Peer Pressure

The protagonist in my book is a young girl in the second grade who has an older brother in the 5th grade, and a father named Atticus. They get along as well as any other brother or sister gets along, including the teasing. Their house is located right accross the street from The Radley House, which is occupied by the mysterious Radleys. There are hundreds of thousands of rumors about them, some consisting of Mr.Radley eating his wifes finger because he was so hungry. My protagonist, Scout, her older brother, Jem is obsessed with finding out what really goes on inside the Radley house, which is a very dangerous subject to explore. It also doesn't help that Dill, a young boy who comes to stay with them every summer, is just as obsessed. Scout doesn't want to participate in  these various activities, but she doesn't want to be called a "chicken" , and be left out; Summers in Maycomb can get quite boring. I can relate to this feeling because a year or so ago my friend and I had the same tutor, but different sessions. We wanted a session together, so we planned to ask her. I was not sure that I wanted to do this, but my friend started to call me a "chicken" or "scaredy cat." This doesn;t sound bad, but our tutor was very uptight and mean.

My friend and I had just come from school, so we went back to her house to start our homework before we had to go on up to tutoring. I tried to do my homework, but the whole time my heart was pumping a bit faster than normal, and I felt like a swarm of butterflies were fencing in my stomach, creating an uneasy feeling. Don't worry, I didn't throw up. I did however go to the tutor. I didn't want my friend to call me names and make me feel badly about myself, I wanted to fit in with her, if that makes any sense. The tutor gave both of us obnoxious looks, and ordered me to leave. The way she said it was just so unkind that I began to get teary eyed. I slowly began to turn around and walk kback down the block. I was so upset at her, but I was also so upset with the way I let her control me, it wasn't worth what had happened. In my book when Scout at first refuses to go with Jem and Dill Jem says, "Scout, I'm tellin' you for the last time, shut your trap or go home- I declare to the Lord you're gettin' more like a girl every day!" Scout immediately joins them, and says she has no option after that. I want to just enter the book for that scene to tell her that she could find something else to do, and that it's not worth it. In the end Jem almost gets caught, it's too dangerous to be dealing with the Radleys, and it's not worth dying because of curiosity.

In the end, I think this part of the book has taught me a very good lesson, which is not to give into peer pressure. It is not sacrificing something to impress something, especially when you know that what you're doing is dangerous. I think that Scout should stop giving into the peer pressure from her brother, becuase in the end she will end up with the better hand. Jem could get seriously hurt, or something else just as bad, but Scout should not have to because it was not her idea, or choice. I hope that by the end of the book Scout learns this lesson, like I have. Or, even better is if Jem learns that he should stop convincing his sister to do things by peer pressure. You only get one life, and it's crazy to risk it or make someone feel miserable enough to risk it themselves.