Scout's Diary 10

February 23, 1938

  I thought Atticus was too old to do anything because Jem said that he never play foot ball tackle with him like other fathers did. Atticus is totally different with our schoolmates’ fathers. He sits in the living room and reads; he doesn’t drink, play poker, smoke or even do other things. It doesn’t bother me because it just means he’s special. It was until today that I finally know my father isn’t too old to do anything. He is just humble and never talks about it.

  There was a mad dog on our street and it was coming towards us. Everything happened so fast I don’t think I even had time to think about being scared because Atticus killed the mad dog in one shot even though he was far away. Mr. Tate said that Atticus was the best shooter in town and that it was his gift. Jem and I no longer think that Atticus has no talent and is too old to do anything. I respect my father more now, and so does Jem. I want to tell everyone that my father is the most special man in the town and that no one can look down on him. Jem, however, told me to keep it a secret without even explaining it to me. What does “Atticus is a gentlemen, just like me” mean? I haven’t the slightest idea. I thought to myself that maybe he is just trying copying Atticus’ behavior.

Scout's Diary 9

Nov 21, 1937

  Atticus woke me up at 1A.M. in the morning. At first, I thought that it was already morning but then realized that something had happened on our street. Atticus told me that Miss Maudie’s house was on fire and he wanted Jam and I to go stand in front of the Radley’s house. The fire looked like an evil monster destroying Miss Maudie’s house. Jem stared at the house watching the men moving furniture out of Miss Maudie’s house. I was worried and scared. Jem put his arm around me and told me to be clam. We suddenly noticed that Mr. Avery was stuck on the second floor. He wanted to climb out from the window but it wasn’t easy. He yelled and fell down on Miss Maudie’s shrubbery. I think that he was just too tired and nervous making him slip. The fire reached the second floor as everyone got out from Miss Maudie’s house. Finally, the fire truck arrived and stopped the fire but it was almost morning by then. Miss Maudie stared at her yard going up in smoke. I knew she was sad about losing her flowers.
  Atticus thought that we didn’t keep our promise to stay put but Jem and I didn’t move a single step. Atticus asked me about the blanket on my shoulder. The thing was I didn’t even know that there was a blanket on my shoulder until he asked me about it. One thing’s for sure, I wasn’t cold that night. Jem told Atticus that Mr. Arthur Radley didn’t hurt us and all that’s happened before. I know that Atticus didn’t care about what Jem said because he already knows that Mr. Arthur Radley was a good man. Atticus said that every single person in Maycomb came out but in different ways last night and he said that I should give my thanks to Mr. Arthur Radley the next time I saw him. I am still a little bit scared of Mr. Arthur Radley but I know that he isn’t an evil monster or person. I hope that next time I can ask him some questions and get to know him more so then I would be less afraid of him.

Scout's Diary 8

  Nov 20, 1937

  It started to snow this morning! Atticus said that this is the first snow he’s seen at Maycomb since 1885 and that students didn’t need to go to school! I’ve always been dreaming about how snow would look. I tasted the snow and was surprised that it was hot. Jem said that it was because the snow was too cold. We didn’t want to destroy the snow in our yard ground so we decide to go to Miss Maudie’s yard to play. On our way to Miss Maudie’s house, we saw Mr. Avery and he said that it was our fault that it snowed today. Jem and I didn’t know how to reply but then Miss Maudie called our names (Miss Maudie, you saved us.). We ran to Miss Maudie. She was wrapping her flowers with burlap bags. She said that it would help to keep her flowers warm but Jem and I didn’t understand or care much for it. We asked Miss Maudie to give us some snow and she said told us that we could have it all.

  Jem made a small snowman which looked just like Mr Avery. The snowman looked like it was talking to you. Atticus saw the snowman and laughed cheerfully, but he said that we needed to change the snowman’s look saying it wasn’t polite to make caricatures of our neighbors. Jem didn’t think that it was offending but he ended up borrowing Miss Maudie’s sunhat to cover the snowman’s face so it didn’t look like it was Mr. Avery. Today was a wonderful day and I know that I will never forget the first snow day in my life.

Scout's diary 7

Oct 17, 1937

  Three weeks ago, Jem and I found two carvings in our knot-hole. One of the carvings was a boy and the other a girl, since a dress was worn. They were two wooden dolls symbolizing Jem and I. Jem said that they were really great carvings and wondered who made it. We originally thought it was Mr. Avery but then thinking back Mr. Avery only knows how to make a toothpick. Then we thought that it was Miss Stephanie Crawford’s sweetheart but Jem said that he lives down the country and he wouldn’t care about us. Who could it possibly be? The only answer that popped into my mind was Mr. Arthur Radley. He is the only person who can look at us without us knowing.

   We found a whole package of gum, a tarnished medal and a pocket watch from the knot-hole during the following weeks. Jem and I decided to write a letter to thank the person who gave us these gifts. Jem said that it had to be a guy but I thought it could’ve been Miss Maudie who is always friendly to me. Jem said that Miss Maudie doesn’t like chewing gum and ladies don’t use a pocket watch. We finished that letter as soon as we could and planned to put it into the knot-hole the next day. However, next morning on our way to school Jem ran faster than I did to the knot-hole. I saw him standing straight in front of the tree and holding the letter tightly. I walked up next to him……  Mr. Nathan Radley filled the hole with cement. Why would he do that? It must be because he doesn’t want us to get touch with that nice man any more. Mr. Nathan Radley knows that the kind man is Mr. Arthur Radley (Such an evil old man, Mr. Nathan Radley!).

Scout's diary 6

Aug 30, 1937

  Dill is leaving tomorrow. I know I’m going to miss him even though he likes to play with Jem more often now. In the evening, they said that they were going to go for a walk. I knew that their plans weren’t that simple. I asked them where they were going and Jem told me that I didn’t need to go with them using a soft tone of voice. I was sure that they were going to do something (I ready know your trick, Jem.). Finally, they told me that they were going to peep in Radley’s house from the window. I thought they were completely stupid and unaware of what they were getting themselves into. They were too curious to even consider whether what they were about to do was right or wrong. They completely forgot about the talk Atticus gave us about being impolite.

I tried to stop them but Jem told me to hush up again. We went in from the high wire fence at the rear of Radley’s lot. It took us some time to get near the house without people seeing us. We couldn’t see anything from the window which we planned to peep in from, so Jem decided to try the back window. When Jem crawled up close to the window, a shadow of a man with a hat moved towards Jem. The three of us were so shocked we just ran away. Jem ended up losing his pants when we were on the run. After we got home, Jem said that he would go get his pants back and told me to wait for him at home. I was afraid that Jem might get killed by Mr. Radley. I laid in bed waiting for Jem. After he came home, he didn’t say a word and I thought to myself that he just needed time to calm down. Something must’ve happened to Jem but I didn’t want to make him tell me at the time. I hope he’ll come to me and learn to trust me.

Scout's Diary 5

  July 8, 1937

Dill said that he’d love me forever but I don’t think he really cares about me. He only cares about Jem and his stupid plans to find out more about the Radleys. Jem and Dill both think that I’m too girly and that I will somehow destroy their plans, so I found a new friend, Miss Maudie. Yesterday, Miss Maudie told me a few things about Boo Radley that I never knew. She said that Boo Mr. Arthur is still alive and that he remains in the house because he doesn’t want to come out. Apparently no one locked him in the basement. Miss Maudie also said that Mr. Arthur was friendly and gentle. It sounds like Arthur Radley isn’t as evil as other people describe him to be. I believe Miss Maudie’s words because she is one of my friends. But I still fear Mr. Arthur.

This morning, I noticed that Jem and Dill were whispering secretly to each other in the front yard. At first, they didn’t want to let me in on their plans but they ended up telling me soon after (I think it was because they knew I didn’t and would not leave.). They told me that they were going to send Arthur Radley a note. They wanted to ask him to come out and chat with us. I didn’t think it would work out but Jem didn’t listen to me. He told me that I couldn’t just quit after joining them. Jem had Dill and I watched as he was going up to send the note to the house. In the end we failed because Atticus came home and caught us. He told us to leave Arthur Radley alone and that the thing, we tried to do, wasn’t polite. I already told Jem that Atticus knew what we were doing but he didn’t believe me (See! I told you, Jem.).

Scout's diary 4

  July 8, 1937

Dill said that he’d love me forever but I don’t think he really cares about me. He only cares about Jem and his stupid plans to find out more about the Radleys. Jem and Dill both think that I’m too girly and that I will somehow destroy their plans, so I found a new friend, Miss Maudie. Yesterday, Miss Maudie told me a few things about Boo Radley that I never knew. She said that Boo Mr. Arthur is still alive and that he remains in the house because he doesn’t want to come out. Apparently no one locked him in the basement. Miss Maudie also said that Mr. Arthur was friendly and gentle. It sounds like Arthur Radley isn’t as evil as other people describe him to be. I believe Miss Maudie’s words because she is one of my friends. But I still fear Mr. Arthur.

This morning, I noticed that Jem and Dill were whispering secretly to each other in the front yard. At first, they didn’t want to let me in on their plans but they ended up telling me soon after (I think it was because they knew I didn’t and would not leave.). They told me that they were going to send Arthur Radley a note. They wanted to ask him to come out and chat with us. I didn’t think it would work out but Jem didn’t listen to me. He told me that I couldn’t just quit after joining them. Jem had Dill and I watched as he was going up to send the note to the house. In the end we failed because Atticus came home and caught us. He told us to leave Arthur Radley alone and that the thing, we tried to do, wasn’t polite. I already told Jem that Atticus knew what we were doing but he didn’t believe me (See! I told you, Jem.).

Scout's diary 3

July 25, 1937

  The days after the first day of school were boring and completely unexciting. The only thing that had caught my attention was two pieces of gum placed in the tree hole which stood right in front of the Radley Place. Luckily, I did not become sick or die after chewing the gum, instead to my surprise, they tasted quite good. When Jem knew that I was chewing the gum from the tree hole, he got angry and he made me spit it out.

Summer is coming, which means that Dill will be visiting us again. Today is the last day of the school. I have been looking forward to not have to go to that scary place for a while. As Jem and I walked pass by Radley’s home, I pointed the tree hole where I found the gum. It was then that Jem noticed something shining from the hole. He carefully took it out. It was a tiny package made with chewing-gum wrapper. Inside were two aged pennies with an Indian head on them. Jem said that they must’ve once been important to someone because they are lucky coins. Who did these pennies belong to? And why did he or she put it in the tree hole? Jem and I had many questions but not a single answer. The only thing that we could do is wait for its owner to claim it from us.

Scout's diary 2

Sept 9, 1936

Today was the first day of school. I was excited because this was the first time I get to be in a real classroom. My teacher, Miss Caroline Fisher, is a new teacher in our town. She is a young beautiful lady from Winston County in North Alabama. I wanted to be as beautiful as Miss Caroline Fisher in the beginning but now I don’t think I like her any more. She said that I shouldn’t be allowed to read with Atticus because she thinks I am too young to read. I am not too young; I am almost seven years old. Jem said that Miss Caroline Fisher is introducing a new way of teaching but I think she just hates me. What should I do? I really want to read with Atticus. Going to school is the worst thing that has ever happened to me.

  Miss Caroline yelled at me because of Walter Cunningham. I didn’t tell a lie or said anything bad or mean. I was so mad at my teacher. I fought with Walter Cunningham before lunch but Jem stopped the fight. He even asked Walter Cunningham to come with us for lunch. I have no idea why he did that. During lunch, Walter Cunningham did something strange. He put a lot of syrup on his food. I tried stopping him but Atticus and Calpurnia asked me to mind my own business. Calpurnia even shouted at me. I do not know why everyone seemed to be mean at me today. After lunch, we all went back to school. Miss Caroline was scared by cooties on Yessum’s head but I think she deserved the scare.

  It is really a bad day for me but Jem didn’t think so. I told Atticus that I am not going back to school but he didn’t allow it. My first day of school is such a miserable day. The only thing that made me feel better is that Atticus promised me to read with me secretly.

Scout's Diary 1

July 12^th, 1936 another humid evening

It has been a while since I’ve touched my diary because nothing special happened. Finally, something happened two weeks ago. I met Miss Rachel Haverford’s nephew, Dill. He is seven years old but he acts much younger than his age. He said that he can also read but Jem said that was not special. Jem said that I could read since I was born (so take that Dill!). The three of us now always play together. We played our role play game again and again because we loved it at first. We don’t play it anymore because Jem said it was boring.

Although Jem and I kept warning Dill, he seemed to be interested about Boo Radley’s place. He often stared at the creepy house from the light-pole. I cannot understand why Dill was so fascinated to that ghost house; that house freaks me out. Jem told me a lot of hearsay about Boo Radley who was locked in the basement. Jem said that Boo tried to kill his father and he once scratched on our back screen. We don't really talk about the Radleys because they are rarely around during the day and I just know they are evil. Three days ago, Dill dared Jem to  enter Radley’s yard and touch the house. At first, Jem ignored Dill’s dare and said that he wouldn’t play such a game because he needed to protect me (I thought Jem was really going to pee his pants). Dill continued to taunt Jem of being a scaredy cat. I couldn’t believe it. Today, Jem accept the dare to win “The Gray Ghost” novel. Everything happened in a flash. Jem ran like the wind. After a blink, we were already home. I could not believe that Jem really made it! I hope nothing bad or scary will happen to us (cross our fingers).