Text

Commentary

“Jem stayed moody and silent for a week. As Atticus had once advised me to do, I tired to climb into Jem's skin and walk around in it: if I had gone alone to the Radley Place at two in the morning, my funeral would have been held the next afternoon. So I left Jem alone and tried not to bother him.” (62)

From what I remember reading, nothing ever happened fast in Maycomb. Although this makes my irony-sense tingle, why would a funeral be faster? Seems a bit odd to me.

“We were walking past our tree. In its knot-hole rested a ball of gray twine.” (63)

Note: The tree is now considered “theirs”, even though it's obviously not. Why?

“We went home. Next morning the twine was where we had left it. When it was still there on the third day, Jem pocketed it. From then on, we considered everything we found in the knot-hole our property.” (63)

Not only is the tree “their property”, but everything in it, even by accident, is “their property”. What type of system is this?

The start of chapter 7: Talk about school, a break about the Radley's Tree and something in it - along with a new rule how everything in it is the kid's, and then back to school. (62-63)

Why not just keep writing about the school? Why the break? I think it's to denote a subject of specific interest. I just don't see why the little detour can't wait.

“There are no clearly defined seasons in South Alabama; summer drifts into autumn, and autumn is sometimes never followed by winter, but turns to a days-old spring that melts into summer again. That fall was a long one, hardly cool enough for a light jacket.” (64)

Long sentence to describe the setting. It's odd how this wasn't given at the beginning of the story, but rather later into it on perhaps a “need-to-know” basis. This can cancel out guesses because new information can be introduced - that isn't any fun(!).

“Jem stared at me so long I asked what was the matter, but got Nothing, Scout for an answer.” (65)

Why is “nothing” capitalized? Is it because the author is learning basic writing in 2^nd grade, and believes that “nothing” is a “thing”, thus a noun, and thus should be capitalized? Funny.

“Jem and I were trotting in our orbit one mild October afternoon when our knot-hole stopped us again. Something white was inside this time. Jem let me do the honors: I pulled out two small images carved in soap.” (64)

“ “These are us,” he said.” (64)

If these `gifts' are from Arthur Radley, what business would he have giving them soap with pictures of themselves embedded into it? Gum is candy - that's an obvious one. Twine is .. also useless. What can twine and soap be used for?

Jem & Scout find the following in the knot:

Why are Jem and Scout even taking these things? It's not as if they have a collection going. They also seem to care less and less of what it could mean as compared to what it actually is.

“ “Dear sir,” said Jem. “We appreciate the—no, we appreciate everything which you have put into the tree for us. Yours very truly, Jeremy Atticus Finch.” I signed, “Jean Louse Finch (Scout),” beneath it. Jem put the note in an envelope.

Next morning on the way to school he ran ahead of me and stopped at the tree. Jem was facing me when he looked up, and I saw him go stark white.

“Scout!”

I ran to him.

Someone had filled our knot-hole with cement.” (66-67)

“Jeremy Atticus Finch”. Finally, an explanation to the weird spelling of “Jem”. They didn't get in the letter; the tree is now knot-filled with cement. (Play on words?)

Jem asks Mr. (Nathan) Radley as he passes by why and if he put cement in his tree. Mr. Radley says that it's the thing to do if a tree is dying. Jeremy then asks Atticus if the tree is dying, receiving a flat out “no”. (67)

There's proof that the tree might not be dying, but it's obvious that there's a cover up here, and not just of the knot-hole. Is there a point to cover the hole with cement? If it's a cover up, why not simply stop putting things there? Or maybe something valuable is behind the cement wall.

Jem had been crying after he learned that the tree was possibly not dying even though Mr. Radley said so. Jem told Scout to not cry when she learned of the soap-figurines. (Chapter 7, 65-67~~)

Why are they crying about this? It's just a tree. Is it because they enjoy the sense of excitement and adventure they get from peering in each day? It's really not their business - they should just go find something new to get into instead of something possibly ending up bad.

Chapter 8

“Jem asked Atticus would it keep up.” (69)

Where's the quotation marks? Why did the author choose to keep it without quotes, and without a question mark? It was a question.. “If it would keep up” would've been better, is this to portray Scout's lack of “advanced” education?

“Eula May was Maycomb's leading telephone operator. She was entrusted with issuing public announcements, wedding invitations, setting off the fire siren, and giving first-aid instructions when Dr. Reynolds was away.” (69)

I don't doubt that she's the leading telephone operator, because she's probably the only telephone operator. That's a lot of responsibility for a simple telephone operator; Is it viewed as an industrial job? Something high-tech? This town is oppressed.

“peach tree switches” (71)

Google says that a “peach tree switch” is a whipping tool for punishing children.

“Jem looked up at Atticus, who shook his head. “She's just fussing,” he said. “She's really impressed with your ---accomplishments.”

Atticus strolled over to Miss Maudie's sidewalk, where they engaged in an arm-waving conversation, the only phrase of which I caught was “… erected an absolute morphodite in that yard! Atticus, you'll never raise `em!”” (72)

Defintion of Morphodite: Hermaphrodite.

.. How does it look like a morphrodite? I thought Atticus said it looked good. The way Ms. Maudie yells at Atticus makes me believe that the towns people don't believe Atticus can raise the children alone. Possibly normal behavior, but later will proof be presented for this argument?

Also, it looks like people are getting more and more fed up with Atticus, and I think this will carry over to the lawsuit event. Will the town split into two? Some for Atticus's views, and some for not?

The morphrodite brings up another concept seen throughout the book. Scout keeps acting like a boy, when people tell her to act more lady like. Does the snowman represent herself acting like a guy while being a girl?

“ “What's the matter?”

By then he did not have to tell me. Just as the birds know where to go when it rains, I knew when there was trouble in our street. Soft taffeta-like sounds and muffled scurrying sounds filled me with helpless dread.

“Whose is it?”

“Miss Maudie's, hon,” said Atticus gently.

At the front door, we saw fire spewing from Miss Maudie's dinningroom windows. As if to confirm what we saw, the town fire siren wailed up the scale to a treble pitch and remained there, screaming.” (73)

The mood of this paragraph is general with suspense that may or may not add up to something exciting or important. The words like “helpless dread”, “muffled”, “spewing”, “wailed”, and “screaming” all help set the mood of an already known to be tragedy.

The houses on fire on pages 73 to 75; In general.

Linking: I once woke up at night to see my neighbor's house on fire, just a little over a month ago. The house originally looked exactly like mine. I woke up at 4 in the morning, credit to my brother, and looked out the window to see some flames climbing to the sky across the street. At first I thought nothing of it, but after going outside I noticed that the entire upstairs of the house was roasting like a marshmallow in the blue of the flame. About three fire trucks came and tried to put out the fire; No use. The fire stayed active until early morning. The house lost the entire upstairs, and all downstairs void the dinning room - but the remains ruined the furniture. I walked through the house the following day, an odd experience, knowing that my house could possibly end up exactly like that one. The house still stands today, to be demolished at an unknown date.

“No matter what anybody says to you, don't you let `em get your goat.” (Atticus, 80)

Get your goat? What does this term mean? Phoenixzoo.org says that it is from a time when horses were accompanied with goats during races, and people would try to steal the goats to make the horses nervous. In the quoted text, I suppose it means that Atticus wants Scout to maintain her integrity.

“ I felt extremely noble for having remembered, and remained noble for three weeks.” (81)

Wow, that must be a new record. Why can't nobility be more common?

“Aunt Alexandra was Atticus's sister, but when Jem told me about changelings and siblings, I decided that she had been swapped at birth, that my grandparents had perhaps received a Crawford instead of a Finch. Had I ever harbored the mystical notions about mountains that seemed to obsess lawyers and judges, Aunt Alexandra would have been analogous to Mount Everest: throughout my early life, she was cold and there.” (82)

Then.. a Crawford would be a Mt. Everest analogy? What's a changeling?

“But the only time I ever heard Atticus speak sharply to anyone was when I once heard him say, “Sister, I do the best I can with them!” It had something to do with my going around in overalls.” (85)

Atticus continuously defends himself as to how he raises Jem and Scout. Other people believe he isn't doing a good job, but he stands his ground. Does he have any specific reasons? Why not remarry? Why is Scout wearing overalls a problem?

“Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn't supposed to be doing things that required pants. … She hurt my feelings and set my teeth permanently on edge, but when I asked Atticus about it, he said he didn't mind me much the way I was.” (86)

People are very critical with Scout and how she dresses. I can't believe that dressing is such a big issue, seeing how she's only in the 2^nd grade. Atticus doesn't really mind her `differences' (from what culture expects), why? Does he not have the time? Why not bring up Scout and Jem to be `proper' in the community's eyes? Letting a kid run wild is like never punishing him.

“Our father didn't do anything. He worked in an office, not in a drugstore. Atticus did not drive a dump-truck for the county, he was not the sheriff, he did not farm, work in a garage, or do anything that could possibly arouse the admiration of anyone.” (93-94)

Ironic that Scout thinks that manual labor and driving a dump truck is admirable. It's just the opposite these days, in my opinion of course. I'd rather be the head of a corporation than out on the farms working long and tiresome hours.

“Besides that, he wore glasses. He was nearly blind in his left eye, and said left eyes were the tribal curse of the Finches. Whenever he wanted to see something well, he turned his head and looked from his right eye. He did not do the things our schoolmates' fathers did: he never went hunting, he did not play poker or fish or drink or smoke. He sat in the livingroom and read.” (94)

It's starting to sound like Atticus is ahead of his time. He seems to not be tied down to having to do what the community expects, and does exactly what he wants. In the 1930's, I suppose smoking and drinking was popular, which further proves my belief that Atticus is a bit `further along' than the rest of the crowd.

“When he gave us our air-rifles Atticus wouldn't teach us to shoot. Uncle Jack instructed us in the rudiments thereof; he said Atticus wasn't interested in guns. Atticus said to Jem one day, “I'd rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit `em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.””(94)

My..foreshadow-senses..are..tingling. I'm positive that this is the first time `mockingbird' has been referenced in this book, so it's of importance. Does this mean there will be a murder at the end of the book?

Page 94-96: Scout states on multiple occasions that Atticus is old and can't do anything (even while people say otherwise).

Has Scout lost her respect for her father? Why? What has he done? Is peer pressure getting to her? I think that she's going to need to reassert her trust in him at one dramatic point in the story.