Contents
Chapter 4
Overview
School remains stifling for Scout, but mystery and summer return. Scout discovers gum, then with Jem finds polished pennies in a knot-hole at the Radley place, hinting at an unseen benefactor. Dill arrives, the children play a Boo Radley drama, and Atticus pointedly disapproves. Scout, rattled after rolling into the Radley yard, is convinced someone inside laughed.
Summary
Scout endures a tedious first school year under what Jem jokingly calls the “Dewey Decimal” method, feeling cheated of real learning. Released earlier than Jem each day, Scout sprints past the Radley place until one afternoon she spots tinfoil in a knot-hole and finds two sticks of gum, which she tests and chews despite Jem’s alarm.
On the last day of school, Scout and Jem discover a small tinfoil-covered box in the same knot-hole containing two polished Indian-head pennies. Unsure whose they are, Jem decides to keep them until school starts again and then ask around, reasoning they are important to someone.
Dill returns “in a blaze of glory,” boasting of solo travels and a grandiose father. Restless, the children swap superstitions about “Hot Steams.” In a tire-rolling game, a peeved Jem sends Scout hurtling into the Radley yard. Shaken, Scout refuses to retrieve the tire, and Jem, stung by pride, dashes in to get it and taunts Scout for acting like a girl.
After lemonade, Jem proposes a new game: Boo Radley. Jem assigns roles and the trio elaborates the play through the summer, weaving town gossip into scenes of Boo’s imagined violence. They fall silent when neighbors appear and freeze when Nathan Radley passes.
Atticus catches them mid-performance with scissors and a torn newspaper, tersely asking if the game concerns the Radleys. Jem denies it; Atticus confiscates the scissors and disapproves. Later, Jem argues they can keep playing since Atticus didn’t forbid it. Scout wants to quit, partly because of Atticus, but chiefly because when she rolled into the Radley yard she heard someone inside the house softly laughing.
Who Appears
- Scout FinchNarrator; struggles with dull schooling, finds gum and pennies in the Radley tree, and hears laughter from the Radley house.
- Jem FinchScout’s brother; warns her about the Radleys, retrieves the tire, proposes and leads the Boo Radley game, denies Atticus’s suspicion.
- Dill (Charles Baker Harris)Returns for summer with tall tales; joins the Radley-themed play and fuels eerie superstitions.
- Atticus FinchTheir father; catches the children acting out the Radleys, confiscates scissors, and pointedly disapproves.
- CalpurniaFinch housekeeper; calls the children in for lemonade and is referenced during the staged scenes.
- Nathan RadleyBoo’s brother; passes by during the children’s play, a silent reminder of the house’s watchful presence.
- Boo Radley (Arthur Radley)Reclusive neighbor central to the children’s play; an unseen presence who may have laughed from inside the house.
- Miss Maudie AtkinsonNeighbor who notices the children’s strange play across the street.
- Cecil JacobsSchoolmate who avoids the Radley place by taking a longer route home.
- Mrs. Henry Lafayette DuboseIrascible neighbor Jem avoids passing without Atticus; mentioned as part of the children’s routes.