Journal #5

            Summer ended and it was once again time for school to dampen my days. Dill departed Maycomb and it was back to the slow moving, boredom filled days of school. Second grade started just as I had expected and instead of learning new and exciting things it was back to the basics, again. One day after school, Jem and I decided to swing by the knot hole again. We discovered another gift by whom we expected was none other than Boo Radley.

            The gifts kept on coming. First we got a ball of twine, than two soap sculptures that resembled me and Jem, followed by chewing gum, a spelling bee medal, and a pocket watch. I thought there was no end to these gifts until Jem and I discovered one day that the hole had been cemented shut. Upon further inquiry, we discerned that the hole was filled by Nathan Radley, who said he had done so because the tree was dying.

            There were many important events that winter. One, it snowed in Maycomb. This was great fun because school was closed and Jem and I got to play in the snow. The second event was not fun at all. Miss Maudie’s house burned down. I was woken up by Atticus the night of the fire and we all went outside. While looking at the roaring flames and the remains of Miss Maudie’s house, I felt someone drape a blanket over my shoulders. I didn’t think much of it at the time but Jem figured out that it must have been Boo. I was terrified that Boo was standing so close behind me without my knowledge.

            Something that really changed our family and how people thought of us was when Atticus was asked to defend a black man by the name of Tom Robinson. The black man was accused of raping a white woman but there was very little evidence to support this. I asked Atticus why he needed to take the case after I was being bullied at school because of the trial and he said that he must defend the black to uphold his sense of justice and self-respect.