Chattahoochee River
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
To Kill a Mockingbird: Section One
I got hooked on the overall reputation and tone of the town described in these first six chapters, Maycomb. As Maycomb legend tells it, the character Boo Radley, resident of the Radley house and neighbor to the Finch’s, got into trouble with the law as a youth and was shut up in his house by his father. Because they're kids, Scout, Jem, and Dill accept town legends as truth and have a simple (and simplistic) idea of good and evil: Boo is evil; their other neighbors are good. The town legend about Boo also shows a glimpse of Maycomb life, where everyone knows each other's business and history and gossips about it as entertainment. It also shows how Maycomb treats those who are different and is overall unaccepting. The town is described as isolated, small, and in a way, close. I found this interesting because of how the conflict is affected by the setting and where they live. How that when there's a conflict, no matter how small, everyone seems to know about it and is gossiping with others about it. The three characters create a play based on the gossip of the town on the townspeople and the Radleys. Due to their curiosity, they attempt to try to get Boo out of his house to talk to them, and to my surprise, the plan does not work.
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Keely, what are your thoughts about what the children might represent? Do their actions of believing lies and trying to get Boo to come out symbolize anything? And the fact that their plan doesn't work - what could that represent?
ReplyDeleteTo answer the first two questions, the children seem a bit naive and not accepting of those who don't fit into the picture Maycomb has painted for its citizens. Them trying to get Boo to come out might symbolize how the town or people as a whole have secrets or business that isn't necessarily open to the public (aka Scout, Jem, and Dill). The fact that their plan doesn't work could represent the ultimate struggle they are internally facing unknowingly to accept others.
DeleteKeely, I don't think I would have viewed the issues in the book as a theme of "good versus bad" but I can definitely embrace that perspective. It describes a lot of details in the story, such as outsiders being seen as bad and community members being seen as good.
ReplyDeleteKeely, I agree on your views of Maycomb. It seems so small, tight-knit, and perpetual in a way. I feel like this town is so caught up in their own world that the world around them will eventually leave them behind. Everyone in the town seems to know only what their neighbor knows and this is probably going to stunt the children's way of looking at the world from a different lens. I agree that the children see Boo only as evil. If there isn't change in the town or in the way the children perceive Boo, I feel like they will always believe Boo = evil and that's it.
ReplyDeleteIn concern to this line of thinking I agree that the kids, Jem and Scout, seem to adopt the viewpoints of the peers and family members around them, and I'm wondering if maybe the plot of the book will include a possible change of perception or understanding. Since Scout's character is emphasized and she seems to be able to have a closer connection to her neighbors than her brother (i.e. Miss Maudie) I think if anyone is going to break the trend of judging before knowing it will be her.
DeleteTo Rachel and Brandon, I agree in that this specific way of being closed off to different ways of life and the perspectives of others will stunt the children's development of perceiving the world and broadening their views of others as a whole. Also, yes Rachel I also second your thought that Scout will be the first to break this streak of judgement. She seems pretty keen and like someone who can easily pave and walk along her own path of life. I think the fact that she is female in a group of males will also allow her to bring a different perspective to the table at some point in time.
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