Dan LathamJem?s Journal
Chapter 4 – I think at times my sister, Scout can be disgusting. I came home from a long day at school. I found Scout on the porch chewing a wad of gum. I knew it was gum because she had it in her mouth for a long time and plus I could see it in her mouth. So just like any normal brother would do, I told her not to eat things you find and she said that she didn?t find it on the ground but rather in a tree. I put an expression on my face that clearly communicated to her that I didn?t think she was funny. I also growled at her. She told my like an innocent girl that it was sticking in a tree on the way home from school. I really didn?t care about where she got it from I just wanted that disgusting piece of trash out of her mouth immediately before she caught some germs. I told Scout to spit it out immediately. She was actually pretty obedient and spit the gum out. She told me that she had been chewing it all afternoon and that if she wasn?t dead and didn?t feel sick. She was obviously mad at me for ruining her chewing enjoyment but I didn?t want her getting sick because knowing Atticus, I?d be the one who would have to take care of her and that wouldn?t go over to well with me since I know I could have stopped her from getting sick. I think I yelled at her and said that isn?t she supposed to know that she isn?t allowed even near those trees. We all know about that weird guy Boo Radley and we know that property is off limits. I told her that she would probably get killed if she were caught. She said in defense that I touched the house once. This was a clear reference to Boo Radley?s house but I ignored her comment and told her that it was different. I also ordered her to go and use some mouth wash to get rid of the germs that she collected from that stick of gum she just spit out. She wasn?t pleased that I just ordered her to wash her mouth out and told me in defense that washing her mouth out will dissolve the taste in her mouth but I still didn?t care. I wanted her to wash her mouth out so I told her that I would tell Calpurnia about how she found some gum in a tree near Boo Radley?s house. I guess she didn?t really want to risk a tangle with Calpurnia so she did as I told her.
Chapter 7 – Scout asked me about what went on last night and I decided to tell her. I told her that after we heard the gun shot and ran I got my pants caught on the fence. I tried to get them unhooked but I was too freaked out but that gun shot and I feared for my life so I left the pants behind. The next morning my father, Attaicus told me to go get the pants and so I did but this is the part that was really spooky. I told Scout that the pants weren?t like the way that I left them. They were folded neatly across the fence and the hole that I made from my struggle with the fence was mended. But it wasn?t mended like a woman would mend it. I mean it wasn?t neat and all perfect but it actually looked like that kind of sewing job that I would do. It seemed like someone was reading my mind but if no one over there knows me then how could they know was I was thinking. I think that by the expression on her face, I could tell that Scout was equally as mystified by the events that have taken place over the past two days. First was find some strange objects near Boo Radley?s tree and then I find that my pants which were ripped by a fence while I was running from a gun shot from some strange shadow have been sewed to my satisfaction. We weren?t sure what to do next but I was beginning to think that those items that were left in the tree were some how meant for us. I don?t know how or who is doing it but I think the answers all lie within the Radley house hold.
Chapter 5 – I was scared and I think my father made it worse. After Scout, Dill and I went to the Radley house to give Boo Radley the letter we made, we heard a gun shot. All of us ran as fast as we could but I stupidly got my pants caught on the fence. I had to think quick and so and split second decision making, I decided to ditch my pants. I ran as fast as I could and we reached our house. I rang the door bell many times and that got Atticus pretty upset. He wanted to know what was going on. He asked me what I was doing and I replied to him that I was innocently doing nothing and ended it with a “sir.” He didn?t buy it and said he didn?t want any lying going on and he said, “tell me.” That was my cue to spill the beans to my father. I didn?t want to lie but I didn?t want to tell him everything. I said that we were trying to give him something. I was hoping my father wouldn?t pry any deeper into the topic of conversation. But he did. He asked me what it was we were trying to give Boo Radley. And I told him it was just a letter. He asked me to let him see it. I gave him the filthy piece of paper and Atticus tried to read it. He asked why we wanted Boo to come out and this was a question that I could answer that wouldn?t make us look guilty. I told him that we were hoping he might like us and that we were just trying to make friends with him. As usual, he didn?t buy it. My father grew very stern and it drained all the blood from my face. He said, “Son, I?m going to tell you something and tell you one time: stop tormenting that man.” He turned to Scout and Dill. “That goes for the other two of you.”
Chapter 6 – I think those final days before Dill left were the best. We asked Atticus if we could go over to Miss Rachel?s pond and he said we could. Me, Dill and Scout leaped over the low wall that separated her driveway from ours. I whistled and Dill responded. I looked around and noticed that the wind was hardly blowing. I informed my friends of the same thing telling them that the wind wasn?t blowing hard. Then I noticed a gigantic moon was rising behind Miss Rachel?s pecan trees. I told my sister and friend that the moon looked gigantic. But to them it only made things look hotter than they really were. I noticed that Dill was making a cigarette out of the things he had and then he challenged me. He asked if I?d cross the part that I was pointing to. I noticed that Dill was almost done with his cigarette and I wanted to change the subject so I told him not to smoke his cigarette because he?d stink up this side of town. I told Dill that we would definitely miss him and I knew that went double for Scout. Dill stretched out and asked if we all would like to go for a walk. We replied that it sounded great and we told him that we would. But I asked Dill where should we go. He pointed in a southerly direction. I said, “okay,” but Scout protested and Dill replied, “you don?t have to come, Angel May.” I thought it was kind of cute but Dill wanted to leave now because our time with him was numbered and we wanted to spend as much time as possible with him but we didn?t want to get in trouble like we seem to be pretty good at which is why Scout is probably going to protest to our little “walk.”
Chapter 2 – I remember the days when Dill wasn?t around and Attaicus sent me and Scout to school. We were learning about cows and Scout didn?t like the idea too much. That didn?t matter because we had to learn and plus cows are a big part of Maycomb County. She told me that she really didn?t want to know about cows and I told her that I had to learn about the Dewy Decimal System. Our teacher was Miss Caroline and we had students of all ages in our school. I remember when Miss Caroline asked about the little Cunnigham boy. She didn?t know at the time that the Cunningham?s are too proud to take money from anyone and Scout told her that it would be useless to try and give him something when he couldn?t return it. She just thought that idea was silly but the Cunningham boy didn?t take any money for lunch. I don?t think in that particular year that Miss Caroline liked Scout too much. She found out that Scout could read and that Atticus taught us both that and she also found out that Scout was very smart. One time that year, Scout asked me if I could write something for her and I told her that we don?t write like in the first grade, we print. She didn?t like my sarcasm too much but I helped her out anyway like any big brother would do. Scout had a grudge with Calpurnia, our new black maid. I told Scout that we go home for lunch and she liked that idea because that meant that Calpurnia had to make her whatever she wanted. I also told her that the kids who bring lunch keep it on their desks. This is the point of the Walter Cunningham incident. Miss Caroline also calls Scout, Jean Louise, which is her real name but no one calls her that. Not even Atticus. Scout, that same day, asked me what entailment was. I told her its when you get your tail caught in a crack. She got the humor that I was trying to get across to her but as usual, I was joking around and she was completely serious.