Journal #2- Chapters 4-7 Persperctive: Miss Maudie Atkins

Journal #2-
Chapters 4-7
Persperctive: Miss Maudie Atkins

Dear Diary,

Its summer and the children are all out of school. I have noticed Atticus's children and one of their friends playing in their yard. Jem, Scout, and Dill have been, I think, acting. Its real odd. I was looking at them one day when I was trimming my hedges and I think that Scout saw me looking.

As the summer has gone on I see Dill and Jem hanging out together a lot more without Scout. Scout has become my main company. She sits with me on my front porch. We would watch the twilight together most nights. Before we began doing this I had an agreement with the kids. I would let them use my front and back yard, and eat my scuppernogs if they would'nt jump on the arbor.

One day I had a very interesting conversation with scout. She mentioned Boo Radley whom I like to call Arthur. Scout had asked me if Arthur was alive. I told her I knew he was because he hadn't been taken out of the house yet. She suggested the idea that they stuffed him up a chiminey when he died. I thought that was crazy. She told me that Jem told her he was up the chiminey. Jem was getting more and more like their uncle Jack Finch every day.

Jack is my age. I've known him since we were kids. He has asked me to marry him every time he comes down to visit Atticus and the kids, but I allways say the same thing "Call a little louder, Jack Finch, and they'll hear you at the post office. I havn't heard you yet!" Jack is the last person in the world I would want to marry. But I love teasing him.

Me and Scout continued our conversation about the Radleys. I told her that all Arthur wanted to do was stay inside so thats what he did. I did'nt tell her this but really Arthur is the opposit of me. He likes to stay inside and I never want to be inside. I like to be outside enjoying Gods outdoors.

I told Scout about old Mr. Radley. How he was a foot-washing baptist. She thought thats what I was but I corrected her. I am just a baptist. Old Mr. Radley is the kind of baptist that believes anything thats pleasure is a sin. I told her that one time a few foot-washing baptists came out of the woods one day and told me that me and my flowers were going to hell. They believed that I shouldnt be spending so much time with Gods outdoors and more time inside reading the bible. Scout was real kind to me and told me that this was wrong and I was the kindest lady she knew. I told her thankyou but that to foot-washers women were a sin by definition. Our conversation about religion went on for a little while longer and then we came back to the topic of the Radleys.

She asked me if I thought that the things people said about Mr. Arthur were true. I told her that 3/4 of those things were made up by colored folk and the last 1/4 by Stephanie Crawford. I to,d her that I did't believe the things that people said about him. That is a sad house I told her. I told her about how I knew him when he was a kid. I told Scout all about how Arthur used to talk very nicely just as about nicely as he could to me. He wasn't rude. He was a very polite young boy. The last question scout asked me about him was if I thought he was crazy. I said that if he's not, he should be by now.

I was done with the conversation so I asked Scout if she wanted some pondcake and of course she said yes. My baking is the best on the block.

Sincerely,
Miss Maudie Atkins