Journal #4 Chapter 10-12 Jem's perspective

Atticus is getting old, I can see it in him, he is getting older, and weaker each

day. When he would go to our school he doesn't do the same thing as them like play foot

ball with them. he was much older than our friend's parents, When they had a parent

football game he wouldn't join he would just read the paper. When I would play football

with him, when I went to tackle him he would stop me. He never went hunting or play

poker with the people in the county. He didn't drink or smoke he just read in the

living room. Uncle Jack instructed us in how to use our air rifles. Atticus wasn't

interested in guns. He told me that he rather have me shoot tin cans in the backyards

and he knows I'm going to shoot at birds and he said that i can shoot all the blue

jays i wanted as long as I can hit them, he also told me that it is a sin to kill a

mockingbird. Then Miss Maudie came along and said that my father was right and that

Mockingbirds don't do anything but make music for us. They don't eat people's

gardens, don't nest in corn cribs, All they do is sing their little hearts out for

us. Miss Maudie told us that Atticus was the best checker player in the town.

She said that he can beat anybody on both sides of the river. She also said that he can play the Jew's harp. One Saturday Scout and I went exploring with our air rifles, to see if we can find a squirrel or rabbit. I started to look at something down the road. And Scout asked me what I was looking at and I said a dog yonder, and she said that it was old Tim Johnson. I went to get Cal to look at the dog and she told us to get inside, once inside she called me inside and she asked if I was telling a lie and I said no, She picked up the telephone and said to get Mr. Finch she told then that was old Tim Johnson down the street. Cal shouted down the street that a mad dog's coming. Then Heck and Atticus came in Heck's car. Heck was going to shoot but he didn't, he gave Atticus the gun and said you know I can't shoot. Then he walked in the middle of the street and took of his glasses and shot the dog. Heck said that he would have Zeebo come and get the dog later. One day Scout and I were coming back from town and I just wanted to take that baton that Scout had and hurt Ms. Dubose for calling Atticus all those names. So I took the baton and destroyed her flowers. While I was doing that Scout was screaming and then I came and I grabbed her hair and slapped her across the face and she fell and then I kicked her in the stomach. I waited for my punishment for my actions and then Atticus called me and I walked over to him and he told me to go over to Ms. Dubose's house and see what she wanted and she told me that she wants to read to her for a month so I read to her for a month and one day Atticus came in and said that they were late. We figured out that Ms. Dubose had set the clock back a couple of minutes each day. She died in a couple of weeks. Atticus told us she was a morphine addict and her fits were her drugs.