Courtney Cannon
The season in chapter 8, page 63, is winter. I think that this represents a turning point in the text because as Foster says, seaons are important. Winter usually represents death and many other negative connotations. On page 63, Lee uses words such as "disobeyed," "burdened," "guilt," unhappiness," and she even mentions "death." Scout tells us, "Old Mrs. Radley died that winter..." I definately believe that the repeatition of these negative words represent a shift, and I predict that something bad is about to happen.
Though one can not be certain until furthered in the overall plot scheme, I personally would think that Harper Lee uses To Kill a Mockingbird as a medium for not only one but several arguments, but this was only discovered as part two of our reading schedule was read; for in this section, the author takes the argument beyond the fancies of a child and into "the real word", and trouble slowly begins to arise in Maycomb as Atticus accepts an Arican American client, this in itself can help the audience to begin to see Lee's argument for racial equality, simply by the fact that the man was an African American (page 75)
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ReplyDeleteMrs. Dubose, somewhat of an odd figure, very old woman, full of internal illness, and a heart colder than a block of ice, few would consider her for much more than that, yet the way that I see her, she is truly a character of symbolism, for she represents the concept of overcoming, even if it seems that the chains binding one back are indefinitely held so tightly that one could never escape, it is possible to break free, and this was show in her over coming of morphine addiction, yet it compares precisely to the battle for freedom by African Americans which was also occurring during the age the book was written, therefore she could very well have served as a symbol of hope to those bound by unequal rights. (page 111)
ReplyDeleteAmerican realism, a term heard by many, however more than likely only understood, by a select few, but the basic ideology of American realism is "things as they are", therefore most writers in this era had no fears of harming people through their usage of words and had their characters do the same. Though a child, "Scout" Finch precisely reflects the concept of realism for no matter what the situation is, she uses language that she believes reflects it, without knowledge or cares of any other beliefs that could be present. One major example of such is her fascination with the use of curse words. (page 79)
ReplyDeleteCourtney, One can understand the stereotypical impact that winter seems to create a depressing feeling in the mass majority of people, yet in the case of To Kill a Mockingbird, not all of winter is death and sadness, dpending on which way it is perceived by each of the character, "Miss Maudie" for example, lost her house to a fire during the middle of winter, yet her perception of the event was one of rebirth, that she could truly begin again with a new house.
ReplyDeleteCourtney and Matthew, I agree that the winter season on page 63 is a significant turning point especially since Lee intimates so strongly how unusual the change is. It is "the coldest weather since 1885." This is a pretty good indication that the coming year is going to be just as unusual.
ReplyDeleteMatthew you are absolutely right about Mrs. Dubose. For all her venomous ways, she was a very brave woman. Atticus thinks so as well which is why he says on page 112 that he made Jem go read to her everyday. He wanted his son to see what real courage is. It was a lesson for Jem, but it was also a lesson for those battling for civil rights back then, and it can serve as a lesson even today not only to people with addictions but anybody struggling to overcome something in life.
ReplyDeleteOut of curiosity, what are some opinions on the meaning of the "Mad Dog" attack? For, in a sense, I see it as some type of symbolism representing the evils that are racial inequality, and oddly enough Atticus Finch puts such evils to death with the shot of a bullet, however such a metaphoric meaning could not be certain unless one actually spoke to the author. Other opinions seem to rest on the fact that it allows Atticus to somewhat reveal himself to his children.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of Chapter 11, Jem receives a camellia flower from Mrs. Dubose after her death. The camellia flower is significant because it represents the smiling realism present in Mrs. Dubose's character. In smiling realism, people are shown as both bad and good, but the good outweighs the bad. In the chapter, Mrs. Dubose is depicted with as a mean and racist character, making cruel comments to Jem and Scout and to Atticus for taking Tom Robinson's case. On pg 111 we also find out out that Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict, but by the end of the chapter she "conquers" badness by getting off her addiction and staying conscious until her death. Camellias represent admiration and perfection, so the reason why Mrs. Dubose left the camellia for Jem was because she admired his innocence as child. He is young and still doesn't know about all the evils of the world.
ReplyDeleteIn Chp. 8 Jem and Scout create a "morphodite"(pg 74) snowman from a mix of snow and dirt. I think this is foreshadowing the experiences they will encounter later because the purity of snow and the darkness and dirtyness of dirt get mixed up just like how Jem and Scout have to face losing some of their purity/innocence and getting mixed in with the "dirt" of the bad image/name Atticus is getting. They try stay out of trouble, but both Jem and Scout end up taking some bad actions in standing up for their father.
ReplyDeleteMatthew, I also think that the "Mad Dog attack" had to do something with racism, because even though Tim Johnson as the "pet of Maycomb" (pg92) when Calpurnia went around warning everyone, no one came out to help and just kept their doors shut until he was dead. It shows their unwillingness to acknowledge the dog just like they refuse to acknowledge many of the African Americans in town. Tim Johnson was as harmless as Tom Robinson was, but the white residents of the neighborhood just shut themselves in with their prejudice and ignorant ways.
ReplyDeleteIt seems quite ironic how unclose the people are in Maycomb. Small communities tend to portray a close hand-in-hand image, but not in Maycomb. Earlier in Chapter 2 Scout talked about how important it was for one to prove their ties to Maycomb yet the people aren't really connected to each other with any closeness except for where they lived and their "Maycomb ways". Intolerance for race, social class and even families exists. Within the Finch family, though not spoken directly to Atticus, many of the family members express their disapproval of him defending a black person. No one in the family supports Atticus except Uncle Jack and his own kids.
ReplyDeleteWhen first reading the book's title, I had no idea what it was referring to. Now after reading up to Chapter 11, bird symbolism starts to come into play. For example, in Chapter 10, Atticus says, "Remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." In nature, a mockingbird is a harmless bird that sings for people's enjoyment and never causes any trouble. In the human world, the mockingbird represents good individuals who cause no danger to others but only try to please them. Therefore, it would be sinful to destroy a beautiful human being, or mockingbird. Two characters who will probably represent a mockingbird are Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. Robinson is a good man who will automatically be charged as guilty even if he's innocent. Radley has been performing nothing but good deeds, but he is seen as a crazy man and a freak.
ReplyDeleteBefore starting to read the book, I knew from previous knowledge that is was about a white man defending a black man's case. Therefore, the constant pattern of seeing Boo Radley is confusing me a bit. He's a mystery to Jem and Scout and most of the people of Maycomb. He's portrayed as freak from stories told, but he has been seen as a protagonizing figure throughout the novel so far. He has provided a blanket for Scout when she was cold and even mended Jem's ripped jeans. I'm really interested in finding out why Harper Lee is making him a major character and what his role in the book is.
ReplyDeleteHarper Lee's agenda includes addressing many intolerances. One of those is an intolerance to accept differences from the traditional customs. Scout is not your average Southern belle. She likes to wear overalls and jeans, not skirts and dresses. She also likes to play with guys and be adventurous. She is often scolded by other female characters such as her Aunt Alexandra for not behaving and dressing like a normal young girl from the South. Scout also shows an intolerance to be the same as everyone else and conform to their ideas. She surely stands out, and I'm looking forward to seeing if she maintains her individuality as she continues to grow.
ReplyDeleteMatthew and Carlyn, I never really thought of the mad dog being anything but a way for Atticus's secret marksmanship to be revealed. The children would never have found out any other way because he refused to teach them how to shoot their air rifles(79)and he detests his friends talking about it (97). Also, it was February, not the season for rabies (92), so I just figured it was a very uncommon year anyway what with the snow and the upcoming Tom Robinson trial, so Lee threw a mad dog in there just to accentuate all the other freak things going on as well as to give the children a reason to respect their father a little bit more and see him in a new light. I do think Tim Johnson could very well be symbolic, however. I like what you said, Carlyn, about him being the "pet of Maycomb." If he does represent racism, then that proves that racism and intolerance is also the community's "pet," a dangerous habit that has been nursed so long that it is virtually impossible to get rid of now, and yet Atticus does, like you said Matthew. It could definitely be symbolism and foreshadowing.
ReplyDeleteJessi, I agree that for Maycomb, Atticus takes on the role of the perpetual whipping boy.
ReplyDeleteHowever on the incident of the "Mad Dog" I believe that it correlates with the theme of Scout's shifting perspectives, in that now she sees her father in a different light rather than the lovable mundane figure to which she was accustomed. Also in a bit of a stretch the rabid dog could be a Romantic theme of nature acting out against the impurity of Maycomb's prejudices, but no need to read into something so thoroughly that it detracts from more legitimate argumentative points, which aren't imagined...
Going along the same lines as Amber in regards to the title, it seems that innocence is paramount piece of the argument.Even closer than the Robinson trial and Boo Radley mystery, perhaps Lee wants us to see how the faults of Maycomb are exchanging the innocence of the Finch family for a knowledge of the broken world in which they live.
ReplyDeleteby the way thank you Jessi for using "intimates"
You're welcome Coby. I picked it up from Mrs. J. ;]
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree we should not read too much into every little thing because I honestly believe sometimes we analyze things that the author did unintentionally. On the other hand, Foster said that everything could be a symbol of something. It just depends on the way you look at it.
Matthew, I agree with what you said in your first post on the argument Lee is making for racial inequality issues. However it seems that she may have intended a deeper purpose. Possibly she is trying to tell us that the troubles were always there in Maycomb, and maybe just in the world. Lee may even mean to say that all people see the wrong in what they do, but due to generations of pandering to these intolerant tendencies and following simple mob mentality are incapable to recognize it unless through the eyes of a child... or two.
ReplyDeleteWhen Mrs. Dubose quotes on the first paragraph of page 110, “…Thought you could kill my Snow-on-the-Mountain, did you? Well….top’s growing back out. Next time you’ll know how to do it right, won’t you? You’ll pull it up by the roots, won’t you?” makes me think back to the event where Jem used Scout’s baton to destroy Mrs. Dubose’s camellias when she insulted Atticus again. I think that the camellias may represent racism, and the baton that Jem uses may represent his and Scout’s innocence to try and destroy racism. To destroy racism, you may need to destroy the roots (same goes for destroying camellias) of racism, whether it’d be family influence, friends, or even school and to try to break away from the roots of influence with racism.
ReplyDeleteHarper Lee has had many people in her life that have influenced her. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee uses these people as the main characters. Her best friend, Truman Capote, represents Dill. Truman lived with his mother's relatives as does Dill. Her dad, in real life, plays the role of her dad, in the book. In real life, Lee's dad was a lawyer and some one everybody knew in the small town their family lived in. Atticus is just like that. Lee's mother was mentally ill most of Lee's life and rarely left the house. Her mom, I think, plays two characters in the book: her mom and Boo Radley. So far, we haven't heard of Scout's mother at all and most likely, that's because when Lee was growing up, she felt as if she didn't have a mother, because she couldn't possibly be there for her. Her real life mother also represents Boo Radley because, supposedly, Boo Radley is sick and has not been out of his house in a really long time.
ReplyDeleteI also have the same prediction of coming future events Jem and Scout may be forced to experience that might make them lose contact with their innocence, Carlyn. During the sudden fire on Mrs. Maudie’s house, Jem’s and Scout’s Absoulute Morphodite (70) turned black and crumbled which might symbolize that the impure dirt overcame the purity of the snow, which resulted in a black crumbled leftover of the Absoulute Morphodite, yet, Mrs. Maudie’s sunhat was unharmed, and neatly settled on top of the pile, even when Mrs. Maudie’s house and property was destroyed by the fire, her hat remained. The sunhat may represent hope on top of all the shouting, shocked faces, and unpleasant commotion in the background.
ReplyDeleteCourtney, I noticed Lee's use of season too. Foster tells us that winter usually means death and sadness and summer usually means life, happiness, and love. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Dill comes during the summer and Scout loves Dill. Dill has such a radiant presence that brings Scout and Jem happiness. When winter comes, Dill is gone, people are dying, and there is much sadness in all of Maycomb. The irony is that Ms. Maudie's house catches on fire. Most people would be sad or shocked about their house catching on fire; however, Ms. Maudie is very positive and happy about it. Another irony about the situation is that fire is often acquainted with sitting around a bonfire in peace, having a good time, forgetting all your troubles. However, a house burning down does not seem like a very good time to forget all your troubles.
ReplyDeleteI’ve also noticed the similarities of the characters in the book with the people in Lee’s life, Katie Moore, but, I didn’t take notice that her mother may represent more than 1 character, which gives me the idea that maybe there are more characters in the book that may represent a few more traits of the people in Lee’s life. I also feel that the book may somewhat similar to an autobiography of Lee’s life. Since the book was based off of the 1930’s, and she was born in 1926, in a town that was also located south of Alabama, just like Scout. Due to the absence of Lee’s mother, she was very tom-boyish, which is exactly how Scout is.
ReplyDeleteLinda and Carlyn, I think Jem and Scout have already lost their innocence. When they were trying to sneak into the Radley's place was when they lost their innocence to me. They didn't get in trouble, however, so they think they are invincible and can get away with anything. So I think they haven't lost all of their innocence yet, but I do agree that they will lose it all in an upcoming event in the book.
ReplyDeleteAmber Westley, I was also clueless about the book when I first began reading it, the title itself was misleading for me when I began the first few chapters, until I reached Chapter 11 when Atticus states that it’s a sin to kill mocking birds, but not blue jays. The first thing I really noticed about bird relating themes or symbols in the book was their last name “Finch,” who are also song birds just like a mocking bird. Harper Lee may be also referring to each character to a certain bird; Finches are birds who are similar, yet very different due to their adaption in different areas. The Finch family, Alexandra, Scout, Atticus, Jem, and Uncle Jack are all very different, and both Atticus and Jack separated from their family in southern Alabama onto northern Alabama, while Alexandra stayed where the family originated. Scout isn’t like any ordinary and lady-like young girl, she freely goes against Alexandra’s expectations, which makes her all the more different from the typical family, yet she belongs with the family because of blood relations.
ReplyDeleteCarlyn, I agree with your connection about the people of Maycomb not being close. I thought it was unusual that some of Atticus' family didn't support his decision. Out of anyone, your family should always have your back and respect your choices. I believe they're scared to have their own beliefs and be judged by society, so they just stick to the ways of the South.
ReplyDeleteKatie, thanks for noticing that also :) I definately agree with you about the fire at Miss Maudies! The fire to me is more of a rebirthing of Miss Maudie. For example, on page 65 she tells Jem that she hates the snow and she wants to keep her azaleas warm. The fact that she was so uptight about it and then it was all so suddenly taken away from her was a dramatic change in the way she thought and carried herself. Even though she was a a nice lady before, she was forever changed by the experience.
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