Study Guide

Go Set a Watchman Chapter 11

By Harper Lee

Chapter 11

This chapter begins Part IV.
All that "Atticus is a racist" stuff is put on hold as Jean Louise remembers back to when she was afflicted with…"The Curse. Curse o' Eve" (11.16); i.e., her period.
Around the same time, a boy named Albert kissed her.
Later, an older girl told her that if a boy stuck his tongue in her mouth, she'd be pregnant.
And...Scout thought she was pregnant. (Guess they didn't have sex ed back then?)
She counted ahead nine months, and decided she would kill herself right before she was due, on the 30th day of September.
She climbed the town water tank as if she were Leonardo DiCaprio in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, but Henry saw her and brought her down.
At home, Scout confessed the Calpurnia that she was having a baby the next day.
Calpurnia took the opportunity to teach her the birds and the bees, clearing up all that confusion.
Scout realized for the first time that Calpurnia called her "ma'am" and "Miss Scout" (11.129), a sure sign she was getting old.
Later that night, Jem told her that he'd protect her if there was ever anything she might not want to tell Atticus about. Aw, siblings.
For some reason, Scout wonders if she's fully awake, and if that was all a dream.