First Impressions

When finishing To Kill A Mockingbird, I thought the book tied up all its loose ends, but not in the typical way. The trail ended with Tom Robinson’s guilty verdict, and was shot trying to escape. Although the black community paid respect to Atticus, many of the white people of Maycomb, Alabama are still racist and ignorant. Boo Radley finally came back after a major portion of the book, instead of becoming a character, became a symbol representing the theme of the whole book, a secret life. The book ends on a bittersweet note, and that places the book closer to reality.

Analysis on Jem

In chapter 23, we get to see Jem’s philosophy on the kinds of folks he thinks are in the world. Scout believes that there are only one kind of folk and that we are, on some level, all the same. That made her wonder why they couldn’t get along. But in Chapter 23, Jem makes a different claim.

“You know something, Scout? I’ve got it all figured out, now. I’ve thought about it a lot lately and I’ve got it figured out. There’s four kinds of folks in the world. There’s the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there’s the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes.”

Jem is beginning to believe the social divisions of the adult world. People aren’t just people; they have different backgrounds, ethnicity, and economic status. Jem’s life experience has taught him that groups of people are wildly different from each other, and that is why they go out of their way to spite each other. Later on in the dicussion between Jem and Scout, Jem says something else.

“That’s what I thought, too,” he said at last, “when I was your age. If there’s just one kind of folks, why can’t they get along with each other? If they’re all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other? Scout, I think I’m beginning to understand something. I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all this time . . . it’s because he wants to stay inside.”

Jem is beginning to realize the ugly side of humanity, and understands why Boo Radley lives the way he does. Jem is growing out of his childhood innocence and now realizes that society treats people based on how they look and how they are born. The world and the trial has molded Jem into a more hardened outlook on life, for better or for worse.

Discussion

Atticus going against his moral code is intriguing. Atticus finds himself stuck between two ideas he has embodied for the entirety of the story up until this point. He lives by these two ideas. To never lead a secret life, and to never “kill a mockingbird”. When Boo Radley murders Bob Ewell, Atticus has to choose between keeping something as drastic as a murder as secret, or telling the truth, convicting another innocent man, and killing another mockingbird.

Discussion #2

The problems that affected black people and communities in the 1930s still takes place today. While open racism is looked down upon, it is still a problem present in our current system, as well as being still very present in individual people. When we stay in our social circle, some of which are less diverse, we get a limited perspective, which means all the preconceived notions and ideas go unchallenged. Even if those notions aren’t there, we still only know how deal with people like us, not people outside of the circle. So when someone encounters someone out of their circle, they may act or treat them differently or negatively, be it subconsciously, subtly, or plainly.

Closing Thoughts

The ending chapters of To Kill A Mockingbird display full force the inabilities of different people to connect with each other. A sharp divide can form from inherited bias, mob mentality, or delusions, which is plainly shown between the black and white communities of the book. To help ourselves survive in this world, we sometimes hide our true selves through a mask comforting to others. Instead of connecting to people different to us, we talk to our own social circle and only view them through our own lens. This is a dark-side of humanity displayed through racism and preconceived notions, which result in code-switching and wearing the mask to deal with the rest of the world. We lead a secret life.

 

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First Impressions

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Although I wasn’t initially drawn to it, To Kill A Mockingbird grew on me with its realistic characters. In particular, I’m drawn to Scout. Her perspective has parts of both a mature mindset and a child. She tries her best to approach everything reasonably when she is in class, but she still does not understand the type of world she lives in. For example, when Scout does not understand the code-switch Calpurnia when she visits the colored church. And I enjoyed the scene when Scout stops the Lynch Mob by nervously rambling about Mr. Cunningham’s debt.

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Jem

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But another character that caught my attention is Jem. In early chapters, Jem starts off as a risk-taking daring kid who influences Scout’s tomboy nature. He takes Dill’s dare to touch the Radley’s place, and is constantly with Scout. But he changes as time progresses through the story. Jem is transitioning from a kid to an adult throughout the story, and the influence of the way he looks up to Atticus as well as the events of the story are apparent. In Chapter 12, Jem turns twelve, he shows his signs of physically and emotionally changing just due to his age: increased appetite and moody tendencies. But this is also when he shows his interest as Atticus as a role model. From this point on, Jem doesn’t just see Atticus as any normal role model, but he sees him as a gentleman and bravery. When he sees Atticus shoot the rabid dog, Jem sees the bravery in him. As he grows up, he tries to act brave like the way Atticus had done, which will most likely continue in the future.

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A Quote from Jem

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The Direct Quote	The Meaning	Why It Matter
“Jem wanted Dill to know once and for all that he wasn’t scared of anything: ‘It’s just that I can’t think of a way to make him come out without him gettin’ us.’ Besides, Jem had his little sister to think of. When he said that, I knew he was afraid. ” -Chapter 1, pg. 17, Paragraph 6-7	When Dill dares Jem to touch the Radley Place at the beginning of the book, Jem acts like he isn’t scared at all by making an excuse. Despite Jem’s front, Scout still recognizes that he is scare. Jem decides to take the bet anyway, to run up and touch the Radley Place.	This quote is said early on to help establish who Jem is. It was said earlier that Jem never refuses a dare, so this coupled with the quote show the bravery and pride that is a part of Jem’s character. Because these traits are displayed early, we can see them strengthen when Atticus shoots the rabid dog Tim Johnson. We can see his these traits form when he aspires to be more like Atticus.

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Discussion

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In the class discussion, one of the topics of focus is Scout’s role as a main character. Scout being a child main character and how that affects the way we as the reader interpret the world. Scout is inexperienced in the world due to her life with Atticus and Calpurnia, and that comes with unbiased outlook and a perspective vastly different from an adult. She is also the reader’s eyes, so we learn the world with her. This is aided by her curiosity and her innocence which make her empathetic. It was pointed out that Scout aimed TKAM as a Young Adult Novel.

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Predictions and Questions

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The story seems to be shifting towards Tom Robinson’s court case from now on. There’s no doubt Scout will take interest in the case, and she will most likely be introduced further into the colored vs. white divide that plagues their town. Jem will continue to follow Atticus as an example and an inspiration, and will try to find who he is as an adult towards the end of the book. But I wonder if or how Scout and Jem will play a role in the court case, or many other of the establish characters. How will the court case develop? Will Atticus be successful in proving Tom Robinson’s innocence, or will the verdict be guilty?

To Kill A Mockingbird is becoming more exciting with the transition to court case, and is beginning to tackle bigger themes like racial differences, secret lives, and inherit underlying biases. It will be interesting to see how the court case will develop, and what the verdict will be.

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