Journal #10: To Kill a Mockingbird

In this final portion of the book, I don’t find myself on pins and needles anymore. The trial is over, the verdict is made, and there’s no more fighting left. Except of course, there is, in Bob Ewell’s mind. Although the jury has made its decision that Mayella was telling a true story, the true information that Atticus revealed during the trial ruined Bob’s reputation-- in reality, Bob is nothing but a poor, lying, and cruel father that no one will ever trust again. Bob himself sets out to pick a fight with Atticus without the court as a medium when he spits in Atticus’s face. Atticus, civil as ever, however, always chooses his battles and in this situation ignores Ewell. Jem, on the other hand, is extremely caught up on the evils of Bob Ewell and society and is crushed by the verdict of the trial. Much of the rest of the book describes Scout’s life as she tries to live with a brother whose personality seems to have disappeared. She compensates by focusing her attention on pleasing her Aunt Alexandra and “becoming a lady.”

Aunt Alexandra’s attitude also changes following the trial. She now seems more sensitve to the family-- especially when Tom Robinson is killed for attempting to escape prison. Alexandra, however, sees it that it’s not necessarily Bob Ewell’s fault, he is just an uneducated, evil man that will do anything for revenge. Aunt Alexandra’s prediction about Ewell is correct; he breaks into Judge Taylor’s house and slurs at Helen Robinson (the widow of Tom) every day on her way to work as she passes by the Ewell property. Ewell’s most sinister act of revenge occurs on the night of Halloween. The school is having a pageant which Scout is a part of. On the way to and from the pageant, Scout and Jem walk in pitch darkness, but their previous fears of walking past the Radley house, especially at night, have left them. Scout even comments, “Boo Radley was the least of our fears.” They were not only hardened by the trial, but they had more important things to worry about. Bob Ewell had been bothering nearly everyone it seemed but Atticus himself. Sabotage was inevitable. And sure enough, on the way back from the pageant on Halloween night, Scout and Jem were attacked by Bob Ewell. It’s hard to decide which is more shocking: that Bob Ewell, in the darkness, stumbled, fell on his weapon, and killed himself while attacking the Finch children, or that Boo Radley came to the Finch children’s rescue and saved them from their demise. In reality, Bob Ewell didn’t fall on his knife-- Boo stabbed him. The police officer chooses to hide the truth to protect Boo. Putting him on trial in the public eye would be like killing an innocent mockingbird that never did any harm to anyone. The title of this book, however, primarily refers to innocent Tom Robinson.

Journal #9: To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill A Mockingbird is broken up into two parts. The first section is dominated entirely by childhood. Scout, Jem, and their friend Dill play with one another. Life is easy. Their only obligation is school and respecting their elders. The second part of the book is far more intense. It primarily revolves around the case and trial of Tom Robinson, a black man who was accused of raping a young white female. Atticus is the defense attourney on the case. The events revolving the case demonstrate the distinguishment between childhood and adulthood. Scout and Jem each represent the two contrasting stages of life.

Because Atticus is tied up with the case, in the beginning of the second half of the novel Atticus’s sister, Alexandra, comes to live with the Finches so the children are properly cared for. Alexandra’s attitude towards Scout’s upbringing shows Scout as a figure of childhood. Alexandra believes that Scout is too childish and must be turned into a lady. However, Alexandra still treats Scout like a child by keeping extremely tight reigns on her where-abouts. For instance, Alexandra will not let Scout visit Calpurnia’s house, because she doesn’t want to expose her to another way of living. Scout also serves as a symbol of childhood when defending her father. In this portion of the book, Atticus’s intentions of defending a black man pose him many problems. At one point, he is challenged by a lynch mob; Scout defends her father and ultimately turns the lynch mob away with her innocence. This scene also depicts Jem as a symbol of adulthood. When first arriving at the scene of the lynch mob, Atticus commands Jem to leave; Jem, however, stands his ground like a man and refuses to leave.

Finally, the trial’s topic shows the level of maturity of each child. Jem understands and is able to watch the trial because he is older and therefore more mature than Scout and can handle the topic of rape. Scout, on the other hand, is far too young and innocent to comprehend the trial.

This portion of the book reveals the extreme racism of the majority of Southern society. Aunt Alexandra, for instance, does not allow Scout to visit Calpurnia’s house. By sitting in the black section of the courtroom, the Finch children demonstrate that they are immune to racism. The verdict of the trial, however, reveals the extremes of Southern racism: although Atticus’s defense for Tom Robinson is flawless, Tom still loses the case, because a white Southern jury would never ever side with a black man, no matter how innocent he is.