Free Response Post: Does the Courtroom change Atticus' Personality?

     Atticus is shown in the courtroom as a the same character, but more forceful. During the testimony of Mr. Ewell, he is respectful while also pressing his points. When asking about what happened after the rape, he says, "Did you, during all this running, run for a doctor?...But there's one thing I don't understand...Weren't you concerned with Mayella's condition?...Did you not think the nature of her injuries warranted immediate medical attention?"(234).
     The main reason why Atticus seems to be more of a forceful character in the courtroom, is because why he is there. He is a lawyer, and he asks the questions. If he is not forceful, he will not be able to prove his points to the jury. Atticus shows many times that he will attempt to show the jury everything no matter how hard he has to work for it. At home he is the same way, but less forceful. He teaches Scout the "trick" of empathy, an drives it home successfully shown later in the book. Atticus succeeds in teaching her, but he does it in a kind manner. In the courtroom, Atticus has the forcefulness, but he also retains his respect.
     Atticus knows that Mr. Ewell will be intentionally rude, but he doesn't fight back. He barrels through it with more force. Atticus, by driving in the point, almost forces Mr. Ewell to be respectful and answer the question. Atticus shows to the jury that Mr. Ewell didn't even think of calling the doctor. He knows the crowd will think that it is strange to not call the doctor in such an extreme case. Atticus is also always respectful to who he's talking to whenever. He speaks to Jem and Scout the same way he is  speaking to Mr. Ewell. Even with Aunt Alexandra he is always respectful. Atticus as a person will not change, but the way he presses for certain things will. When in court, he becomes more forceful, and wants the answers. At home, he is less commanding with Jem and Scout. Atticus is the same character throughout the book, but at certain times he changes his level of command and forcefulness.
     Why do you think Atticus' shows a sharper edge during the courtroom? Do you think that Atticus is a strong lawyer? Do you think his personality changes within the courtroom? Do you think that being a lawyer affects how he acts outside of the courtroom?
   

What is it that caused a mob to form? To disperse? Why do people do things while part of a mob they would not on on their own?

            When Jem, Scout, and Dill leave their house to find Atticus, they never expected to see a mob form around their father. Jem had decided to leave to see if something was wrong with Atticus after he left their house late, and took the car, and naturally Scout and Dill came with him. They searched for him in his office, and eventually found him sitting in his office chair outside of the jail. When they were about to leave, four cars pulled up and they stopped as men piled out. It was clear to Jem that these men were going to do whatever it took, including hurting Atticus, to get to Tom Robinson. After Scout ran over and started talking to Mr. Cunningham, the men realized something. “I looked around and up at Mr. Cunningham, whose face was equally impassive. Then he did a peculiar thing. He squatted down and took me by both shoulders. ‘I’ll tell him you said hey, little lady,’ he said. Then he straightened up and waved a big paw. ‘Let’s clear out,’ he called. ‘Let’s get going, boys.’” (206) Although she didn’t realize it, Scout stopped Atticus from getting hurt. When she started to talk to Mr. Cunningham, he slowly started to realize that Atticus wasn’t really a bad man. He had assumed because he was helping a man that he himself didn’t believe should be helped, that he should get beat up, and that he was a terrible person. When Scout started to remind him of all the things Atticus had done for the Cunningham family however, Mr. Cunningham “squatted down” and talked to Scout as a friend. He then “waved a big paw” and told the rest of the men to clear out, which they did. Scout may not have realized it, but she stopped her father, as well as Tom Robinson from getting hurt, and potentially killed. This part of To Kill A Mockingbird shows how sometimes innocence, and not knowing what is going on, can be a good thing. Since Scout didn’t know the consequences of her actions, she wasn’t scared to kick anyone or talk to them. Sometimes people do things in a mob instead of on their own, because they are too scared to do them on their own, or they give into peer pressure. Since Scout is young, she doesn’t realize this yet.

            Why do you think Dill is silent throughout the situation with the mob? Why do you think Atticus is not upset with Jem for disobeying him?

(Sorry this is late, I couldn't figure out how to post it).

Free Response Post: Why did Scout get so upset about Jem's advice on Aunt Alexandra?

Throughout the book so far, Scout has worshiped Jem, but suddenly, as he matures, she grows much less patient with him. After Jem hears Aunt Alexandra bickering with Atticus about Scout visiting Calpurnia's house, he pulls Scout aside and warns her not to antagonize Aunt Alexandra, or make her the enemy. Scout, with rising fury, ends up punching him and pinning him to the bed.

"'...I'll kill you!' He was sitting on the bed, and it was easy to grad his front hair and land one on his mouth...[He] nearly knocked the breath out of me, but it didn't matter becuase I knew he was fighting, he was fighting me back. We were still equals. 'Ain't so high and mighty now, are you!'...What had begun as a fist-fight became a brawl." (156-157)

Jem has matured greatly in the past few chapters. Calpurnia even went as far as to start calling him 'Mister Jem' to show that he is a young man rather than a boy. Scout clearly worshiped Jem and followed his every move in the beginning of the book, but as he makes the change into adolescence, she feels alienated by him, and deals with this through anger. She feels that he is less of a brother and more of a parent, and she finds the need to establish that just because he is growing up, he is still her equal. Atticus, Calpurnia, and even Aunt Alexandra are influences on Scout's daily life. Scout loves all of these people, but she has certainly had her disagreeements with them all. Jem has been the only constant character throughout the course of the book who has remained consistently an accomplice of Scout's. Suddenly, he starts to want to be around her less. She can handle that reasonably well, but when Jem starts preaching and setting rules for her, especially about Aunt Alexandra, she loses it and fights him. Scout feels betrayed by Jem and has no way to tell him that in words, becuase she may not even be able to identify it herself. Jem's adult attitude it frustrating Scout very much.

Do you think Scout and Jem will grow further apart, or will they get closer as Scout matures? What would you have done if you were Scout in this situation? Do you think Jem was right or wrong to try to tell Scout what to do?

What is it that caused a mob to form? To disperse? Why do people do things while part of a mob they would not do on their own?

A mob was first formed because they came to tell Atticus that Tom Robinson was put back into the jail.  Although these people might not agree with Atticus defending a negro, the group of men were friend's of Atticus and  had come to notify him. One of the men said once while this was going on, "Nobody around here's up to anything, it's that Old Sarum bunch I'm worried about..." (194). I think that the "Old Sarum Bunch" is the group off strangers, that showed up later in the reading, that came by the jail with the intention of lynching Tom Robinson. That is why Atticus went out to the jail at night: to protect Tom.

They all left because Jem called Atticus, saying that the phone was ringing "Atticus, the telephone's ringing!" (195). It was almost like the phone ringing was just an excuse for Jem to get the men out of there, because he thought they were a gang. After Jem said that, they all laughed and carried on.

People tend to do things while part of a mob, rather than doing it on their own because that way they are more confident. They know that they have a whole mob to support them and they know that they are the bigger and tougher party, and that makes them the ones controlling the conversation, rather than vise versa. "In Maycomb, grown men stood outside in the front yard for only two reasons: death and politics," (193). Death and politics are two very big topics, that obviously need a whole group to help reinforce one another's ideas.

I think that Harper Lee added in this bit about the mob to really show how this court case is affecting the whole town and that is very serious, serious enough for a group of men to gather in the Finch's yard, when normally they only do that for "death" and "politics." It also shows that Atticus's friends really care about him, enough to go against what they believe in (that no white man should defend a black man) and warn their friend about what was happening and also about what group to worry about.

Do you think that Atticus's friends came with the intention of wanting him about the Old Sarum group? Did that just happen to come up? Was it a good idea for Scout to talk to Mr. Cummingham?

Write an 8 to 10 line poem about Dill.

Dill, Dill, a boy gone in a flutter

A boy without a mother or father

Traveled with the show all over Mississippi

Fought his way through dirt and train, just like a hippie

Starving and mourning, he finds his way to Maycomb

Walking, jogging, sprinting, he goes to the Finch’s home

Discovered under Scout’s bed

Dill will not flee

He becomes part of the Finch’s

And is free and part of their family

What do you think of Dill now that he has left his parents and come to Maycomb? Will he stay with the Finch's for a while or will he find another home? Do you think that Dill's story of his travels are true? Or did he make his story up, just for attention?

Explain the last line of Chapter 13.

The last line of Chapter 13 gives Harper Lee the chance to explain to the reader how Scout is advancing and maturing as a lady. When Aunt Alexandra arrives at the Finch household, Scout knows that she will be tormented about not being lady-like. As the chapter progresses, Scout begins to realize that she will inevitably grow up to be a woman and she starts to embrace who she is. During her chat with Atticus, Scout thinks to herself, "I know now what he was trying to do, but Atticus was only a man. It takes a woman to do that kind of work." (152) In Scout's maturing mind she has begun to understand the expectations and stereotypes of women. During that time a woman is portrayed in a certain way. Scout's knowledge of a woman's portrayal in the South during the 1930's leads her to make the inference that, "it takes a woman to do that kind of work." As Scout Finch continues to learn how a woman should act and dress, she will learn to become one as well. Harper Lee chose to include this line in order to further mature Scout and to portray stereotypes of women during that time. Scout's maturing is something that all readers can connect to because we have all grown up. She uses this particular line to move Scout a stage further in her maturity. This line is also included because it shows the reader exactly what a white woman is supposed to be like and what "kind of work" she has to do. Harper Lee does a great job with maturing Scout and explaining the stereotypical woman in one simple line.

How do you think Scout will react to being pushed toward maturity? Will she push it away or embrace it? How will Atticus influence Scout's growing up? Will Scout struggle with maturing without a real mother figure in her life?

How does Aunt Alexandra affect the routines of Atticus, Jem, and Scout

            Atticus has been away for much of the summer months he and Aunt Alexandra believed it would be a good idea to have her stay with Jem and Scout. Aunt Alexandra has a strong personality and when she tells someone to do something they better do it. When Aunt Alexandra comes into the Finch's house she says to Scout "We decided that it would be best for you to have some feminine influence."(170) When Aunt Alexandra comes to live with the family she immediately decides that her way are how things will be done in the house. Aunt Alexandra fits into the town of Maycomb almost immediately proving the point that she makes things the way she wants it to be. Clearly she wanted to be a member of the community and that's what she did she went out into the town of Maycomb and instantly became friendly with everyone in the town. This is what Aunt Alexandra did to the routines of Jem and Scout as well she imposed her will and made the changes to their routines that she saw fit. Aunt Alexandra has told Atticus to tell Jem and Scout that they are not run-of-the-mill people and that they are the product of gentle breeding. She also told Atticus to tell Jem and Scout that they need to live up to their names and that the need to start acting like the little lady and gentleman they are. This is where it is recognized that Aunt Alexandra is the queen bee and she gets what she wants. 

        How will Jem and Scout react to what their father has just told them? Do you get the feeling that Aunt Alexandra has some control over what Atticus says and does? Do you like or dislike Aunt Alexandra.