Journal #3 - Chapters 8~9 - Perspective: Scout

This morning was filled with the most excitement that I have had in what seems like forever. It was snowing! I couldn’t believe my eyes when I first peeked out the window. The snowflakes were so little and delicate and all I wanted to do was run outside and see what they were really like. I’ve heard of snow before, but never until this morning was I able to actually see what it truly was. I was being so fanatical that I had to run and show Jem and Atticus.

Once I was bundled up in my robe, Jem and I headed outside, hesitating at first at the freezing cold we were about to enter. As I stepped outside I saw our lawn that was found to be covered in little piles of snowflakes forming a thin layer of white. All the adjacent houses’ lawns looked the same—a thin layer of snow, with dirt that showed through and mixed in with the flakes.  Atticus had said that this was the coldest it had ever gotten in Maycomb since 1885. He was surely right about the fact that it was so cold and after stepping the snow with my bare feet I was debating about going back inside.

After that Jem and I built a snowman, made to look like Mr. Avery, our neighbor down the street. Atticus said that it looked exactly like him, which it did because all the dirt had mixed in with the snow, making the snow brown. Since it looked so much like Mr. Avery, Atticus suggested that we somehow disguise him so that Mr. Avery wouldn’t get angry with us. After using Miss Maudie’s sun hat and all the snow from her lawn, her temper began to rise and she wasn’t happy with us after that.

That night was a normal night as usual, except for the fact that it was freezing cold and Atticus had to light the fire in my room so I wouldn’t freeze to death. Lighting the fire wasn’t something that happened, but it was a sure thing we did or else my whole body would have been shaking frantically and my lips would have been blue, just like before the fire was lit.

Everything seemed to be normal, me in my deep sleep and fire blazing in my face making me self consciously take some of the layers off of me, until Atticus woke me up with my robe in his hand demanding me to wake up. I’m sure that my facial expression was filled with perplexity because I had no idea why Atticus was waking me up in what I thought was the middle of the night. Finally when the three of us were all awake, Atticus led us outside. Suddenly fear took over my face as I stared across the street at Miss Maudie’s house burning to pieces from a huge fire.

 Atticus demanded us to find safety by standing over on the Radleys’ porch. I knew that Maycomb was small, but it seemed like it had grown just looking at the amount of people gathered around the house and street. Men were the most prominent because they were all helping control and put out the fire.  Soon after Jem and I were brought outside, there were fire trucks everywhere and men on top of roof trying to help. I was just glad that I wasn’t entrusted with any job that would put me into any danger. I felt so bad for Miss Maudie, but then again I do remember her saying that she didn’t like her house and wanted to build a bigger garden, which might have made this something positive for her. All I know is that this will be a night that I will remember.