Explain Jem’s statement: “When I went back they were folded across the fence . . . like they were expectin’ me.” Park
It was no coincidence when Jem found his pants folded when they had been caught in the fence earlier. Someone had gone out into the yard and found the tangled and ripped pants and then proceeded to take the ripped pants and stitch them back together. In Jems words, “And something else...They’d been sewed up. Not like a lady sewed ‘em, like somethin’ I’d try to do. All crooked.” (66). Harper Lee is implying that it was done by somebody with poor sewing skills. With the knowledge that men in the 1930’s weren’t known to be sewing things back nicely, it can be assumed that a man had done this.
When Jem says, “Like they were expectin’ me” whoever had done this knew that Jem had to go back for them. On page 62, Atticus says, “Go by Dill’s and get your pants, Jem. Settle it yourselves.” When Atticus said this, many neighbors had gathered at the Radleys when they heard the shotgun go off. A possibility is that whoever found and sewed up the pants hadn’t known that Jem would go back for them until that moment. They also didn’t know whose pair of pants it was until Atticus pointed out that Jem wasn’t wearing any. Whoever did this wanted it to be known that they knew about the pants. In conclusion, the person that had expected Jem to come back was one of the neighbors gathered at the Radley’s or one of the Radley themselves.
Who do you think was leaving all of the things in the knot-hole and why?
Why isn’t Jem listening to Scout when she is trying to bring an awareness to him to go to the Radleys?
How is Dill being a bad influence for Jem and Scout?
Even though Dill is just encouraging Jem and Scout to try new activities, he puts both of them at risk with his crazy ideas. Dill probably does not fully understand the Maycomb Way because the rumors in the county makes him become suspicious about their neighbors. The young boy has a lot of curiosity, which is a good quality for a child to have, but Dill does not have any awareness of what not to do in Maycomb. Jem and Scout believe almost anything Dill says, which shows how young all of the kids still are. Also, multiple times throughout chapters 6-7, Dill tells Scout she’s “too scared” or “too ladylike.” This could harm Scout because being called scared pushes her to play harmful games, do to the peer pressure.
ReplyDeleteDo you think Scout will overcome the peer pressure she faces?
Does Scout fit into the stereotypical girl?
How will Dill develop as a character?
Does Scout fit into the stereotypical girl?
DeleteScout is far from a stereotypical girl. She doesn’t play with any of the other girls and stiffens at the idea. Instead, she plays with her brother and they sneak around and act out plays. When Scout is scared, Jem says that she is acting like a girl and that if she kept it up she would have to go play with them. . Harper Lee is trying to show how different Scout, and maybe her, were when they were children. ‘Girlish’ games don’t appeal to Scout and she much prefers to be like her older brother Jem. In closing, Scout is not a stereotypical girl because of the influence of her brother.
Scout is far from a stereotypical girl. She doesn’t play with any of the other girls and stiffens at the idea. Instead, she plays with her brother and they sneak around and act out plays. When Scout is scared, Jem says that she is acting like a girl and that if she kept it up she would have to go play with them. . Harper Lee is trying to show how different Scout, and maybe her, were when they were children. ‘Girlish’ games don’t appeal to Scout and she much prefers to be like her older brother Jem. In closing, Scout is not a stereotypical girl because of the influence of her brother.
DeleteWho do you think was leaving all of the things in the knot-hole and why?
ReplyDeleteThere are many possible suspects for who keeps leaving the items in the knot-hole by the Radley house. In my opinion, the most notable suspect would be Ms. Maudie. She seems like the person who sits on her porch often and observes a lot - including when the students leave school. She could be leaving gifts for the Finches to help brighten up their day. Also, as Logan said, women were often the ones sewing items together in the 1930's. So, the dolls that resembled Jem and Scout, were probably made by Ms. Maudie. Another suspect is Boo Radley. He could be trying to communicate with the children in some way since he cannot talk with them. When Nathan Radley placed cement in the tree knot-hole since it was sick and Atticus said it looked fine, that made me certain it was either Ms. Maudie or Boo Radley, since Nathan is lying.
Who do you think was leaving all the things in the knothole and why?
ReplyDeleteThere are a few people that can be the person that has been putting things in the knothole but my main suspects are Ms. Maudie and Boo Radley. I have more favor in that the person putting things in the knothole is Boo Radley. This is because I believe Boo has some kind of human inside of him and wants to somehow communicate with the children that he is friendly. In the previous chapters, Harper Lee added some human characteristics to Boo, and I believe if Harper Lee would want to give more characteristics to Boo she would go by making him try to befriend the kids in some way.
Although so many people could be leaving things in the knot-hole, it would make the most sense if it was Boo Radley. Boo Radley has been the main focus in most of the book so far, so it would make sense in the story arc, and he is clearly trying to talk to the outside world. Another reason is because of the gifts, I don't think that the gum, chain, or knife would come from Ms. Maudie, but would make more sense coming from Boo. Finally in the last few pages, Scout and Jem find that the hole has been filled with cement. When they ask Mr. Radley why the tree is like that he replies that it is dead. Jem is immediately suspicious cause the tree looks fine to him, so he asks Atticus, confirming what he thought Atticus says it looks healthy. One idea of how this might all connect is that Boo was sending them notes and when Mr. Radley found out he covered the hole.
ReplyDeleteDo you think the Mr. Radley is the one behind Boo Radley, and Boo Radley isn't really bad?
Although there could be multiple suspects to who is leaving the things in the knothole, in my opinion it is Boo Radley. Boo has a significant amount of time without contact to the open world as he has been isolated in his home. Therefore I think that this is Boo's way of communicating with the outside world. In addition Boo did not have a real childhood and this could possibly be why he wants to communicate with children. Jem also states that his pants looked as if they were "sown by a man" and they were folded outside almost exactly where he lost them. I think that this was Boo's attempt to help Jem out. I believe that as the story progresses Boo will start to open up more and begin having a relationship with the children even after the knothole was cemented shut.
ReplyDelete