What Gifts Do Jem And Scout Find In The Tree?

To Kill a Mockingbird is a very popular novel and it was published in 1960. Harper Lee is the author of this novel. This novel is widely read in high schools and middle schools in the United States. In fact, this novel is a classic of modern American literature and it has won the Pulitzer Prize. The plot and characters of this novel were based on Lee’s observations of her family, her neighbors, and an event that occurred near her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, in 1936, when she was ten.

Jem and scout are two popular characters in “To Kill a Mockingbird” novel. Jem and Scout found different items hidden in the knothole of the tree. They found a couple of sticks of gum, a small box containing coins, a ball of twine, two figures carved from soap, an entire pack of gum, a spelling medal, and a pocket-watch.    

The tree was located on the Radley property and the items left in the knothole of the tree represent Boo Radley’s attempt to communicate with Jem and Scout. Boo Radley was looking for an indirect way of communicating with Scout and Jem and leaving gifts in the knothole was an attempt to befriend them from a safe distance. Moreover, Boo Radley showed kindness once again at the end of the novel when protects Jem and scout from an attack by Bob Ewell and kills him in defense of the children.

Characters Of To Kill A Mockingbird

1. Atticus Finch: Atticus Finch is the middle-aged father of Jem and Scout Finch

2. Scout Finch: Ean Louise “Scout” Finch, as an adult, is the narrator of To Kill a Mockingbird

3. Jem Finch: Jeremy Atticus “Jem” Finch is Atticus’ son and Scout’s older brother

4. Dill Harris: Jem and Scout’s neighborhood friend

5. Calpurnia: Calpurnia, is the Finch family’s African-American housekeeper

6. Aunt Alexandra: She is Atticus’ and Jack’s sister, married to James “Uncle Jimmy” Hancock

7. John Finch: John “Jack” Finch is the younger brother of Atticus and Alexandra

8. Arthur Radley: The mysterious neighbor who piques the children’s interest

9. Judge John Taylor: Judge John Taylor runs his court in an informal fashion with the enjoyment of singing and dipping tobacco

10. Tom Robinson: Thomas “Tom” Robinson is an African-American who has three children with his wife, Helen

11. Bob E. Lee Ewell: Robert E. Lee “Bob” Ewell is the main antagonist of To Kill a Mockingbird. He has a daughter named Mayella and a younger son named Burris, as well as six other unnamed children

12. Mayella Ewell: Mayella Violet Ewell is the oldest of the eight Ewell children

13. Miss Maudie: She is a widow of about 40, lives across the road from the Finches

14. Francis Hancock: He is the spoiled grandson of Aunt Alexandra

15. Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose: Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose is an elderly woman who lives near the Finches

16. Mr. Braxton Underwood: Mr. Braxton Bragg Underwood is a news reporter and a friend of Atticus

17. Mr. Horace Gilmer: He is a lawyer from Abbottsville, and is the prosecutor of the Tom Robinson trial

18. Dr. Reynolds: He is the Maycomb doctor

19. Dolphus Raymond: He is a white landowner who is jaded by the hypocrisy of the white society and prefers to live among black folks

20. Link Deas: He is Tom Robinson’s employer and owns cotton fields and a store in Maycomb

21. Miss Caroline Fisher: Miss Caroline Fisher is the first-grade teacher and is new to Alabama and its ways

22. Reverend Sykes: Reverend Sykes is the reverend of the First Purchase M.E. African Church in Maycomb County, where most if not all of the African-American characters go to church

23. Helen Robinson: Helen Robinson is the wife of Tom Robinson and the mother of their three children

24. Nathan Radley: Nathan Radley is Arthur “Boo” Radley’s brother and seals the knothole with cement

25. Lula: Lula is an African-American woman with a dislike for white people

26. Miss Gates: Miss Gates is a third-grade teacher at Scout’s school who insists that America isn’t prejudiced like Hitler’s Germany

27. Eula May: Eula May is Maycomb’s most prominent telephone operator and she sends out public announcements, invitations, and activates the fire alarm

28. Cecil Jacobs: Cecil Jacobs teases Scout and Jem at school

29. Tim Johnson: Tim Johnson is a dog belonging to Harry Johnson

30. Simon Finch: Simon Finch is the founder of Finch’s Landing

31. Maxwell Green: He is the new lawyer in town

32. Mr. X Billups: Mr. X Billups who is seen only once in the book, going to the trial, is described as a “funny man

33. Mrs. Gertrude Farrow: Mrs. Farrow is a lady in the missionary society who visits the Finch house occasionally

34. Mr. Conner: Mr. Conner is mentioned early on in the book and he was locked in an outhouse by “Boo” Radley and his friends

35. Zeebo: Zeebo is one of just four people in First Purchase Church who can read, so he is the vocal leader