To Kill A Mockingbird Dialectical Journal Essay

Reese Balaski Due Date: Tuesday 6th
Journal 2

I am reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and I am currently on page 42. This book is about a girl named Scout and her family living in Maycomb, Alabama. In this journal, I will proceed to predict and evaluate the plot points of the book so far.

One of the major topics in the story so far is Scout and her brother Jem being able to see their neighbor Boo Radley. A reason for this is Boo has been locked in his house for a large portion of his life. This has happened because of multiple occurrences. For starters, he was in a city gang for some time when he was a teenager. Initially, they did nothing more than simple pranks around the city; however, they eventually began to be more

Another reason for the kids being afraid, is Boo stabbing his father with scissors. This lead to Mrs. Radley screaming at the top of her lungs, which alerted the whole town. His father did not wish to send Boo to jail, and decided to keep him at home, never letting him go outside. Finally, Boo has been locked up in his house due to his family living a secluded life. The Radley family is rarely seen around Maycomb, and practice religion at their house rather than go to church. There is another factor that may contribute to why the kids are hesitant to see Boo; they are quite frightened of him. Evidence of this, is every time they have to go past the Radley residence, their first instinct is to run. Though, this does not, occur when they are together, the siblings still feel anxious around the house. Secondly, the stories and accusations of Boo have caused the children to become intimidated of him. Several Maycomb residents have recalled seeing him in the dead of night, staring straight at their home among other possessions. Finally, the kids being afraid of him,

This is portrayed through two characters; Scout and Ms. Caroline. While Scout eventually learns this lesson later on, she initially does not understand the concept. This was shown through her and Ms. Caroline arguing over the way they learn grammar. Another factor in this, is Scout beating up and criticizing Walter Cunningham. She has decided to use verbal and physical bullying instead of seeing life through his perspective. Scout finally learns the importance of perspective change from her father, Atticus. He says, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”(1). Other than Scout, her teacher Ms. Caroline also shows signs of walking in someone else’s shoes. At first, she is unaware of how each family go about their day in Maycomb, and seems reluctant to change her ways. She does eventually begins to accept the lifestyles of the several families living in Maycomb. Ms. Caroline’s way of teaching and talking with her students has begun to change as well. Ms. Caroline even goes as far as to listen to the descriptions the students give of Burris Ewell. She takes her time to really connect more with the town of Maycomb in a variety of ways. Each character learns to see life through the eyes of another. They take their time to realize that the way they were taught will not always work with the