What are your initial questions, thoughts, and reactions to the text? You may comment on the setting, characters, plot, theme, author's craft, point of view, a quotation, or any other element you choose. Do not simply retell the plot of the chapters.
I really like how the story begins by talking about her family history. The fact that she narrates the story herself makes you feel like you are in the story with her. So far, Dill is my favorite character because I like how curious and entertaining he is. I don't like Miss Caroline. She is not understanding towards her students at all. My favorite quote from chapter 3 was "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." I really like this because it is the complete truth and explains that you shouldn't judge someone until you know what they are going through.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI like how the story starts off with an event that happened in the past and then uses the book to explain the reason behind the event. I thought it was cool that the whole story was a memory of an event happened in the past, not in the narrator's present. I think that Dill is an odd character, but not in a bad way. He adds to the story, making it interesting to read. I'm curious to see where the whole Boo Radley story line is going. I think that Miss Caroline shouldn't have yelled at her for being literate, she should have been relieved that she didn't have to teach one more student to read.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think Miss Caroline was so angry?
DeleteI think Miss Caroline was angry because she felt Scout's reading was compromised by learning so early in her life. And now she will be ahead of the rest of the class who most of which still don't know how to read unless they stayed back and are in the first grade again.
DeleteI agree, I think Dill is an odd character. For starters, he kept wanting Jem to at least touch the Radey's house even though he knew that the was a high probability that one of them could get injured.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe first-person POV of scout makes the narration of when scout went to school for the first time. When she had her problems with Ms. Caroline, I found it odd how Jem had said it was just her teaching style. This made me curious for how Jem will react to more of Scout's problems in the future
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree that it would be curious for how Jem will react to more of Scout's problems in the future because that was only the first day of school and Scout will most definitely have other problems in and out of school moving forward.
Deletecomment here
DeleteI found it interesting how different Scout's schooling experience is to ours, whether it's the discipline she receives from the teacher or the extreme difference in education between then and now. I'm also curious about Boo Radley's part in the story, and whether the kids' attempts to get him out of his house actually influence the events that lead to Jem breaking his arm.
ReplyDeleteThe author explains how everyone in Maycomb is afraid of the Bradley family and their house. She took a good chunk of the beginning of the book to explain that situation. But I don't think that they are really mean people, I want to the think that they are miss-understood. I think there is more to their history then just what people gossip around town. I am thinking that the Bradley's will play a big role in the story as well.
ReplyDeleteI think that Miss Caroline is an unqualified teacher. She seemed like she didn't know how to run the class. Also Scout is rude in the sense that she doesn't understand when to stop talking. She talks about people as if they are not in the room and doesn't censor what she says. I also find it interesting that she does not call her father 'dad'. This must be to show their relationship is not ordinary. It seems that they have more of a friend type relationship.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Elizabeth in the sense that Miss Caroline is an unqualified teacher. She came into this new teaching position with no prior knowledge of the roles of all the families in Maycomb. In order for her to be an effective teacher, expecially in this town, she must learn these roles so that she does not offend any more of her students like she did during her first day teaching Scouts class. She also needs to learn how to control her classroom's noise level. Also, I agree with the statement that Scout needs to learn how to sensor her thoughts and comments. She has the right to express her feelings, but not everything she is thinking needs to be spoken about. Overall, I have enjoyed the beginning of the book and I am curious of how Scout's schooling experience will turn out.
DeleteI was wondering why Scout acts like a boy. Then I came to the conclusion that she was only raised by her father. So she never had a chance to be able to connect with her mother because she died so early in Scout's life. She grew up with her father and brother which means acting like a boy was just natural. Also, I liked how the author incorporated how Scout felt after being treated so rudely by Miss Caroline. This is a great way to be able to reach out to students reading this book because they could connect with similar experiences.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the first statements, even in real life when people do not grow up with a mom figure or even vise versa with a boy not having a dad, they can grow up not knowing the "proper" way to act. That is why I also suppose Scout acts like this.
DeleteMy initial thoughts are that Dill is going to play an important role in the story. To start, Scout first mention Dill by saying, "That was the summer Dill came to us." This suggests to me that he is going to be important later in the story, because the narrator would not introduce a character in that way if he was not important. Also, I like how their relationship started as an awkward conversation, before quickly turning into a friendship. Finally, Scout says that she was, "miserable without him," when Dill went back to Meridian. This proves that their friendship had a special bond that was valued by Scout.
ReplyDeleteRight now my favorite character is Jem because of how after Walter getting his nose rubbed in the dirt by scout for getting scout in trouble she kindly invites Walter for lunch because she feels bad. I also like how Scout gives her childhood experiences so far in the book, it allows you to connect with her emotion and what she was like as a child. I also think this book so far is very connecting to the readers life because we our also able to look back and talk about our childhood experiences (flashback) just like scout.
ReplyDeleteI think that Miss Caroline isn't fit to be a teacher. It seems like she has a lot of difficulty dealing with children. I didn't like that she made Scout feel ashamed that she could actually read while the other children really can't. I feel like Scout's dad, Atticus, is going to end up being an important character throughout the book because he seems very wise and intelligent. I really like how he encouraged Scout to keep going to school even when she wanted to quit. He appears to be a good role model to Scout by teaching her the right things to do.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement completely. Miss Caroline is defiantly not fit to be a teacher. I don't think a teacher these days would hit a student for trying to explain their side of the story. But we have to remember that this book's time and place is in the mid-1950's in New York City. Discipline to younger people those days were not needed as much as it is today. Addition to that, there weren't many punishments for the students so violence, to the teachers, would be the obvious answer to make them work. Students now know that they have to respect and pay attention in school, back then they didn't really need to do that.
DeleteI wouldn't exactly say using physical punishment wasn't necessary back in the Great Depression era. Students didn't want to go to school. They wanted to help out on farms and do something they saw more productive. By law they were required to go to school so teachers often used fear and physical punishment to make students do school work and not fail every single piece of school work. There are parents who did the same. They used physical force to make sure their kids did their school work and therefor those parents saw teachers like Ms. Caroline as a good teacher. Back then, she was totally qualified as an effective teacher.
DeleteI agree with Jen and Sheila completely. I do not believe Miss Caroline is fit to be a teacher because she made Scout feel bad that she can read and write at a higher level than the rest of the class. A good teacher should applaud their students for past knowledge that they want to show in the class room. Also, I do not like how Miss Caroline acted towards Walter when he did not have lunch. As a teacher, you should understand a students background and respect that. The way she was demanding him to come and take the quarter and pay her back the next day even though he did not want to due to what him and his family believe in showed that, in my opinion, she does not really and truly care for her students enough to understand their situations at home.
DeleteMy thought of how Burris Ewell and his family are above the law is how come the family can they do the things that they can do? Such as how all the children just show up to the first day of school and just vanish for the remainder of the year while the truant officer just gave up on fixing this situation. Also, how the father can hunt when the hunting season isn't open which is a crime in Maycomb but the law enforcers still allow them to do this. However I did think Atticus explained it in a way to Scout to show her that if the Ewells' really cared about education and following the law and to figure out some other way to survive then they already would have done so was very enlightening for Scout. Also, I feel that Atticus will play a big role in Scout's life in order for her to keep going on the right path and make decisions that are beneficial to her and her education.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement and I think that the reason that the Ewells are treated so differently and unfairly to the other citizens of Maycomb is because the rest of the town is scared of them. Like Little Chuck Little says on page 27, Burris, one of the younger kids, is a mean guy and is liable to start a fight. I think the town is just trying to avoid any fights that don't need to be had. If they don't want to be a part of the town and not get educations, I think the town is only okay with it so they don't let any innocent citizens get hurt. I also agree that Atticus will play an important role in Scout's life and I think that it is good that he agrees to let her continue to read with him because I don't think it's fair for her teacher to tell her she can't do something she loves to do with her own father.
DeleteScout's first day of school really got me to sympathize for her. The town of Maycomb in my opinion is socially messed up. Education is not important in their town. It seems that the teacher envies Scout's intelligence and as a way of defense takes it out on Scout by slapping her wrists with a ruler. What I gathered is that Scout is a pretty mature child who had to grow up quicker than most. She seems to mean well when helping others, but sometimes makes mistakes. When she was trying to inform the teacher of the Cunninghams struggle and the Ewells I feel the teacher took offense to it and punished her because the teacher, Miss Caroline, struggles accepting that Scout grew up quickly and is already above the other children educationally.
ReplyDeleteI think that the way the novel starts off with a sort of background on Scout and her life is a good way to start. It shows the differences between the time period of the novel and today. It makes you think how the schooling and punishments were different. Scout was being hit and embarrassed in school although she was only trying to show that there was differences between the families in the town. Also to see how even though the families were different they had kindness in their hearts to be nice to each other and, like Jem had invited Walter over for dinner, do nice things for each other.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting how curious Dill is. After Jem and Scout tell him all about the Radley family and about the house, he became very curious about it. It shocks me how he would stand at the corner at night and just look at the house and wonder. When Jem told him about Boo Radley and Dill said he wanted to try and make him come out of the house to see what he looked like, I even had the thought that Dill was brave too. I don't know many people who would hear scary stories about something and then want to actually see/experience it. I found it very relate-able how Jem did the dare. I know if i was dared to do something that scary or even dangerous, I would want to do it quickly. I can definitely see myself quickly running up to the house then all the way back home just to complete the dare. It's what most kids do.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how the story explained Scouts background at the beginning. It really helped to understand the setting so you are able to have a better understanding of the book. I also liked how the author described Boo Radley and how everyone was afraid of him. The author also described a lot about his house and how the location was really inconvenient to the town. I found it strange that Dill was so fascinated with his house when everyone else wanted to stay away from it. I found it interesting that even though Jem was afraid of the Radley house, that he still did the dare to satisfy Dill. I just liked how even though they've been through so much because of where they are from they still worry about what others think and are too proud to back out of dangerous things.
ReplyDeleteI like how the story takes place from a first person point of view. A lot of the books I read have been written in 3rd person point of view. I also like how it starts on a flashback and later on in the book we get to see how that is relevant in the future.
ReplyDeleteI also think that Ms. Caroline is not a good teacher. I believe that she isn't qualified because she sounded as though she didn't know what she was teaching at all. She hits children which is not right. I think that this is why she is not a valuable teacher.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteA character in the book I find interesting is Dill who comes for the summer he is very curious on how the people live in Scout's town and he wants to know what the Radley's do while everything is shut and they dont go outside. Also I do not like Ms. Caroline's way of teaching because she hit Scout's wrist with a ruler which shows disrespect. Also she doesnt like Scout because of her smarts and being ahead of the class.
ReplyDeleteI agree with mike on Mrs carolines way of teaching. She does not like being corrected and punishes scout for being able to correct the teacher. Also i like the character he describe because dill is a very interesting caracter who although not known for sure but from what is assumed he lies about what he use to do just to make himself look good.
Delete