Journal #4 Chapters 10, 11, & 12 Perspective: Scout

A few days ago, Jem and I were telling Miss Maudie about Atticus. We were telling her how he was older than most parents and he didn't really do much. He usually just read. But Miss Maudie was debating with us and told us that he used to do all sorts of things, that he was one of the best hunters, and that he was the best checker player. We saw that he was a good hunter when he shot that isolate dog walking down the street the other day. The dog was crazy he said, and it was walking all funny. He shot him in the head with one shot! And he wasn't even that close to him. It was a bit perplexing to us that Atticus, being so old, could do something like that.

It was Jem's birthday this week. He got a lot of money, and so he went to buy some toys. He bought himself a steam engine and he got a baton for me. When he was walking home, he passed by Ms. Dubose's house. As he walked by, she yelled to him that Atticus is no better than the niggers he works for! Jem got so upset. He took out the baton he bought for me and fanatically destroyed all of her camellia bushes that were adjacent to her house. They came home, and waited until Atticus arrived. Atticus finally came through the door, and yelled Jem's name. He asked if he was responsible for cutting the plants. Jem said yes, and Atticus made him go and apologize. Jem came back and told us that Ms. Dubose wanted him to read for her every day after school and on Saturdays.

Since Jem has turned 12, he has been acting very differently. He always gets upset with me and tells me that I act like such a girl. He is rude to me, and he eats so weird! I asked Atticus if he had a tapeworm, and he just told me that he didn't, and I should be patient with him. I received a letter from Dill, and he told me he would not be coming to Maycomb this summer because he had found a father and would be doing things like fishing with him. I was so upset, and I had nobody to hang out with. On Sunday, Atticus was gone, and Cal asked me if Jem and I would like to go to church with her. We agreed, and she scrubbed us clean and put me in a dress. Everyone was nice there, except for a lady named Lula. She got mad at Cal for bringing white people to a black church.