Laura+&+Maddie

Begin your conversation here. Click on the EDIT button to begin writing. Always type the date at the top of your chat for that day.

2/18/09

Laura: I was confused by what was the oldest trick in the book for lawyers. It was on page 55. Maddie: Atticus used Jem’s words against him. Jem had admitted had said that he, Scout and Dill were just making fun of Boo Radley and then Atticus had taken the meaning out of what he had said and used it to prove that Jem did in fact “put his life’s history on display for the edification of the neighborhood.”(pg. 55) 2/24/09

I think that innocence is a large part of this book. Atticus has a large role of keeping parts of the kid’s innocence to themselves. I disagree. Throughout the story, I notice that Scout isn’t as innocent as others expect her to be. She swears, knows how to read and is capable of making informed decisions on her own and Atticus doesn’t seem to have a problem with this. (pg. 99) I think that Atticus wants Scout and Jem to know about things that are happening in the world around them and doesn’t want them to be closed minded and ignorant despite Miss Caroline Fisher’s attempts to “protect” Scout by not allowing her to access information (pg. 19).

Laura: I think that the reason Atticus didn’t tell the kids that he was such a good shot was because he was maintaining their innocence somehow (pg 113). Atticus is very civilized and he wants his kids to be the same way, but he understands them enough to know how to let them figure it out on their own (pg 99-101). Atticus is protecting them by exposing them. I think that he is keeping them behind a window. They can see everything that is happening, but they are protected behind it.

Maddie: I don’t think that Atticus is protecting the children at all. He is accepting the fact that he has changed their status in Maycomb County by defending Tom Robinson and he is providing his children with ways of getting through it, like telling Scout to use her words instead of her fists when people say bad things about Atticus. There is nothing protecting them, they are in direct contact with the rest of the world.

Do you think that Atticus is a good parent by doing this? Do you think that he would handle the situation differently if his wife was still alive?

Maddie: I think that Atticus is a very good parent. It’s hard to say whether the situation would be handled differently if their mother was in the picture, it really depends on the type of person she would be. If she was a classic, super protective mother, they would probably be homeschooled and kept away from people. If she was like Atticus, they would be free to experience life, as harsh and unfair as it may be.

Laura: I think that Atticus is a really good parent. He does his parenting a lot differently than other parents and I admire him for that. If their mother was in the picture, I think most of the difference would be if she was strong minded or not. If she was strong minded, Atticus would probably listen to her and agree with her more. If she was less strong minded, she’d probably just go along with it.

I can’t imagine that Atticus would marry and overprotective, closed minded woman. It just wouldn’t work.

Laura: I’m thinking of the woman he lost when Scout was young, his wife. They must have been happy. I think that he must get lonely sometimes, but he doesn’t seem to show it. I think that if his wife was still alive, he’d probably take care of the kids just the same, but I don’t think Calpurnia would be in the picture.

Calpurnia is like a hired mom for Scout and Jem. She is there to cook, clean and look after the children. I agree, Atticus probably does get lonely, but he knows that he needs to support his children and doesn’t want them to feel like their family is incomplete.

L: I think you’re right. Maybe Calpurnia is somewhat like their old mom.

3/3/09

L: Atticus raises his kids a lot different in comparison to other Maycomb. Mr. Ewell is controlling his daughter; it appears (pg 208). I think that Mayella’s answers are tainted with what The Ewells say and what really happened (pg 210). Like when Mayella answered no, then looked around and changed her answer to yes.

Mayella wasn’t actually raped or beaten. Tom Robinson didn’t commit any crime. She was unsure about her answers because nothing actually happened and she wanted to make sure that she was being consistent with her father and Mr. Heck Tate’s answers. Laura: So then that’s the reason why they didn’t call a doctor. Why would they want to blame one of the African Americans then? What’s the point of stirring up all of this trouble then? Why did they say it was Tom Robinson? This happened during the Great Depression and African Americans were the scapegoats. I’m not sure why they decided to pin the blame on Tom, but I understand why they chose an African American, it is much more believable that way and would cause much less controversy. Laura: I think that maybe Mr. Ewell saw that Tom was getting invited in and he decided to beat his daughter and blame it on Tom. I bet that Mr. Ewell was ashamed of his daughter and that he figured that he could get rid of Tom by blaming him for something that would get white folks riled up. The unthinkable idea of a black man raping a white woman.

3/11/09 Laura: How does the title //__To Kill a Mockingbird__// relate to the content of the book? Also, we need to find a good topic to go over, innocence works? What Ms. Clark said about how innocent the kids are really interests me. It is as though they are naïve-ly innocent. I am not sure how one could be such opposites, but that is how it appears. They are opened to all of this, but they don’t see it how adults would. It is so different now, because it’s for some reason okay for us to know about rape and sex and racism at such a young age.

Maddie: Atticus said that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird because they don’t do anything to harm others. (pg. 103) They are innocent creatures who don’t do anything evil, they just sing and that is why they don’t deserve to die. Mr. Underwood wrote that it was wrong to kill cripples and he compared Tom’s death to the “senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children” (pg. 275) because Tom didn’t do anything bad, not only that, but there was an obvious lack of evidence to prove that he did. I am so frustrated with the people of Maycomb County who knew that Tom was innocent but were too afraid to speak out and risk being accused of trusting and caring about African Americans… On to innocence, it’s very fascinating to see Jem and Scout grow up and realize the truth about Maycomb and the rest of the world. They don’t have everything figured out yet, and I’m glad that Atticus doesn’t try to set the straight when they make crazy and untrue inferences about people, they need to learn themselves and develop their own perspective on the world.

Laura: The innocence is kind of like how you see horrible stuff on t.v, like on TNT they show all of these shows exposing all of these strange malnutrition diseases, and you think, wow, I didn’t know that kind of thing was real. I didn’t even think that it was possible. The kids are naïve to the idea of racism. They know it exists, but the idea seems far-fetched to them. It is hard for Jem to accept, just like the doctors who are curing the diseases on TNT. 3/13

Maddie: I’m not sure I understand the connection your making. When I think of innocence, I think of innocent people who were sentenced to prison or even death because everyone thought that they committed the crime.

Laura: Like Boo Radley? I think that the essence of this entire book is about innocence and slowly losing it as you grow up. Jem lost his innocence during the trial, and he had so much trouble dealing with it. Boo Radley is the ultimate example of innocence. He asked Scout to walk him home even! In our world, there isn’t that kind of innocence because of our exposure to the internet and people are more open about more “touchy topics”. We are so shocked to see how innocent and inexperienced with the world’s cruelty.

Maddie: Boo did do some “questionable” things in his past, but nothing that would justify being locked in a house for thirty years. Being locked in a house has changed him and he is no longer used to people, that includes that hate they have for each other and that is part of the reason why he is so innocent. He understands what it’s like to have somebody who cares about him and what it’s like to care about somebody else. He befriended Jem and Scout and when Bob Ewell tried to hurt (kill) them.