To Kill a Mockingbird | Chapter 3

In Chapter 3 of "To Kill a Mockingbird," Scout continues to face challenges at school and learns some important lessons about empathy and understanding. After her difficult first day, Scout fights Walter Cunningham in the schoolyard because she blames him for her trouble with Miss Caroline. Jem intervenes and invites Walter to come home with them for lunch. During the meal, Atticus talks to Walter with respect, treating him as an equal despite his family's poverty. This interaction provides Scout with a new perspective on how to treat others. At lunch, Scout is shocked when Walter pours syrup all over his meal. When she comments on it, Calpurnia, the Finch family's housekeeper, scolds her for being rude and teaches her a lesson about hospitality and respecting others' differences. Back at school, Scout’s teacher, Miss Caroline, has another conflict with a student. This time it's Burris Ewell, who comes from an extremely poor and disreputable family. Burris only attends school on the first day of the year to avoid trouble with the law, and he leaves after causing a scene and making Miss Caroline cry. When Scout returns home, she tells Atticus she doesn't want to go back to school. Atticus listens to her concerns and offers her advice: he tells her that to understand people, she must consider things from their point of view—"climb into their skin and walk around in it." He also makes a compromise with Scout: if she continues to go to school, they will keep reading together at home, even though Miss Caroline disapproves. This chapter emphasizes the themes of empathy and social inequality, as Scout learns to see things from others' perspectives and understands more about the complexities of human behavior and social class.