Alliteration

This chapter has several examples of alliteration—Miss Caroline's "sudden shriek," the Finches' "silver saucer," and Burris Ewell's threat, "Make me, missus," to name a few.

Allusions

The Dewey Decimal System. Jem erroneously refers to this as a teaching method when it is, in fact, a classification system that libraries use to arrange their books. It was first employed in the 18th Century and was already in use in many schools by the 1930s, when the novel is set.

Conflict

The conflict in this chapter is largely benign, as it was in Chapters 1 and 2. Both Scout's conflicts with Calpurnia and Walter stem from the conflict with Miss Caroline in Chapter 1, which in itself demonstrates Scout's often quarrelsome nature. When she describes Calpurnia as "fractious," it's clear that Scout is really talking about herself and isn't, as a child, the best judge of her actions.

Burris Ewell vs. Miss Caroline. Once again, Miss Caroline's lack of familiarity with Maycomb's ways leads to conflict, this time with Burris Ewell, who has been showing up for the first day of first grade for three years and is just about to leave when Miss Caroline sees a cootie on his head and screams. Burris's attack of Miss Caroline and school in general is mean-spirited and ugly and leaves her in tears. Scout and all the other children have to comfort her and explain that it's just his way. As we'll see later, the Ewells are all like that.

Scout vs. Calpurnia. This conflict flares up in the middle of the chapter, when Calpurnia punishes Scout for criticizing Walter's fondness for syrup. Their fight is so contentious that Scout actually wants Atticus to fire Calpurnia because of it. He of course does no such thing, and Scout is left smarting for the rest of the afternoon, until she comes home to find that Calpurnia has made her favorite cracklin' bread. When Calpurnia tells Scout she missed her, the girl is so befuddled that she doesn't know what to think. Their conflict isn't over yet, but will begin to ebb after this chapter.

Scout vs. Walter Cunningham. When the chapter opens, Scout is chasing down Walter and grinding his face into the dirt because he's indirectly responsible for her getting in trouble with Miss Caroline in Chapter 2. Eventually, Jem pulls Scout off of Walter and invites him over to their house for lunch. Scout, unable to fully let go of their fight, criticizes him for pouring syrup all over his plate. Part of this disdain for him stems from Scout's superior social status: Walter Cunningham is from one of the poorest families in Maycomb, and, intentionally or no, Scout thinks that she's better than Walter. This will change later in the novel, but, for now, Scout has no respect for Walter.

Diction

Lee's use of diction is most apparent when Scout's narrative voice breaks to allow Atticus' use of legal jargon to seep through. Whenever this happens, the distinctly Southern character of Scout's voice is enhanced, while Atticus' formal speech and mannerisms become more apparent.

Idioms

Scout's narrative voice makes use of many idioms, including: "I'll be dogged," "what in the Sam hill are you doing?" and Scout's warning that she would "fix" Calpurnia or get back at her. These idioms contribute to the authenticity of Scout's voice and emphasize her Southern roots.

Repetition

In addition to the alliterative phrases "sudden shriek" and "silver saucer," Scout uses repetition in the scenes at school when she refers to the character Little Chuck Little, who appears, contrary to his name, to be something of a scrappy fighter, capable of scaring the bigger (and meaner) Burris Ewell. Lee uses repetition to trick the reader into thinking Little Chuck isn't capable of violence.

Symbols

Harper Lee uses the symbols in this chapter to indicate social status. Later in the novel, symbols will be used as tools of character development, as elements of moral and logical arguments, and, collectively, as a method of emphasizing key themes (for example, innocence and justice).

Atticus' Pocket Watch. Unsurprisingly, Atticus' pocket watch is a symbol of time and its passing. He tends to take it out of his pocket when he wants to think, and in so doing imparts the watch with a sort of ruminative power, as if it were a talisman.

Cooties. When we say someone has cooties, we typically mean that they're dirty and shouldn't be touched or associated with (often, this is said of young boys). That Burris has a literal cootie in his hair is a symbol of his self-imposed social isolation, which he cultivates with vicious satisfaction.

Themes

Compromise. Atticus and Scout strike a bargain at the end of this chapter: if she goes back to school, then they can continue reading together in secret. He uses this as an opportunity to teach her about the idea of compromise, which he defines as two or more parties making concessions in order to reach an agreement. There will be many compromises in this novel, some more balanced than others.

Courage. The Finch children, being kids, have an underdeveloped idea of what constitutes real bravery. As such, Jem believes that running up and touching the Radley house was an act of great courage on his part, though Scout is quick to point out that he's obviously still afraid of the Radleys. Later in the novel, their idea of courage will develop and become less childish.

Education. As in Chapter 2, education is a major theme and a source of some disillusionment for Scout. Her conflict with Miss Caroline sours her on formal education and makes her long for Atticus to take Miss Caroline's place and homeschool her instead. This doesn't happen, but from here on out the elementary school and the teachers there will be a source of frustration and amusement for Scout, who holds many of their teaching methods in disdain.

Empathy. Atticus attempts to teach Scout about empathy when he tells her, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...." This is the equivalent of telling her to walk in someone else's shoes in order to understand them. Scout doesn't know how to do this as of yet, and it isn't until the final chapters that she learns this lesson.

Gossip. Yet again, much of the gossip in this chapter concerns Boo Radley, whom Walter calls a "hain't." (A hain't is a ghost or a spooky person).

Humor. Much of the humor in the novel stems from Scout's narrative voice, which is naturally sharp and humorous, while at the same time being sensitive to the idiosyncrasies of life in Maycomb. She's an innately perceptive character who enjoys pointing out curious facts and behaviors, such as the fact that sometimes Dr. Reynolds will accept payment in the form of a bushel of potatoes for his help delivering a baby. Lee uses these comical moments to temper the more serious events of the novel and provide some much needed levity to the narrative.

Loneliness. When Scout returns from her first day of school, she's surprised to find that Calpurnia missed her and was lonely without her and Jem around the house. This loneliness helps develop Calpurnia's character, which has been fairly flat thus far, thanks to Scout's view of her as a disciplinarian. As the narrative progresses, Lee will continue to use loneliness as a way of creating empathy for her characters, particularly those who have been misunderstood.

Superstition. The children in Maycomb believe in "hain'ts," or ghosts. That Walter calls Boo a hain't suggests that there's something otherworldly about him that frightens the children. Later, Scout will learn that this isn't true, but for the moment, at least, the children hold onto their superstitions.

Violence. Though the conflict between Burris Ewell and Miss Caroline has its humorous moments, it is, by and large, a frightening encounter, with Burris calling Miss Caroline a "slut" and behaving in an inappropriate manner. There's also a moment during this fight when Little Chuck Little threatens Burris and sticks his hand into his pocket as if he has a knife there. Little Chuck Little was earlier described as having infinite patience, and his sudden threat of violence here is meant to indicate that Maycomb isn't as safe as it would purport to be.

1. Crossword

Мой кроссворд вы можете посмотреть по этой ссылке, а для создания своего кроссворда, квизза, паззла, и т.д. предлагаю попробовать сайт BookWidget. Возможно, искать отдельные слова по всей главе покажется сложным и неразумным: отдайте в этом случае список слов-ответов из кроссворда в неопределенном порядке.

Слова из моего кроссворда:

an onslaught
to grin
to irk
to expound
to summon
a volume
to leaf through
contemptuous/scornful
genuine
a concern
expansive
to slouch
to refrain
weary
be dogged
rigid
judiciously
populace
to begrudge sb
erratic
fraught
iniquities
tranquility
a "hain't"
a cootie
contentious

2. Explain the words in bold

1. Miss Caroline smiled, blew her nose, said, "Thank you, darlings," dispersed us, opened a book and mystified the first grade with a long narrative about a toadfrog that lived in a hall.
   
   
2. "It's against the law, all right," said my father, "and it's certainly bad, but when a man spends his relief checks on green whiskey his children have a way of crying from hunger pains. I don't know of any landowner around here who begrudges those children any game their father can hit."
   
   
3. Walter looked as if he had been raised on fish food
   
   
4. Walter poured syrup on his vegetables and meat with a generous hand
   
   
5. What the sam hill are you doing?
   
   
6. Then he ducked his face.
   
   
7. Calprunia requested my presence in the kitchen.
   
   
8. Hush your mouth!
   
   
9. I suggested that Atticus lose no time in packing her off.
   
   
10. I was on the verge of leaving
    
    
11. If the remainder of the school year were fraught with drama as the first day…
    
    
12. ...of spending nine months refraining from reading and writing…
    
    
13. my gloom had deepened to match the house…
    
    
14. ''If you'll concede the necessity of going to school, we'll go on reading every night. Is it a bargain?''
    
    
15. "We'll consider it sealed without the usual formality," - said Atticus, when he saw me preparing to spit.
    
    
16. His fists were half cocked/clenched, as if expecting an onslaught from both of us
    
    
17. I stomped/stamped at him to chase him away
    
    

1. Why does Jem invite Walter Cunningham over for supper?
2. What happens during lunch?
3. Why didn't Walter pass first grade?
4. Why does Walter Cunningham drench his lunch in molasses/syrup?
5. When Scout criticizes Walter Cunningham's eating habits, Calpurnia scolds Scout, smacks her on the bottom as she sends the girl out of the room, and then lectures her on proper manners, saying, "Yo'' folks might be better'n the Cunninghams but it don't count for nothin'' the way you're disgracin' 'em." What does Calpurnia mean here? Is she right?
6. In the tiff between Scout and Calpurnia, Atticus takes Calpurnia's side. What does this show us?
7. Describe the way that Atticus treats Walter. What do you think of this?
8. Atticus tells Scout that you never really understand a person "until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." What does this mean? Give an example from your world to illustrate this idea.
9. What is the "compromise" which Atticus suggests at the end of the chapter?
10. Who are the Ewells? How are they the same as the Cunninghams? How are they different?
11. Why do Maycomb officials bend the rules for the Ewells? Is this the right thing to do?

1. What is ending as the chapter begins?
Dill. He is leaving as summer is over and school is beginning. The more carefree days of summer are giving way to the rigidity and structure that school will bring.

2. Why does Scout's ability to read and write annoy her teacher, Miss Caroline?
The teacher is young and expected that she would be the one to teach the children in the "proper" way to read and write. She finds Scout annoying because the girl's literacy has made her plans/methods useless. This is a brand-new teacher who is overwhelmed and upset when the class doesn't run the way she expected.

3.Atticus says that country people, like the Cunninghams, were hit the hardest by "the crash." To what is he referring? Why would country people be the ones to suffer the most?
He's referring to the 1929 Stock Market Crash. The poorest families suffered the most at this time because they didn't have much to begin with; middle class families would've had a small cushion of savings to help weather the lean times. People like the Cunninghams would not have any cushion.

4. Why are professional people also suffering?
Professionals, like Atticus and Dr. Reynolds, earn their wages from the poor families they serve. If the majority of working class families in Maycomb don't have any money, there's no money available to pay for professional services. Things are tough all over.

5. What are Jem's rules for Scout at school?
He tells her not to bother him, not to embarrass him by talking about private things, not to ask him to play, or tag along behind him. Basically, he asks Scout to leave him alone. At home, he says, things could remain the same. This is one example of private vs. public selves in the book.

6. Why does Jem not want Scout to acknowledge him at school? Is his behavior typical of an older brother?
Jem is older and doesn't want his baby sister tagging along with him at school, cramping his style. Yes, this is a very typical of older siblings and his comment here makes the reader feel the siblings' relationship is authentic.

7. An entailment is an unusual legality that prohibits a piece of land from being sold. It was designed to protect a family's interest in a piece of land because it could only be passed down to a member of the same family, never sold for profit. Jem describes an entailment as "a condition of having your tail in a crack," and Atticus later says that Jem's description is surprisingly accurate. How is this an apt description for the Cunningham family?
This family has been on the same plot of land for generations, yet the land is unable to support the family any longer. The Cunninghams are stuck because they are so poor, yet their land cannot be sold to help the family survive. Cunninghams also don't borrow anything or accept handouts, so times during the Great Depression are especially lean for this particular family. They are stuck and in pain.

8. What does Scout's teacher, Miss Caroline, tell Scout she must stop doing? Why?
She must stop reading with Atticus. Miss Caroline feels threatened of Scout being so far ahead of the other students and by her forthright nature in general.

9. What do the kids think the Dewy Decimal System is?
A new way of teaching.

10. What is Miss Caroline like? What do her interactions with Scout reveal?
Miss Caroline is clearly more accustomed to an urban setting; she nds the poverty, the ill health, the lack of skills, and the small-town, country ways of the children alarming. She had an idealized version of what teaching would be like and takes out her frustrations on Scout.

11. What do you think of Miss Caroline Fisher as a teacher?
Students' answers will vary. Some will be just as irritated with her as Scout is, while other students will feel sympathy for this young teacher who is clearly in over her head.

1. Describe Burris Ewell.

2. Little Chuck Little tells the teacher that Mr. Ewell is "right contentious." What does this mean?

3. What events lead to Burris's leaving school before the day is over?

4. Why does Atticus say that Scout is not to mention the compromise they made when she goes to school?

5. What is a cootie?

6. Why does Walter think he almost died the first year in school?

7. Why does Atticus say Scout should ignore Jem in the tree house?

8. When Walter gets near the Finch house, Scout says he "had forgotten he was a Cunningham." What does she mean?

9. What does it mean to "climb into his skin and walk around in it?"

10. Tell what a compromise is and give an example.

Answers (Chapter 2)
1. Miss Caroline is Scout's first-grade teacher.

2. The Dewey Decimal System is a way of arranging library books and materials. It is not a way to teach reading, as Jem mistakenly explains.

3. Scout finds disfavor with Miss Caroline, first of all, when she reads aloud from The Mobile Register and from My First Reader. Later, when Scout tries to explain the Cunningham philosophy, she angers Miss Caroline even more.

4. Miss Blount says the sixth grade cannot concentrate on their study of the pyramids because of the noise in the first-grade class. She is angry with Miss Caroline Fisher for allowing—and possibly contributing to—the chaos.

5. Scout learns to read by climbing into Atticus's lap and watching his finger move underneath the print of whatever he might be reading.

6. Miss Caroline is from North Alabama, from Winston County. On January 11, 1861, when Alabama seceded from the Union, Winston County did not condone this action; it seceded from Alabama. The rest of the state was still angry with Winston County 70 years later. In addition, the rest of the state believed that the county "was full of Liquor Interests, Big Mules, steel companies, Republicans, professors, and other persons of no background."

7. Miss Caroline reads a very imaginative story to the students about chocolate malted mice and cats with clothes. The farm children are not at all impressed with the story. Later when Scout is telling about a change in her family name, Miss Caroline will not listen. Miss Caroline admonishes Scout; "Let's not let our imaginations run away with us, dear. . ."

8. Miss Caroline says that Atticus "does not know how to teach"; yet Scout is reading well—even the stock-market quotations. She tells Scout that "It's best to begin reading with a fresh mind." Scout, however, is not a beginning reader but a good one. Miss Caroline advocates the Language Experience Approach which uses sight words on cards; she does not advocate the phonics method which uses the alphabet and has the students sound out words. Scout seems to know the letters and is reading by that method, but Miss Caroline wants to change her way of reading.

9. Scout learns to write at the kitchen table with Calpurnia setting her a writing task. Calpurnia would write the alphabet across the top of a tablet and then copy a Bible chapter beneath. Scout's task would be to copy the material satisfactorily. A reward of a bread, butter, and sugar sandwich would be doled out if Calpurnia considered the task well-done.

10. The Cunningham family is a poor family. They are so poor that Scout believes that Walter "had probably never seen three quarters together at the same time in his life." Despite the lack of material possessions, the Cunninghams have a reputation to uphold. They never take anything they cannot pay back. They even refuse church baskets and scrip stamps. The family does not have much, but they get along with what they have. When they use Atticus' services, they pay him back with stovewood, hickory nuts, smilax, holly, and turnip greens. The Cunninghams have pride in their land and go hungry to keep it and to vote as they please.

1 Describe how Scout gets in trouble with Calpurnia. Why is Cal so upset with her? What lesson does Cal impress upon Scout by making her eat lunch in the kitchen? What do you think this incident reveals about Cal?

2 Why is Atticus not sympathetic when Scout complains about how Cal treats her? What details suggest that Cal loves Scout? How do you feel about Cal?

3 How does Little Chuck Little demonstrate that he is "a born gentleman" and a courageous little boy? Describe his actions after Miss Caroline suddenly shrieks, "It's alive!"

4 Describe Burris Ewell and his behavior toward Miss Caroline. How does it change Miss Caroline's relationship with the children in her class?

5 Specifically, how do Burris Ewell and his father, Bob Ewell, contrast with Walter Cunningham and his father who are introduced in the previous chapter? What do the Ewells and the Cunninghams have in common? What is the great difference between them?

6 How does Atticus explain the nature of a compromise to Scout? What compromise do they reach? What do you think this conversation between them indicates about Atticus as a parent?

Scout chases down Walter Cunningham and grinds his face into the dirt at lunchtime because of what happened with Miss Caroline. Jem stops her from beating him up, however, citing the fact that their fathers know each other (Scout said in Chapter 2 that Walter's family were so poor that they paid Atticus for his services with gifts of wood, holly, and chestnuts). Jem then invites Walter to lunch, bragging on the way home about how he once touched the Radley house. At lunch (which Scout calls "dinner"), Scout criticizes Walter for pouring syrup over his entire plate. Calpurnia is livid because of this and punishes Scout by making her eat in the kitchen instead of at the dinner table. Scout thinks this is reason enough to fire Calpurnia, but Atticus refuses to.

Back at school, Miss Caroline screams, "It's alive!" as if she's seen a mouse. In fact, it's a cootie living in Burris Ewell's hair. None of the kids are bothered by this, least of all Burris Ewell, but it leaves Miss Caroline shaken up. She's not prepared to face Burris Ewell, one of the Ewell clan of children who show up on the first day of school, then ditch for the rest of the year. Burris doesn't leave until Miss Caroline starts crying and the other kids have to comfort her. Back home, Scout is even more confused when Calpurnia says she missed Scout while she was at school. When her father tells her it's time to read, it's too much for her, and she goes to sulk on the front porch. She and Atticus strike a compromise: if she goes to school, they can keep reading together in secret.

1. Contrast Atticus Finch's idea of the law and Mr. Radley's idea of the law.

2. Compare and contrast Walter Cunningham and Burris Ewell.

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