The Jury (Ch21-25)

In this section, we hear that the jury takes a long time to deliberate. I found this quite odd and profound for a few reasons; the main reason is the fact that Tom Robinson is black and I believe that the normal outcome or this would be a quick guilty verdict. The children came back expecting the jury to have finished deliberation. This was not what happened. Jem was confident, however I was not. Although Atticus is one of the best lawyers in Maycomb and white, the prejudice and ignorance of Maycomb and this era was too much for a innocent verdict. We learn that Tom Robinson is convicted of r*pe and was transferred to a prison further away. Rape is a high offence in Alabama and Tom would get the electric chair if he did not get pardoned. 

I find the electric chair a high price to pay for r*pe, especially for an INNOCENT man. Tom Robinson tried to escape which I did not expect. I think this was a foolish move as now he is dead anyways. I think he was scared and upset that the U.S. legal system failed him due to its ignorance and prejudice of the era. 

The U.S. Legal system is nowhere near perfect, even today. Our legal system has improved over time but there is still room for improvement in my eyes. Bob Ewell is one person I harshly dislike in this book. He is rather rude, ignorant, and prejudiced. He doesn’t seem to care about anyone (especially Tom) besides himself and possibly his daughter. I find this man to be very selfish. Atticus, of course, is nothing like this. Atticus isn’t biased nor prejudiced. Atticus is one of the only real men I have seen in this book so far. Boo Radley may be another of the real men and I hope to see more of Boo in the remainder of the story.

Unbalanced Courtroom Image (Ch17-20)

I choose the picture of a scale that is already unbalanced. This represents the fact that Tom Robinson has an unbalanced chance to win the case because he is black. The  courtroom has an all white jury which makes it even more unbalanced! Atticus himself said he has no chance to win the case. Bob Ewell is defending Mayella who simply lied about the entire rape case because she was ashamed. The racially divided times of this era (Great Depression) show the deep ignorance we had and still have partly. This image represents the entire case and this section of the book. All courts and cases should have a balanced scale but this is sadly not the case. Even in modern day America, this is still sometimes the case.

Prejudice, Immorality, and Shame (Ch17-20)

For this section of this book, I choose the aspect of the fact that Mayella accused Tom Robinson of raping her simply because she was too ashamed to admit that she wanted Tom to kiss her. In these racially separated times, Mayella Ewell is simply afraid to admit that she was the person that was going for Tom Robinson and not the other way around. Mayella Ewell scared Tom Robinson, hugged him, and then asked him to kiss her. When they were caught, she was scared and made up the entire story of being raped by him. Atticus, simply doing the right thing, is trying to  defend someone who is innocent. Sadly, this is hard in these racially segregated times. An innocent black man is basically guilty for being black. I think Mayella is totally wrong and a coward for doing what she did. She was selfish and willing to put Tom at risk. I don’t see her nor Bob Ewell as very good people. I think people of this time need to wise up and stop being so ignorant.

Throughout the book we see racism. We see simple things from the Church that Calpurnia took the children too to more intense racism such as the Tom Robinson  case. These people are  followers and don’t form their own opinions of the people. I think Mayella needs to apologize for what she did as it was very drastic. Tom Robinson did nothing wrong expect for being black. He was born black and that is not under his control. This aspect is nothing short of expected. The entire book shows the era of the Great Depression in which prejudice was the norm. I think people need to wise up.

Love, Life, and Growing Up (Ch10-12)

This section features a wide variety of themes. We are shown things such as the difference in age between Scout’s father and the other fathers. Although, in my opinion, this is a difference in age not spirit. We are shown Ms. Dubose, who seemed to have nothing better to do then yell and moan to anyone who passed about any issue. The last few things we see in this section is the fact that Jem and Scout are seemingly drifting away due to Jem’s age, Dill staying in Meridian due to his new father, and the segregation at the church even from the black church. A very important quote was shown to us early on as well. It reads as follows: “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy… That’s why its a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee, 90). Looking into this quote further, we see that anything innocent shouldn’t “die” or be killed inside. This is meant to represent how Boo Radley is still cooped up in his house and is innocent.

Dill and Scout wish to be married in the future. Their bond is very strong as Lee shows us, “Dill would reach up and kiss me when Kem was not looking, the longings we sometimes felt each other feel… With him, life was routine; without him, life was unbearable” (116). This time is very hard for Scout. She is having to deal with Dills absence, her brother wanting to distance himself, classmates and even Ms. Dubose making rude comments about how Atticus was defending a “N*****”, and of course Arthur Radley! Scout is holding strong through this period so far. I am eager to see what happens with Dill and Scout as well as the trio and Arthur Radley. I believe that the rude comments about Atticus will continue, however, due to the segregation and racism continuing in this time period of course.

Fishing Rod: Image Post (Ch5-9)

For this section, I choose a fishing rod. This was a symbol that stuck out to me because the children used it to attempt to give a note to “Boo”. Their attempt failed but was still a milestone in communicating with “Boo”. Undeterred, the children tried to sneak in through a window after the fishing rod attempt failed. They were caught by a “shadow” as a shotgun round fired. Everyone around the town said that a “n*****” was caught breaking in. Obviously this was really the children. After this event, “Boo” carved soap figurines of the children which he placed in the knothole. This showed us that he was trying to communicate with the children. Sadly, Nathan sealed the knothole up and gave the excuse that “Tree’s dying. You plug ‘em with cement when they’re sick. You ought to know that, Jem” (Lee 83). I am eager to see what happens with the children and their attempts to communicate with Arthur, especially after the incident with Arthur draping a blanket over Scout.

An Attempt to Communicate (Ch5-9)

In these chapters, we find our “three musketeers” attempting to communicate with Arthur “Boo Radley”. Before these attempts are made, we learn that Dill and Jem were growing closer as Scout remained left out. We also hear about Dill’s proposal to Scout, “He asked me earlier in the summer to marry him, then he promptly forgot about it” (Lee, 41). This shows how Dill and Scout are somewhat starting to drift apart.

Dill and Jem want to give a note to Boo Radley. Scout, after spending a lot of time with Miss Maudie, knows that a lot of the rumours about Arthur are false. She also learned that Arthur was a kind child of a “foot-washing baptist”. We also hear that the foot-washers believe that anything that pertains to pleasure is a sin. Lee shows us this fact, “…told me and my flowers were going to hell” (44).

Scout awakens to hear Dill and Jem’s plan, “We are going to give a note to Boo Radley” (Lee, 46). They proceed with the plan but we learn of the difficulties they faced. Undeterred, the trio attempts to sneak into the house. We learn that they one again fail and a gunshot was heard around the area.

More items are found in the knothole. These are gifts to the children (Jem, Scout, and Dill). They even found soap figurines made to look like them as Arthur would of saw when they tried to sneak in. This shows that Arthur, is indeed a kind person who is still in seclusion. He is attempting to communicate.

Another profound experience was when Miss Maudies house was on fire and a blanket was put on Scout. Boo did this… This means that he must have ventured out of his house in a caring way. As we know, Atticus now knows the story of the knothole.

In my opinion, this section shows a new side of Boo. We even see Scout calling him Arthur to Miss Maudie since that is his real name. It looks as though Arthur is growing along with the children and may eventually come out of seclusion.

Insane Asylum Image (Ch1-4)

This image is of an old insane asylum. This relates to the book as, in my opinion, because Boo should be in an insane asylum. As a young child, we know that Arthur “Boo” Radley was punished by his father and made to say in his house. Even after he stabbed his father with scissors, he was still not sent to any form of mental institution. Boo Radley seems like the type of person who is a danger to himself and others around him and he should be in a mental institution. Who knows what he will do if he ever does come out or is forced to come out.

Arthur “Boo” Radley (Ch1-4)

Arthur “Boo” Radley as we know never leaves his house. We were told that he was made to stay in the house by his father at a young age for being in trouble with the law. In my opinion, this has dealt Boo a lot of trauma. For this reason, he stays inside of his house at all times. One aspect I am not sure about is the fact that Boo was never sent to an asylum. He did stab his father with scissors yet he was never really treated or helped in this matter. This is concerning as he still resides within in his house.

In my opinion, Boo should be sent to a mental institution for rehabilitation rather than sitting in his house with his brother. I think he is the type of person who is a danger to himself as well as other people. I don’t think that he really deserves to be cooped up in his house and made fun of by Scout and Dill with their “Boo Radley” tire game. This is somewhat cruel because, as stated before, I believe that Boo Radley was dealt a lot of trauma by his father at a young age.