4. My favorite character is Atticus. He may only have one trait that I like but it is a very good trait. I like how he just goes along with what life gives him. He knows that swearing is a period of time that Scout will overcome during her age. He never strikes his children and he is also very to the point with them. When they ask him a question, he'll answer it no matter what. For example, when a child asks their parents about the birds and the bees, they just say something like the pelican dropping a bag with a baby inside it at the parents' room. I would imagine that Atticus would be strait forward with his children and just tell them; he'll tell them even if it might be inappropriate. His reason for being so direct with them is because if he doesn't, they'll just be curious until they figure it out - which is very logical.

5. My least favorite character is Francis. He may be important but he is very mean. Scout was being nice and asking him what he got for Christmas, and somehow he started talking about how Atticus is a nigger-lover right to Scout's face. Scout also describes him as a boring character, and I really don't like being bored. I don't even know why he started a fight with her. They were just talking then he started calling Scout silly for wanting to marry Dill since she didn't know he moved from home to home yet and started to insult her dad. Another reason why I don't like him is because he made Scout so mad that she broke her word about not getting mad at someone for insulting Atticus.

6. I think that Uncle Jack will tell Atticus that Scout only hurt Francis for calling him a nigger-lover after Scout made him promise not to tell him. His explanation for doing it might be because he thinks Atticus is so strait forward to his children and that they should be the same to their parents. I think that Atticus will then confront Scout to tell her that he knew that she would break her word at some point due to her age or an explanation similar to that. He will also tell Scout that she can tell him anything she feels necessary. Scout will then respect Atticus even more and so will Uncle Jack for being such a good parent.