English - To kill a mockingbird - Second entry
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Now for the moment, am I at page 197 and have about 100 more to go until I’m done with this novel. 100 pages are just read and it’s time to sum up what has happened so far, as we look back to the most memorable moments and quotes the book has to offer between pages 98 to 197.
The book immediately gets interesting at p.99 line.35, where the title of the novel is mentioned for the first time. Jem has recently got his first rifle gun, which is given to him so he can shoot birds. His father (Atticus) does approve to this, how to use a gun, but he’s not the one who’s going to teach him. ’‘I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard...” Atticus told his son (p.99 line.32) which indicates that he doesn’t enjoy what his son is doing, but he knows he has to. Although he tells Jem one thing he needs to think of while hunting that ”...it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”. It’s difficult to understand what he means by this statement, though I believe that you’re going to find out the definition further ahead in the book.
Another memorable moment was when the mad dog ”attacked” the neighbourhood which take its beginning at p.102. The name of the dog is Tim Johnson, and he’s a property of Mr. Harry Johnson and is according to the maid Calpurnia a ”mad dog”. She desperately calls Atticus who’s at work to come home, when he arrives back home, he had brought the sheriff with him. They go down the street to kill the dog, Jem and Scout are watching from the inside of their house in safety when Atticus grabs the sheriff’s rifle and kills the dog. Jem and Scout were stunned by the action of their father. They have always thought of him as a relaxed and careful person, but now, they are curious and unsure if their father has something from his past that he hides from them. For example, directly after the dog has been shot down, Jem says ”Atticus?”, he responds with ”Yes?” and the responds for that is ”Nothin’.” (p.107 line.24). This indicates that Jem is very surprised and pensive about his father.
In Maycomb, Alabama there is more than one single church. There are churches that are made for white people, and others for black people. During the time the novel is presented, there where a lot of racism going on. That they even had to build different churches just because of this, seems pretty absurd. One day, Scout and Jem came along with their maid Calpurnia to the negroes church where they meet a dark skinned lady who’s not pleased to see white children at their property (p.131). Calpurnia does then counterargument with ”It’s the same God, ain’t it?” (p.131 line.37). By this she means that it shouldn’t matter at all which church you go to, when they all share the same God and reason for going there. Due of this statement that Calpurnia did, I have to say that I personally thinks that the white church are the ones who are the most impure in this case. Based on the fact that the light skinned people where the majority in the society and they choose to out frozen the minority of coloured people. They are the ones who started this from the beginning, there fore they also have to accept the consequences that follows. For example this kind of reaction that the dark skinned lady expressed.
My description of the main character (Scout) almost remains the same as before. There are not much to add on her appearance and acting. As I said in the last entry she acts like a tomboy and dresses such as one. The rest of the family want’s her to become more lady like, especially her aunt Alexandra. When she visits the house, she says that she’s going to stay there for a while so Scout and Jem can get more woman influence in their life. ”We decided that it would be best for you to have some feminine influence. It won’t be many years, Jean Louise, before you become interested in clothes and boys -” (p.140 line.23) Alexandra told Scout. She disagrees with the statement of her aunt. This indicates that she is extremely immature, stubborn and refuses to grow up.
Jem, he’s still a very typical American guy for this era where he sometimes like to play, although he knows when it’s time to become serious. Atticus always tells him to act like a gentlemen, and you shall be treated as one. For example, when Jem and Scout where on their way to school, they had to pass a really rude and mean lady (Mrs.Dubose). She would for instance say that Atticus ”lawed for niggers and trash.” (p.115 line.10) which is really offensive to the children and Jem does then destroy her flowers in her garden. Atticus says that as a gentlemen he would take his punishment without complaining, which he does. Other than this, Jeremy is interested in football and is in the middle of the process from a young boy to a mature man. Can’t find anything about his appearance.
At p.98-99 you get a lot of information about Atticus, which include his behaviour, appearance and more. The first thing that we gets to know is that he’s fifty years old, that his abilities are not as the other parents in school. Such as when he plays football with his son (Jem), it works until Jem wants to tackle him, then Atticus would say ”I’m too old for that, son.” (p.99 line.5). On page 99 you also find out that Atticus is generally very calm and wears glasses. For instance the other parents went hunting, play poker e.t.c instead he prefer to sit in his armchair with the newspaper in his hands.
At page 166 we experience a mob attacking Atticus outside the jail were Atticus i night guard to the culprit (Tom Robinson). Jem, Scout and Dill are watching from a safe distance but when Scout ran towards them, she didn’t realise it could be dangerous. Scout sees someone she recognises and starts talking with him which evidently makes the men uncomfortable and they leave the place. Even though the mob where able to attack Atticus he still thinks that all the men are great individuals, but when they come together, they fall in to grouppresure. The grouppresure make them unsure therefor the’ll du as everyone else (p.173).
Right now, I am in a middle of a trial at p.197 where I stopped reading. Atticus is the defending the culprit which is Tom Robinson. He has been accused by raping and caused severe injuries on Mr. Ewell’s daughter. (p.184). Atticus uses an extremely strange method when he’s interrogating the prosecutors. He asks them weird questions as which eye the victim got hit on, but the thing is, he repeats the questions a several times. I believe he have a unique strategy which is going to pay of later in the trial which going to lead him to victory. Although, I think the results of the trial, is going to effect the society’s behaviour to the Finch family where they are oriented on Atticus. Scout and Jem are then trying to help and protect their father in some sort of way, based on their behaviour back at the mob situation.
