Make a list of mistakes that Jem and Scout make on their way home from school. Explain (briefly) why they are mistakes. GREENUP

Jem and Scout make a collection of mistakes on their journey home together.  Most of these mistakes would be insignificant by themselves, but grouped together lead to a large risk.  Jem and Scout where not necessarily being foolish in their action due to the fact that they had little to no reason to be worried of an attack in an area so close to home.  Previously, Atticus was quick to ensure them that Bob Ewell was not a threat, and they had no reason not to believe him. As Scout tells us, “Mr. Ewell found himself as forgotten as Tom Robinson” (284).  Yet calculated risk is not always correct.

 Darkness
Jem should have been able to predict the darkness, seeing as he spends much of
his time outside.  The lack of light could have caused many more issues beside being followed.
As we see during both their initial and return trip, the siblings struggle with direction despite
knowing the basic way.  This could have been an easy fix, as Jem could have brought a
flashlight as Scout later recommends.  

 The ham costume
Despite eventually saving Scouts life, the ham costume brings along its own multitude of
issues in Scout and Jem’s travels.  If it weren't for the costume, Scout would still have shoes
making is easier to run away from Mr. Ewell (yet this did come in handy with pinpointing a
location later).  Also the wiring made it easy for Bob to quickly stop Scout from being able to
fight or defend herself. Had Boo not come along, Mr. Ewell would have been able to crush
Scout with little resistance.  Even without the attack, the costume is highly impractice for
walking at night, as Scout can not see her feet. Jem needs to assist her to prevent tripping
or misdirection. The reflective material also did not help.  The costume may have done some
good, but it also caused many issues.    

 Route
Scout and Jem took a very iffy route for night time travel.  The pair travel through an obviously
unpaved route which, despite being obvious under the sunlight, does them no favors
when they can not see.  Despite being longer, they should have taken a route using streets
because they would have not only have a very clear path, but probably street lights for the
majority of the journey.  We know such a way exist because somebody offered to take them
home.

Manner of travel
They should have taken the ride home that was offered to them, this person obviously knew
them at least vaguely.  Even if they have not taken that ride, Judge Taylor, Ms. Marrieweather,
or any of the other townspeople would have gladly driven them home.  

 Defense
Seeing as they were near a residential neighborhood, Scout and Jem’s first reaction
should have been to scream as loud as they could.  Not only would this likely alert at least
someone nearby, but it would probably scare Bob Ewell. When they first heard that
someone was following them, they should have bolted to the streetlight so they could
see around them.  Being as young and athletic as they are, they would most likely have
been able to outrun Mr. Ewell. Especially with a head start.  

In conclusion, if Jem and Scout had better planned out their journey to and from the pageant
better, the duo would have stood a better chance against Mr. Ewell.  

What else could Scout and Jem done better?
Is the results of the incident their fault?
What would you have done/what precautions would you have taken when faced with this
situation?

Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 6, 2019 at 5:21 PM

    I don’t think that the incidents that happened to Jem and Scout were their fault. In Scout and Jem’s eyes, Maycomb is a small and safe town. The walk between the school and their house isn’t that far and Scout and Jem didn’t know that Bob Ewell was after them. For someone to stoop that low and go after someone’s kids is awful and no one in Maycomb knew that that was going to happen. I also think that Scout and Jem are too naive to think that Bob Ewell was trying to kill them. They just thought that someone was trying to scare them. Although, I do think they could have taken more cautious measures when Jem thought that there was something suspicious happening.

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  2. AnonymousOctober 6, 2019 at 7:29 PM

    I think that what happened to Jem and Scout wasn't their fault, but they still should have been more prepared, at least for some of the things that went wrong. First I believe that Jem, being the older sibling, and therefore responsible for Scout, should have made sure that Scout was completely ready to go. This would have included changing out of her costume which limited her mobility, and putting her shoes on. Both of these things should be things that Jem should have made scout do, regardless of how safe they think Maycomb is. They know that the path is bumpy and dark, and not wearing shoes would put Scout at risk of hurting herself, and having on a costume that gives limited mobility would be bad especially in the dark when you can't see very well. These two things would have made it easier for the two of them to escape.

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  3. Pauly COctober 6, 2019 at 7:53 PM

    The kids' incident with Bob Ewell could have been avoided if they had been more cautious about going back to their house. One of the mistakes they made was not getting a source of light before they left the pageant. Jem at one point even mentions that they should have brought a flash light but they somehow forgot all about it after the pageant. Their second major mistake was not accepting a ride home. If they were more cautious about walking in almost complete darkness, this whole incident would have been avoided. Even with these mistakes, Bob Ewell is still responsible for the attack. In my opinion, Harper Lee added this attack to bring it back to their childhoods. They are starting to not fear boo and even forget the hot steam but she brings them back with Bob breaking Jem's arm.

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