TKAM Section 2 - Andrew Lucchesi (Late)

First I apologize for making this post so far outside of the predetermined time frame.

Section 2 was very interesting. Just like I wished for in my previous post, we did get to see a lot more of Atticus in these chapters. He is quickly becoming central to the plot, what appears might climax at or near the coming trial of Tom Robinson. We got to see a lot of action in the community, with the fire that burned down Miss Maudie's house, to Mrs.Dubose's death, and the mad dog incident. This section illustrates the community really well, and we see the mixture of opinions, beliefs, and personalities people have. There are people with huge differing opinions about Atticus and his family, like Mrs.Dubose, but she still seems to hold respect for him up until she dies. Chapter 12 shows us a whole new side of the coin, as we get to see first hand the black community and learn more about Cal's character.

The author does a good job of bringing us into this very opinionated world, and uses Scout as the innocent eyes to peer into this community riddled with racism and prejudice, but mixed with strong loving ties and respect. The book also dips down into gender roles a little bit, with Scout being tomboyish and irritating Aunt Alexandria. I believe the author is juxtaposing Atticus, who has a strong character and sense of morals, to the rest of the southern society at that time. That could very well be the underlying message of this book, making Atticus's a hero with his non-racist beliefs and exposing racism as an illogical unnecessary form of tradition. I don't recall if Mrs.Schulz pointed this out to us during class, but To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960, in the midst of the civil rights movement.

Now I suppose the family is going to be caught in some sort of terrible situation, having to do with Atticus's already damaged reputation. I predict Scout will have to see some sort of other side, the "bad" side of her father, whether its some sort of lie or something he has done in his past. Something like that would break Scout from being a character dependent and learning from everyone else's opinions (the current situation, introducing us to the setting) and detach her making her a more independent character. With Scout being the main character, she probably will have to undergo a lot of confusion and torment as she tries to make sense of all the advice she has been receiving throughout the entire book, culminating soon.