Chapter ten of To Kill a Mockingbird begins as Jem and Scout think that Atticus is old and he cannot do anything. They say he does not play or do cool things that other parents do. He just works in an office. One day, Jem and Scout go out with their guns after Atticus refuses to teach them. Atticus says the only thing they cannot shoot is a mockingbird because it does not harm the people; it only sings for them. He also tells them they can shot as many blue jays as they want. When Scout talks to Miss Maudie, she tells her that her dad cannot do much and he is no fun. She says the neighborhood is made of old people. While trying to defend Atticus, Miss Maudie says that he is good at checkers and playing the Jew’s harp. While they are playing, …show more content…
He tries to prepare his children for what they are about to endure as the trials gets closer. Mrs. Dubose, their sick neighbor, makes fun of their father even though he is nice to her. Jem and Scout go to the store to use Jem’s birthday money and they pass her house. On their way back from town, Jem takes Scout’s baton that he got for her and uses it to ruin her camellias. He ends up breaking Scout’s baton. When Atticus hears what he did, he makes Jem go to her house and apologize and clean up her yard. As his punishment, Mrs. Dubose makes him come to her house and read to her everyday except Sundays. Each day, she sets the clock back so Jem stays there later. They figure this out when one day Atticus goes to her house after he finished work. Jem was not supposed to be reading for that long so her realized she was making him stay later and later. After a few days pass, Atticus tells Jem and Scout that Mrs. Dubose passed away. He explained to them that she was trying to stop her addiction to morphine and the reading helped distract her from the pain. Then, he gives Jem box from Mrs. Dubose that has a camellia in it. Even if he did not ruin her flowers, Atticus probably would have made him go anyway. that would teach him to be