In chapter one, the readers of To Kill A Mockingbird are introduced to Maycomb County and its inhabitants, many of which have very particular attitudes. Here are some sentences that illustrate the main themes of chapter one of To Kill A Mockingbird:
Pride in ancestry and tradition-"If General Jackson hadn't run the Creeks up the Creek, Simon Finch would never have paddled up the Alabama, and where would we be if he hadn't?"
Pride in conformity and distrust of those who are different-"Simon would have regarded, with impotent fury, the disturbance between the North and the South, as it left his descendants stripped of everything but their land..."
Awareness of difference in social classes-"There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy, and no money to buy it with..."
Almost no interest in the world outside Maycomb-"...nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb County"
This powerful tale about Maycomb County and it's wild atmosphere begins a couple years into the Great Depression, circa 1933. It is a hot and sticky summer, and with "Nowhere to go, nothing to buy, and no money to buy it with", the children had to find ways to pass time, without disturbing their cook/housekeeper Calpurnia, and leaving their boundary lines. The children meet Charles Baker Harris, also known as Dill, who is visiting his aunt for the summer from Meridan, Mississippi, and together they make long days go by quickly acting out dramas.
ANY WRITING BEYOND THIS POINT IS SIMPLY FOR THE PURPOSE OF FULFILLING THE UNREASONABLE CHARACTER
REQUIREMENTS FOR A SET OF CLASS NOTES ON 11 PAGES OF THE INGENIOUS (THANK YOU HARPER LEE) WRITING
OF CHAPTER ONE OF TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
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