Chapter 1-5 Director

Throughout the process of reading the first few chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird, I found myself comparing my own childhood experiences to those of Jem, Scout, and Dill. Their innocence and views on the world are so pure and unaltered that they don't always see the whole picture. I can recall several times when I did something for fun without realizing exactly how it might look. The children did this when they acted out Boo Radley's life for all to see. This leads into two passages from the book that I found most striking. The first was when Atticus was telling Scout that she couldn't know how somebody felt until she stepped into their skin and saw things from their perspective. How would Boo have felt if he saw all of this going on? This just goes to show that they didn't look at the whole picture and about how their seemingly harmless  fun would make Boo feel.
One main idea emphasized in the first few chapters is that everyone is different, and yet still equal. It's present in the quote from Atticus, and several times throughout chapters 1-5. The difference in class between Scout and her friend Walter Cunningham is a good example. While he may be poorer, Walter still deserves respect and proper treatment. Calpurnia makes sure that Scout understands that after she embarrasses him at the lunch table. What is obvious is the book is the authors connection to her characters. In Scout we can feel the opinions of Harper Lee influencing her actions. This is hardly surprising, as Lee used Scout as a way of representing herself in her story. I find it inspiring to see someone who grew up in the south during times of discrimination and racism come out as unprejudiced as Lee. I wonder what drove her to write a book about the topics she did, but already I can guess the answer just through reading the first few chapters. Lee grew up in the center of all of this, and wanted to make a statement. In many ways, this book feels like her way of trying to open the eyes of those around her to the injustice of the times.   
It seemed like if the literary circle could all connect to anything, it was the children's experiences. Seeing as we weren't that far removed from those years ourselves, we all could remember what it was like being Scouts age. Scott even shared a story of the abandoned house he grew up near. He used this as a parallel to the Radley place. To be honest, it was pretty quiet outside of that. We were all just getting comfortable with the process of the literary circle.
One thing is obvious from the first few chapters- Scout, Jem, and Dill are all entering the phase of their lives were the world they know is going to change. They may think that all there is to the world is reenacting scenes from their favorite books, but the reader can tell something is about to happen that will make them question this. Everyone loses their innocence at some point in their lives, and something tell me that these children are about to learn what the real world is like. To be human is hard to describe, but I can say that the moment a person gets their first taste of harsh reality is one that can define them for the rest of their lives. How the children from TKMB react will shape who they become as they grow.