To kill a Mockingbird
Journal entry #1 “Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop…”
Pg: 5
This quotation on chapter one is Scout’s introductory description of Maycomb. Scout emphasizes the slow pace, Alabama heat, and old fashioned values of the town. She writes of time when she “first knew” Maycomb, indicating that she embarks upon this recollection of her childhood much later in life, as an adult. It makes reference to the widespread poverty of the town, implying that Maycomb is in the midst of the great depression. As stated in the quote “There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with.” As been specified above Maycomb county was a ghost town. In the text on page six it clarifies how mysterious it was, “Maycomb County had recently been told that it had nothing to fear but fear itself.”

To kill a Mockingbird
Journal entry #2 “I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.”
Pg: 20
On chapter two scout talks about how she takes reading for granted. Losing it would be devastating to her. Scout compares it to not breathing anymore, reading, for little kids, is not a priority in Maycomb. Scout, however, has Atticus her father teach the incredible joy of reading to his children. This applies to the second sentence about breathing. Although she does not think to herself ‘I love breathing’ for there she does not realize how important it truly is. As a first grader being able to read is a talent, perhaps Miss Caroline, her teacher should have been less harsh and appreciate her gift. Miss Caroline’s tough reaction to the fact that scout already knows how to read and write takes the little girl by surprise. As mentioned in the text, “I never deliberately learned to read, but somehow had been wallowing