Why is Scout so looking forward to starting school?
Scout is an great reader. She enjoys learning, and she is looking forward to learning with others her age at school.
Why does Jem not want anything to do with Scout at school? Is his behavior typical of an older child?
Jem is a typical older brother. He does not want his little sitter to embarrass him at school. He does tell Scout that at home they will still play together. At school though, she needs to stay away and stay with the other 1st grade students.
What do you think of Miss Caroline Fisher as a teacher? Can you find qualities which would make her good or not so good at her job?
Miss Caroline is fresh from college and very young. She believes she is doing the right thing by following what she was taught in college. Unfortunately, she does not know how to work with students who might be poor or who might not have an educated family.
Who is Calpurnia? What is her place in the Finch household?
Calpurnia is Atticus's maid and works as a nanny for the two children. She is a African American but by staying with the Finch's, she gets treated better than most African American's in this time period. Throughout the story she tries to teach hard headed Scout to become a "Lady".
What is Walter Cunningham like?
Walter Cunningham is a very shy and poor 1st grade student. He does not have money to go to town and get lunch and also does not bring a lunch to school. This causes a problem with Miss Caroline. After getting in trouble for trying to help Walter, Scout and Jem invite him to their house for lunch.
What does Walter's behavior during lunch suggest about his home life?
During lunch at the Finch house, Walter asks for syrup. He then poors lots of syrup all over his food. This tells the reader that having syrup is a special treat for him. This again lets the reader in on the fact that Walter is from a poor household.
What do you think of the way Atticus treats Walter?
Atticus talks to Walter about farming as if Walter was an adult. This must mean that Walter has quite a bit of responsibility at home helping his family take care of the farm. Walter has had to grow-up too fast and does not have time to be a kid.
Does Scout learn anything from Walter's visit? What do you think this is?
Scouts learns that the Cunningham family has much less money than the Finch family does. Walter piling all this food onto his plate symbolizes to Scout that possibly he may not be fed enough food at home; however Scouts learns to accept others such as Walter even though they may not be as well off.
Atticus says that you never really understand a person "until you climb into his skin and walk around in it". What does this mean? Is it an easy thing for Scout to learn?
This means that Scout needs to look at the world from another person's point of view. Someone may see something differently than she does. This is a very hard lesson for Scout because she is so young.
What do you learn in this chapter about the Ewells?
In this chapter we learn that the Ewells live in a small house out by the town dump. They are very poor and uneducated. Each year the children show-up to school for only the first day. They do not come back to school the rest of the year. Burris is in Scout's class and gets very angry at Miss Caroline when she tries to send him home to wash his hair when she sees a "cootie".
We also learn that Mr. Ewell is a drunk. He spends all his money on alcohol instead of feeding or taking care of his children.
