Reading Response #1

“I heard another sound so low I could not have heard it from the sidewalk. Someone inside the house was laughing.”(lee 45) this quote shows that someone was watching Scott from inside the house and this shows me that they are very lonely and just want’s a little fun. The conflict in the text might be this person in the house sees something that the others need to know but they will need to talk to the person in the house first.

“As Maycomb County was farm country, nickels and dimes were hard to come by for doctors and dentists and lawyers... The acres not entailed were mortgaged to the hilt, and the little cash he made went to interest. If he held his mouth right, Mr. Cunningham could get a WPA job, but his land would go to ruin if he left it, and he was willing to go hungry to keep his land and vote as he pleased.” (Lee 27-28). 

From this quote taken from the perspective of Scout, it can be inferred that Maycomb County is a farming community and most people in the community are poor based on the fact that money was hard to come by for even the people in the money-making professions. Although, people in Maycomb seem to take pride in their farm work, people such as Mr.Cunningham, who keeps his farm running to feed himself and his family and to have the right to vote. With this information, I predict that the future conflict of the text might be discrimination based on social class and the lack of money that a majority of the community has. 

“I maintain that the Ewells started it all, but Jem, who was four years my senior, said it started long before that. He said it began the summer Dill came to us, when Dill first gave us the idea of making Boo Radley come out.” (Lee 3)

This quote basically is just introducing a new character. But, it doesn’t seem like the character has made a positive impact on Scout’s background. You can make an inference from this that there is a background with the “Elwells” that there is possibly some tension there. This can also lead to the conflict because the characters may expierence conflict with the Elwell’s later in the story.

“He ain’t company, Cal, he’s just a cunningham. “Hush your mouth! Don’t matter who they are, anybody sets foot in your house’s yo’ comp’ny” (Lee 27) 

Scout is talking to Cal after Cal asked her to come into the kitchen because scout was saying how Cunningham was ruining his dinner by pouring syrup all over it and Cal got mad at her because he was their guest. The conflict of this is that Cal might step over her boundaries by being the kids' kind of motherly figure, unlike being their maid. 

I made an inference about Walter when he was invited to Scouts for dinner. “There’s some folks who don’t eat like us,’ she whispered fiercely, ‘but you ain’t called on to contradict ’em at the table when they don’t. That boy’s yo’ comp’ny and if he wants to eat up the table cloth you let him, you hear?’” (Lee, 27). This quote is Calpurnia’s way of saying that everyone is different. And that some people are less fortunate than others, and because of that they must be treated the same. This helps me infer that Walter comes from a less privileged family and doesn’t have great meals like at the Finch’s house. This creates the conflict between privileged and less privileged people in the town of Maycomb and how they all must be treated the same, no matter their homelife and struggles.

I made an inference when the class was talking about the Cunninghams at lunch. “He didn’t forget his lunch, he didn’t have any. He had none today nor would he have any tomorrow or the next day…’The Cunninghams never took anything they can’t pay back-no church baskets, and no scrip stamps…They don’t have much, but they get along on it’” (Lee 22). In this quote, Jean is explaining how Walter comes from a poor family who doesn’t have a lot of anything, but they still won’t take any of the money back unless they can pay it back in some way. This helps me understand that Walter and the Cunningham family don’t have a lot of money but they are nice people and if they can pay you back with acts of service they will. This creates a conflict between people with money and people who are poor and it shows that everyone needs to be excepted whether they have a lot of money or not. 

Two moments I choose are the one when Jean was explaining to the teacher that Walter and his family are poor and don’t have much of anything and in the quote “‘Hush your mouth! Don’t matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house’s yo’ comp’ny, and don’t you let me catch you remarkin’ on their ways like you was so high and mighty! Yo’ folks might be better’n the Cunninghams but it don’t count for nothin’ the way you’re disgracin’ ‘em…’”(Lee 27). These two quote helps me better understand that the Cunningham family really don’t have a lot of money and people with more can sometimes judge them for it. The teacher in the first quote tried making Walter seem not so smart because he forgot his lunch, but in reality, he just didn’t have any because he doesn’t have the money for it. This is the same for the second quote too because in the second one Scout is judging Walter for the way he eats but Calpurnia stands up for him and explains to her that just because he has less than she does, doesn't mean she has the right to judge or make fun of him. So overall the Cunninghams get judged for not having as much as everyone else. 

Scout, Jem, and Dill play a game/play made up about the Radleys, they spend part of summer perfecting it, but Jem never lets them play it around Atticus and Scout keep having a bad feeling about their game but they tell her she is being crazy.

“...Mrs. Radley had been beautiful until she married Mr. Radley and lost all her money. She also lost most of her teeth, her hair, and her forefinger… she sat in the living room and cried most of the time while Boo slowly whittled away all of the furniture in the house” (Lee 44).

Mrs. Radely was beautiful but when she got married, her money was gone and parts of her were lost (teeth, hair, and forefinger). She cried a lot and the furniture went away. If they lost all of their money, they were probably poor and had to sell the furniture to get money. I wonder if she was abused. Also, the son went crazy and was locked in the basement, what made him go crazy, and if the son was crazy could the father be too?

I also wonder why Jem will not let them play the game around Atticus if he is trying not to play the game around Atticus because he knows that he is doing something wrong. Scout has a bad feeling about the game. Does she think something will happen with the Radleys if they continue?

The text might go into detail about where they are getting their information and gossip, I wonder if something will come out about the Radleys. I wonder if everyone might just be making up rumors about them. Dill wants to know more about them so we will probably find out more about them. We also could find out about Scouts bad feeling.

Scout, Jem, and Dill play a game/play made up about the Radleys, they spend part of summer perfecting it, but Jem never lets them play it around Atticus and Scout keep having a bad feeling about their game but they tell her she is being crazy.

“...Mrs. Radley had been beautiful until she married Mr. Radley and lost all her money. She also lost most of her teeth, her hair, and her forefinger… she sat in the living room and cried most of the time while Boo slowly whittled away all of the furniture in the house” (Lee 44).

Mrs. Radely was beautiful but when she got married, her money was gone and parts of her were lost (teeth, hair, and forefinger). She cried a lot and the furniture went away. If they lost all of their money, they were probably poor and had to sell the furniture to get money. I wonder if she was abused. Also, the son went crazy and was locked in the basement, what made him go crazy, and if the son was crazy could the father be too?

I also wonder why Jem will not let them play the game around Atticus if he is trying not to play the game around Atticus because he knows that he is doing something wrong. Scout has a bad feeling about the game. Does she think something will happen with the Radleys if they continue?

The text might go into detail about where they are getting their information and gossip, I wonder if something will come out about the Radleys. I wonder if everyone might just be making up rumors about them. Dill wants to know more about them so we will probably find out more about them. We also could find out about Scouts bad feeling.

“You’re shamin’ him, Miss Caroline. Walter hasn’t got a quarter at home to bring you, and you can’t use any stovewood.” (Lee 22) 

This quote is saying that the teacher does not care about Walter's circumstances at home. This shows that Miss Caroline is an ignorant person and probably doesn’t have parents that loved her as a kid, so when a kid is having issues outside of school she refuses to listen and understand. I can better understand her because of this, and Walter because of his situation at home. 

The conflict is between Miss Caroline, and Walter. She offered him a quarter to pay for his lunch but he doesn’t have one to pay her back so she refuses to understand that when Scout tries explaining it.

“Atticus summoned Calpurnia, who returned bearing the syrup pitcher. She stood waiting for Walter to help himself. Walter poured syrup on his vegetables and meat with a generous hand. He probably would have poured it into his milk glass had I not asked what the sam hill he was doing” (Lee 27). 

I like this quote because it shows Scout's almost premature thinking. Walter comes from a poor family, it makes sense that he wouldn’t normally have maple syrup in his house, so that’s why he used it so much. I can see Scout having the “why does he get to go first” and the “leave some for the rest of us” thoughts going through her head, which is why she said what she did. 

I feel like this might make a conflict between Walter and Scout in the way that she might unknowingly be “showing off” wealth in front of Walter.

“Atticus said the Ewells had been the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations. None of them had done an honest day’s work in his recollection.”(Lee, 33) This quote is talking about how Atticus does not like the Ewells and that they are basically the towns most hated people. Just before this Atticus told Scout that you won’t ever understand a person until you walk in their skin, then after talked bad about the Ewells. Atticus is a hypocrite in this talk, an inference I am making is I think Atticus has “beef” with one of the Ewells and later in the story this could be a conflict that will be brought up.

Dill is a character with mysterious origins, especially to Scout who hasn’t got the experience to look into the deeper meaning behind someone's actions. A moment this is apparent is when she asks about his father's whereabouts, “I asked dill where his father was: ‘you ain't said anything about him.’ ‘I Haven't got one.’ ‘is he dead?’ ‘No…’ ‘If he's not dead you’ve got one, Haven’t you?’ Dill blushed and Jem told me to hush…”(Lee, 8). This is a moment that helps to better flesh out Dill as a character. He wants to keep his proud demeanor in the face of his friends but his hesitancy to answer scout implies this is a sore subject for him. His hesitation is picked up on by Scout as it is by Jem, however, Scout is unable to understand why and sees it as Dill being weird. But due to Jem's older age, he can understand why Dill could be hesitant to confide that information in them. The conflict of the novel could be related to Scout growing up, and therefore, being able to make deeper connections about heavier subjects.

Scout loves to run around and be free. In the first part it shows that she doesn’t like people who think little of her for it. She feels anger towards these people because she is still young and doesn’t understand the social norms at this time. She just wants to play with the guys and be left alone and unjudged. “ ‘He ain’t no company, Cal, he’s just a Cunningham’ ‘Hush your mouth! Don’t matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house’s yo comp’ny, and don’t you let me catch you remarkin on their ways like you were so high and mighty! Yo’ folks might be better’n the Cunninghams but it doesn't count for nothin’ the way you’re distracting them.’ “ (Lee 27) Here this quote shows that Scout is ignorant due to her age but people around her like Jem, her father, and Cal are watching out for her trying to teach her right from wrong and how to react in certain situations. Cal who was at the scene of this incident tries to teach her that no matter the social standing of the person there is no right to belittle or humiliate them. I think she took that as Cal being mean at the moment but after her thinking about it for a while she started to understand.

“I ran along, wondering what had come over her. She had wanted to make up with me, that was it.”(Lee, 32)

Calpurnia is trying to act nice she wants to act better towards scout so that she can scoop in and try to be that mother that scout no longer has so that scout turns out like a proper lady

“Calpurnia was something else again. She was all angles and bones; she was nearsighted; she squinted; her hand was wide as a bed slat and twice as hard. She was always ordering me out of the kitchen, asking me why I couldn’t behave as well as Jem …I had felt her tyrannical presence as long as I could remember.” (Lee 6)

Based on Scout’s description of Calpurnia it sounds like Calpurnia is skinny and has bad eyesight, old. Based on Scout’s point of view it seems like she’s a rude cook lady that has high expectations for Scout and is always yelling at her to get out of her own kitchen. Although this may be the case it could be because she doesn’t have time to mess around with kids, and a stressful life. She needs to just get paid. I predict this behavior could lead to future problems by her wanting Scout to be more ladylike, or money problems in the economy.

'There's some folks who don’t eat like us,’ she whispered fiercely, ‘but you ain’t called on to contradict ’em at the table when they don’t. That boy’s yo’ comp’ny and if he wants to eat up the table cloth you let him, you hear?” (Lee 27)

In this quote Calpurnia wants Scout to show respect to all people that are their house and no matter who it is they are company and Scout must respect them despite the company's living style and how they go about things. My inference is that Calpurnia was raised in a strict household when she was younger and because she was raised this way she believes Scout should be raised the same. My prediction for the conflict in the text is that Calpurnia and Scout are having a misunderstanding for each other because of one the age gap so of course Scout isnt going to listen to Calpurnia but not only that Calpurnia is a mother figure but not quite the mother of Scout so she steps all over her. So in my opinion this conflict happened because Scout is younger and doesnt want to listen and feels as if the way Calpurnia is treating her is unfair. Even though Calpurnia wants what's best for Scout.

¨You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—’ ‘Sir?’ ‘—until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.¨(lee 30) this quote shows that until you have done what they have done in there situation of life and they still have to do the hard stuff in life while you may being making fun of them when they struggle this shows they the character is in a hard spot to be happy. in life you have to do something from someones else perspective because we are not the same. 

1. ““‘You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—’ ‘Sir?’ ‘—until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.’” (Lee 33) 

From this quote you are seeing this through Atticus' point of view. 

1. This quote is saying that you may not always know what other people are going through, and that you can never really know a person until you see things from their side. I think I more understand atticus, he is something they turn to when there's a situation and also is understanding. I think this because he tells Jem and Scout to not hold grudges against people. 
2. I think the conflict of the text is not always seeing everything someone is going through and you shouldnt judge unless you're in that person's shoes. 

“You’re shamin’ him, Miss Caroline. Walter hasn’t got a quarter at home to bring you, and you can’t use any stovewood.” (Lee 22) In this quote Jean was thinking about how the Cunninghams pay back Atticus for his services and she said out loud to Miss Caroline without any context the quote. I believe based on what happened in this scene that Scout has heard and knows too much for her own good and it causes her to get in trouble.