When I first started to read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee I have to admit I was unsure what to expect because of the way the book started out. The way Scout wrote, if I had not read that she was five, I would have thought she was at least 15. I also thought she was a boy until her brother, Jem claimed that he has to watch out for his little 'sister'. I like how Jem and Scout had a mutual understanding in the way that they spent their time together. They would quite happily play for hours, but at some points Jem would want to be alone and Scout knew that this was because he missed their mother, who died before Scout could know her. This showed Scout's maturity but also how vulnerable both these children were.
When they meet Dill I found his character slightly irritating. I knew that he would eventually come between them in some way as they grew up. He looked to Jem and this made Scout jealous but he also was 'engaged' to Scout and this would maybe have made Jem jealous too, obviously not of Dill as Scout is his sister, but of the attention that Scout could potentially be getting.
I was also intrigued by Atticus's character. He seems to be so relaxed about what his two children get up to and from this I felt that you could sense the loss and emptiness that he is left with after loosing his wife. At the same time however, he has a quiet, protectiveness over them which would only come from a father who deeply cared. His parenting methods seem to be stern but fair and also it was interesting how they call him 'Atticus' rather than Dad or something similar.
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