Chapter Summaries Chapters 10-14 To Kill a Mockingbird

Chapter 10 Important Points Scout points out Atticus is older than other fathers, which slightly embarrasses Jem and Scout One day a “mad dog” appears at the end of the street Calpurnia calls Atticus who calls Sheriff Heck Tate Sheriff Tate brings a rifle and asks Atticus to shoot the dog Atticus does so and hits the dog in one shot from a great distance Miss Maudie tells the children Atticus had been known to have the best shot in the county Scout wants to brag about this, but Jem tells her to keep it secret

Chapter 11 Summary Mrs. Dubose is a cantakerous and sick old lady who always shouts and Jem and Scout when they pass her house One day, she insults Atticus which causes Jem to lose his temper Using a baton, Jem destroys all of her camellia bushes As punishment, he must go read to her every day for a month An alarm goes off at the end of each reading session As time goes on, the reading sessions last longer and longer Mrs. Dubose dies a month later

Chapter 11 Continued Atticus tells Jem that Mrs. Dubose had been addicted to morphine and that his reading helped her defeat that addiction so she died “beholden to nothing and nobody” Atticus views this as real courage: “It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.”

Chapter 12 Summary Dill does not come to Maycomb the next summer Atticus leaves for the state capital for 2 weeks Calpurnia takes the children to her church on Sunday Reverend Sykes welcomes the children Reverend Sykes takes up a collection for Tom Robinson’s wife since she cannot find work since her husband has been accused of rape Scout learns that Bob Ewell has accused Tom and wonders why anyone would believe Mr. Ewell Aunt Alexandra is waiting on their porch for them when they return home

Chapter 13 Summary Aunt Alexandra is staying for a while to be a “feminie influence” She fits into Maycomb quite well Aunt Alexandra is very proud of the Finch name The children do not share this pride Aunt Alexandra tries to convince Atticus to lecture the children about their ancestry Atticus tries, but only makes Scout cry

Chapter 14 Summary Jem and Scout notice more whispers and stares when they are in town as the trial approaches Scout asks Atticus what rape is, which brings up the trip to Calpurnia’s church Aunt Alexandra says they are not to go to that church again and tries unsuccessfully to convince Atticus to let Calpurnia go Jem tells Scout to stop antagonizing Aunt Alexandra which leads to a fight between the two That night, they find Dill, who has run away from home, hiding under Scout’s bed Jem tells Atticus Dill is there Dill stays the night at the Finches