To Kill A Mockingbird Journal Two

Journal #2

Chapters 4-7

Perspective of Ms. Maudie Atkins

Dear Diary,

Today I found another patch of nut grass in my garden. The weed becomes worse and worse as the summer progresses. Now that school is out for the children I see Atticus's kids and their friend often, stopping by to get a squirt of milk from my cow or take a break from their endless string of activities. Most of the time I busy myself in my garden or watch them in the evening from the porch. Oftentimes I bake them a cake and watch them polish off the plate, listening to them quibbling with each other.

Lately I have been noticing Scout coming here more often and alone, without Jem and Dill. I try not to mention it to Scout, but I sense that she is teetering on the edge of their group. Those boys seem to be evading Scout, and so I let Scout sit with me while I garden or on the porch while twilight fades to darkness. Most of the times we are as silent as a snake slinking through the grass, but one evening Scout asked me, "Miss Maudie, do you think Boo Radley is still alive?" This surprised me for two reasons, the first being we almost never speak, and the second being that I didn't know anyone would think Arthur would be dead. I remember the poor child when he was much younger; he was such a sweet child but became of his harsh, foot-washing Baptist father. Now he is so holed up in that house and what with those numerous rumors about him being malignant hanging about, if he wasn't crazy then, he is now.

Just yesterday I was relaxing on the porch when I heard a roar that startled me so badly I thought that my heart would stop completely. I ran out to the street to see Nathan Radley with a shotgun held in his hand, staring hard at something running off in the bushes. He said he had just shot because he saw a Negro in his collard patch, although I have my suspicions that this "white Negro" is only a bunch of certain neighborhood children who came to the seen moments later, one without his pants. They shouldn't torture that man like that; the next time they sneak in there his brother won't be as kind to aim at the sky. But suspicions are suspicions, and if I go about telling them I will be as bad as Miss Stephanie Crawford.

Well, the sun is bright and I am going to get as much out of it as I can. Off to the garden.

Sincerely,

Maudie Atkins

To Kill A Mockingbird Journal One

To Kill A Mockingbird

Journal #1

Chapters 1-3

Perspective of Calpurnia

I don't know what I am to do with that girl. Always shooting her mouth of and not caring what comes out. That poor child, Walter, probably hadn't eaten a full meal that year. He had been comfortable at that table until Scout condescended him to drenching his meal in syrup. I had to drag her into the kitchen and give her a lesson on courtesy. I told her Walter was our company and it wasn't her position to be intimidating him and remarking on his ways like she was to be determining what was right and wrong. I knew she thought malevolent thoughts of me then, but disgracin' and embarrassin' him like that was not acceptable. After that I made her go and get her plate from the table, sending her out with a smack, to prevent her to doing any more damage to that boy's esteem.

I had hoped that spending the summer with that proper boy, Dill, would have taught her a few manners. There for the summer he stayed with Ms. Rachel Haverford, his aunt. But the eccentric boy got Jem into running onto the Radley's property. Thank heavens he didn't get caught; those Radleys are a suspicious bunch, but what with all that gossip about them no one knows what to believe. Now that Dill has gone back to Mississippi I am hoping that Scout and Jem will mellow out as the school year progresses.

Unfortunately Scout's been having some trouble already. Smacked by the teacher and sent in the corner on the first day, I'm concerned for what she might get into the rest of the year. I overheard she and Mr. Atticus talking that evening. The teacher, Ms. Caroline, seems to be discouraging her from readin' and writin'. That irked me; the teacher has no right to be telling her not to read and write. Is it not the teacher who is to be teaching, not the one to be removing what children have learned? Here's to hopin' for that girl, and to hoping for the rest of that broken family.

To Kill A Mockingbird

Lit. Circle Post Four

What is the What

Sunday March 21

Page 521, Par 4

"We were thinking of of the kind of work we would do in the United States. We though of the school there, many of us imagining that we would, within weeks, be studying at American universities."

Significance: I think that this quote represents how hopeful they all are right before going to America; looking forward to education, jobs, homes and families. When I look at the position Achak is in currently I feel bad because he was working at a gym, still trying to finish college at age twenty-seven. Everyone leaving to America thought that they would receive immediate gratification and while a few did, many did not with Achak being one of them.

Personal Connection: I think that this relates to many things in everyday life, such as investing in stocks or insurance. While at first it may seem like your investment is pointless, when you get in a car crash or the stocks go up later on, you realize how beneficial it really was. Because Achak went to America instead of staying in America, he has achieved much more and will achieve much more.

Question: What is one experience that you benefitted in something that did not take effect immediately?

Page 531, Par 8

"-But we're no longer rain, I said, -We're no longer seeds. We're men. Now we can stand and decide. This is our first chance to choose our own unknown."

Significance: I think that this quote represents that the Lost Boys no longer have to follow someone else. Because they are going to America they can make their own decisions. Throughout his entire journey leaving Sudan he had been following people, being told what to do by the authorities at the numerous refugee camps. Now he and the rest of the Lost Boys have the opportunity to either be a seed for a new Sudan or go on to America to become successful.

Personal Connection: I can sympathize with Achak and the rest of the Lost Boys because I know about the privilege to make your own decisions. Because this is the first time that Achak has had control over his life, the pride of making his own decision was amplified.

Question: What is the What?

Lit. Circle Post Three

What is the What

Sunday, March 14



Page 349, Par. 2

“Even though we would soon cross the border into a country without war, this time I had no dreams of bowls of oranges. I knew that the world was the same everywhere, that there were only inconsequential variations between the suffering in one place and another.”

Significance: After arriving in Ethiopia, Achak realizes that the country is not so much different that Sudan and that William K’s visions were faulty. Now when he is walking to Kenya he does not let visions of a better life in the country intensify in his mind like he did when journeying to Ethiopia. I think that this shows that Achak has not only learned from experience but also how little hope he has. After being disappointed once he knows that he should not imagine things like it again because he will only be disheartened. I think that this is sad because he is only a boy. Children are supposed to dream but Achak, having his life turned upside down due to the civil war in Sudan, cannot because he know what will happen.

Personal Experience: Although I have not suffered as much disappointment as Achak has, I know that I, (and every other person) have indeed been disappointed. This gives me some insight to what Achak feels constantly, even if I only know a fraction of his disappointment.

Question: What is the most intense disappointment you have experience and how does it measure up to the disappointment Achak has faced?



Page 357, Par. 5

“God has a problem with me.”

Significance: I think that this sentence summarizes Achak’s experience throughout his journey leaving Sudan and coming to America. He went through so many horrific events that his life seems to be cursed. After having to be traumatized throughout his journey out of Sudan, when in America he still continues to have bad luck. Some examples are Tabitha dying and being robbed. It makes me feel bad for him, but I also realize that he has been lucky. There are countless others who did not even make it to Kakuma or even Pinyudo. Achak made it to America.

Personal Experience: I know that every person has felt sorry for him or herself at least once, so I know that Achak felt that the whole world was against him and that everything bad was happening to him. I can relate to how he felt because many times a sequence of bad things have happened to me and I felt like I was cursed. It is like in those cartoons where the character says that it can’t get any worse and then it starts to rain.

Question: What is one time that you felt like you were cursed and that the world was against you?