In the south, it was important to know where you came from. So family history was significant and to not know it was considered shameful to some. This is why Scout said, "Being southerners it was a source of shame to some members of the family that we had no record of our ancestors on the other side of The Battle of Hastings."
The Cunninghams are honest people, yet poor. Most people in their situation would take loans or anything they could to get help, but the Cunninghams use what they have and don't get anything they can't pay for. They are very respectable. Even Walter followed this with the quarter he was offered to buy lunch. From the book, we get the impression that school is very base and simple, whereas in present times, there are extremely complicated rules, regulations, and grading systems, etc. Also, we have alternative lunches and other things to get people assurance that they will be fed unlike Walters situation. We are way more organized now. Speaking of Walter, when he poured syrup all over everything, he didn't quite realize how this kind of life worked. He probably never had the chance to use syrup before so he cloaked his food, not realizing how it is usually used. When Scout brings this to attention, Atticus gets angry because it is rude to do that.And this gives off a good impression of Atticus. Atticus seems like a good man who is a leader. He points his children in the right direction in the right manner. There should no doubt be more people like him around. Otherwise there would be more people like the Ewells. The Ewells are very uncivilized, so to speak. They do what they want encluding if they want to come to school or not. The father is a drunk. He hunts illegally but is not penalized for this is the only way for the family to eat.
Chapter 4-6
The presents that Boo leaves in the tree show us that Boo is kind and is being nice despite the fact that he has to hide from everyone. The children are surprised that someone leaves there stuff in the tree especially because the stuff is new. They decide to take the stuff though it may be someone elses. They know stealing is wrong but it is common, so they pursuade themselves that it "technically" isn't stealing. The fact that the children reinact the stabbing and the leaving of the scissors on the doorstep must hit Boo where it hurts; seeing these children making a mockery of him. It also isn't easy to forgive and forget when people do something like this. Also, Boo left the presents for them in the tree which probably made it hurt alot more though they didn't know he did. And finally, when Boo laugh's at Scout, this shows us that Boo, despite how lonely and depressing his life is, likes to have a little happiness every once and a while. It shows that he wants to be happy but has very little opportunities to.
Chapter 7-9
When Jem tells Scout about getting his pants back, he tells her that they weren't as he had left them. When he found them, they were sewn poorly and folded over the fence. Like someone had known he was coming back and fixed them up for him. The children want to write a thank you note to the person leaving the gifts but the tree was cemented up. The person who did this was Mr. Radley. He probably did this to keep Boo from leaving stuff in the tree or to keep the children from getting too suspicious. Jem puts up a snowman that was modeled after Mr. Avery. Atticus tells him he needs to change it so people don't get mad that he is poking fun at Mr. Avery. Ms. Maudie calls it horrible and gets somewhat disturbed of it. They decided to keep it up until it melts. Atticus saved Maudie's rocking chair because she spends all of her time either on the rocking chair or in the yard. It was a kind easy gesture and the chair was probly sort of important to her in a way. When Atticus asks Scout about the blanket, Jem realizes that Boo Radley snuck up, put the blanket on her, and snuck away. Scout could have turned around and would have seen his face. Also, when Atticus tells Jem not to let his discovery move him to further glory, he means not to let this blanket event get him excited about possibly seeing Boo, creating further disturbance. Jem has reason to listen because he knows Boo is crafty and dangerous but also Atticus probably won't continue to let it slide for much longer. Atticus feels surprisingly ok with defending Tom Robinson. He wants to do all he can to help Tom but yet it hits him personally that he is defending Tom for being accused of raping a white girl. Also, everyone hates Tom so it is pretty weird to defend him. When they go to the family dinner for Christmas, Scouts cousin Francis told her that Aunt Alexandria said Atticus was a nigger lover and was ruining the family. When Uncle Jack Finch comes to town, he says Scout is growing out of her pants. He says this because of the fact that Scout is acting like a grown up but she is really just a child. She was swearing and he wants her to be polite and a good child. Scout later overhears Uncle Jack and Atticus talking about the case. She heard that Atticus is worried by the lack of evidence they have in the case. She also learns that she shouldn't listen to the townspeople about the case and that she needs to go to Atticus for questions.
Chapter 10-11
The mad dog incident where Atticus refused to shoot the dog shows us that Atticus is kind. He doesn't think it is right to kill a dog. Also, he thinks he would miss it anyway. Mockingbirds are just the dumb little birds that do nothing. They say it is a sin to kill it because it literally does NOTHING to anyone or anything else. They have no purpose or significance except their sweet, sometimes annoying, whistling. So killing it makes no sense. When Heck and Atticus were approaching the dog, Heck knew there was a possibility of him missing and the dog leaving. So he tells Atticus to shoot the dog instead, knowing (thinking) Atticus would miss and would be blamed. Turns out, Atticus is the best shooter around and hit the dog. Jem and Scout come up to congradulate him and Heck starts to say something but Atticus cuts him off. This is because Tate would have spoiled that Atticus was such a good shot. Atticus doesn't want it getting around that he is such a good shot. This being because of the fact that people probably wouldn't leave him alone. The kids are always made fun of because Atticus took this case and Mrs. Dubose is one of the worst. She makes fun of them when they walk by and they get really demoralized over it. Atticus tells Jem to keep his head high and be a gentlemen. This concludes the first part of the book. The children have grown in their early years and have learned so much. It is split off here because it is a seperation between the maturing/learning and the actual implementation of their knowledge in life. As the quote says, "this is where things get serious..."
Chapters 12-14
Ms. Calpurnia says during church that the reason they need more money in the offering is that Tom's wife and kids need support. This is because nobody will hire Tom's wife. The reason for this is that nobody wants anything to do with them because they do not want to get involved in any way with the situation. The situation as in Tom's accusation. Scout has grown by becoming more independent. She is also getting smarter and understanding things more. This is difficult whenever girls are treated so much differently than guys in that they have to basically have perfect manners and perfect speech etc. If one little thing about a girl is wrong then they are considered extremely bad. Girls are also supposed to follow others and be non-independent. Aunt Alexandra dislikes Calpurnia and not only this but she seems to be ruining everything. The reason, though, that she dislikes Calpurnia is simply because she feels belittled because everything is taken care of by Calpurnia. This makes her feel unneeded and especially when she can't seem to have an influence on Scout yet Calpurnia does. Alexandra isn't a racist it is just that she believes that she is living there for a purpose and that purpose is taken.
Chapter 15-17
At the mob scene, Mr. Cunningham retreats because he sees Scout and Jem come up. He doesn't want to hurt the children's father right in front of them. Scout came up and asked Mr. Cunningham about Walter because she is friends with him. Scouts presence makes everyone realize what they would be doing if they were to hurt Atticus. In a mob, people act differently because they are around others and also they think they are accomplishing a lot by joining forces. This causes people to implement their thoughts into actions with more influence than if they were alone. Finally, when they call the black people "them" it is racist because they are looking them as inferior, almost like animals. They are refering to them as something other than human, or other than equal to themselves.