I believe that Harper Lee included the last line of chapter 4, "Someone
inside the house was laughing," (45) for two distinct reasons. The
first reason was to make it easier for the reader to understand why
Scout starts to distance herself from Jem and Dill in chapter 5 and why
they start to distance themselves from her. It is because Scout is scared of the Radleys after she hears the laugh and no longer wants to play the Radley Game while Jem and Dill still do. After Scout starts to become distanced from Dill and Jem, she starts
talking to Miss Maudie and we (along with Scout) start to learn more
important details about Arthur's life and who he was as a kid. These
details are as much for Scout during the time of the story as for us so
that we are not as in the dark about who Arthur Radley really is.
The second reason that Harper Lee inserted in the last line of chapter 4 was to make the story more intense and real. We had heard about the
legendary Boo, but the narrator had not encountered him
other than in stories that she had heard. It is one thing if a crazy
woman who, up to this point in the story, we have not really met,
tells us about Boo, but it is another if we have a first hand experience
from the narrator about an encounter with Boo. It is a completely
different experience, both for Scout and for us the readers.
Before I sign off, I would like to ask you one thing. Who do you think
the person who laughed in the house was? Was is Arthur (Boo) Radley
trying to scare Scout, was it just a joke that someone was playing on
her, or was it simply Scout's imagination getting the better of her?
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ReplyDeleteTo answer your question, I believe that Scout's imagination did get the better of her just because as Jem told Scout in the text, "girls always imagined things"(45). Also, with all of the noise going on at the house, there could be no way she can distract all of those sounds and just listen to the laughter in the background since it was only her who heard it. In addition I would like to ask, do you think Jem and Dill will become closer friends and have Scout on the edge?
ReplyDeleteI disagree. Jem uses the quote from page 45 to dismiss what Scout says and "act superior". There is no way that Harper Lee would let a sexist comment like that be the truth in her book.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that Jem and Dill become closer for a few reasons. As Alex stated, the reason for the momentary brake off from the group is because she is scared of the Radley Place. Scout and Jem have a bond that you can't break. They are always together, and no matter what, Scout has a certain loyalty to Jem. Also, Dill only come for summers, so there is a whole school year for Scout and Jem to play.
Do you think that Jem feels something about Dill as a friend that he has never had with Scout?
I think that Jem has been being with Dill a lot because, Jem is with scout for at least 3 hours everyday. I get tired of somebody if I hangout with someone for too long. I think the same thing is happening to Jem. My prediction is that he will soon start playing with Scout again once he gets a break from her for a bit. For Dill on the other hand, I think that he is somewhat ignoring Scout because Jem's giving almost all of his attention to him. In result they ignore Scout leaving her with Miss Maudie.
DeleteI believe that the Laughter could be scout's imagination, or the real Boo Radley, but not someone playing a cruel joke. For one, scout did just roll in a tire, and is not feeling right, as you can tell by the lines, "I got to my feet, trembling as I thawed... when i was able to navigate."(50) However, the story does not specifically say that it was when she was disorientated, so it could well have been Boo Radley laughing while she ran, after gathering her whits. Jem and Dill aren't that mean, and no one else dares to go near the house for their lives. To wrap up, i would like to shine light on the end of chapter 5 as well. Do you think that they will get to see Boo Radley, even though they never got the letter delivered? Do you think that that has anything to do with Jem breaking his arm, as mentioned in the beginning of the book?
ReplyDeleteAt Jeffrey's question, I do think that Jem feels something different with Dill as opposed to Scout. With Scout, Jem always has to be on the look out and tell her what is right and what is wrong. An example of this is when Scout went and started to beat up Walter Cunningham, Jem had to come over and tell Scout to, "Let him go."(30) He seems to be teaching Scout a different lesson everyday. I am not saying that he does not like Scout, but she is young and still learning.
ReplyDeleteJem is a similar age to Dill, and somewhat thinks of him as his brother. When the "Boo Radley" game started, Jem was not including Scout for most of the game, but was with Dill. He even went up in the tree house with just Dill and planned out what they were going to do. A quote from Scout talking about Dill, " ...he only grew closer to Jem. They spent days together in the treehouse plotting and planning, calling me ONLY when they needed a THIRD party." What is shown from this comment is that Jem and Dill have formed an alliance, with only two people...
Does anyone think that this "alliance" will stay kept throughout the rest of the book? Or if Scout will get to play a larger role in the game?