Chapter Summaries Chapters 10 14 TO KILL A

Chapter Summaries Chapters 10 -14 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

Chapter 10 Important Points �Scout points out Atticus is older than other fathers, which slightly embarrasses Jem and Scout �One day a “mad dog” appears at the end of the street �Calpurnia calls Atticus who calls Sheriff Heck Tate �Sheriff Tate brings a rifle and asks Atticus to shoot the dog �Atticus does so and hits the dog in one shot from a great distance �Miss Maudie tells the children Atticus had been known to have the best shot in the county �Scout wants to brag about this, but Jem tells her to keep it secret

Chapter 11 Summary � Mrs. Dubose is a cantakerous and sick old lady who always shouts and Jem and Scout when they pass her house � One day, she insults Atticus which causes Jem to lose his temper � Using a baton, Jem destroys all of her camellia bushes � As punishment, he must go read to her every day for a month � An alarm goes off at the end of each reading session � As time goes on, the reading sessions last longer and longer � Mrs. Dubose dies a month later

Chapter 11 Continued �Atticus tells Jem that Mrs. Dubose had been addicted to morphine and that his reading helped her defeat that addiction so she died “beholden to nothing and nobody” �Atticus views this as real courage: “It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. ”

Chapter 12 Summary �Dill does not come to Maycomb the next summer �Atticus leaves for the state capital for 2 weeks �Calpurnia takes the children to her church on Sunday �Reverend Sykes welcomes the children �Reverend Sykes takes up a collection for Tom Robinson’s wife since she cannot find work since her husband has been accused of rape �Scout learns that Bob Ewell has accused Tom and wonders why anyone would believe Mr. Ewell �Aunt Alexandra is waiting on their porch for them when they return home

Chapter 13 Summary �Aunt Alexandra is staying for a while to be a “feminie influence” �She fits into Maycomb quite well �Aunt Alexandra is very proud of the Finch name �The children do not share this pride �Aunt Alexandra tries to convince Atticus to lecture the children about their ancestry �Atticus tries, but only makes Scout cry

Chapter 14 Summary �Jem and Scout notice more whispers and stares when they are in town as the trial approaches �Scout asks Atticus what rape is, which brings up the trip to Calpurnia’s church �Aunt Alexandra says they are not to go to that church again and tries unsuccessfully to convince Atticus to let Calpurnia go �Jem tells Scout to stop antagonizing Aunt Alexandra which leads to a fight between the two �That night, they find Dill, who has run away from home, hiding under Scout’s bed �Jem tells Atticus Dill is there �Dill stays the night at the Finches