Reading Response #4

Atticus: Helps Jem and Scout understand the situation in front of the jail, “‘So it took an eight-year-old child to bring ‘em to their senses, didn’t it?... that gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they’re still human’” (Lee 179).

  Aunt Alexandra: When she first arrives and is telling Scout why she is there, “‘Well, your father and I decide it was time I came to stay with you for a while… Jem’s growing up and you are too,’” (Lee 144-145). 

Atticus always treats the kids like adults, so when it comes to a situation like in front of the jail, he didn’t get upset with Scout and Jem, and in the end, he ended up being glad that they were there because they saved him from getting hurt or worse, and Atticus made sure they knew that, he didn’t punish them for being there even though they definitely shouldn’t have been there. He doesn’t really shelter them from much anyway, so if Scout or Jem ask him an adult question, he’s going to answer. Aunt Alexandra is the exact opposite she thinks that Scout and Jem shouldn’t be a part of any of the stuff like that, she thinks that they should be sheltered and she thinks that they should be treated like kids, especially Scout. Aunt Alexandra adds to the conflict because she thinks that Scout should be learning how to act like a lady and that she shouldn’t be learning about things like the trial or going to Calpurnia’s church and attempting to visit Calpurnia at her house.

"'Im going out for a while,' he said. 'You folks'll be in bed when I come back, So I'll say good night now"(Lee 168).

"Why do you talk nigger-talk to the-to your folks when you know it's not right"(Lee 143).

Quote 1, Atticus leaves late at night and leaves the children alone without telling them what he is doing. This get's the children all wondering what he is doing at this time of night. The children go out late at night and find Atticus at the Maycomb jail. Atticus tells them to go home and the refuse. Quote 2, Calpurinia talks differently to her own folks compared to other people and Jem was interested in that. Cal though explains to him that she is black and that doesn't help. Then she brings up an analogy of if Him and Scout talked colored folks at home and Cal would talk white folks at church and how it would be out of place in both places. That seems to calm Jem down. The town is very diverse and if you are at home or out in the town you may talk to other people that talk completely different than you.

“I felt his hand in the back of my head. ‘Don’t you worry about anything,’ he said.”( Lee 152)
“‘Except when he’s drinking?’ asked Atticus…”(Lee 183)
Atticus has lessened the conflict for the children by comforting them but raises the conflict by questioning Mayella. Atticus may have done this to show why Bob is a bad father and why Atticus is a good one; Since the town thinks that scout’s personality comes from bad parenting. What Atticus was trying to represent was that he cares about his children and lets them be free, making them feel better about what they have now. The town seems to have a scale on what's right or wrong, depending on what they did and how they would be punished.

“‘...what’s rape, Cal?’ ‘It’s somethin’ you’ll have to ask Mr. Finch about,’ she said.” (Lee 141) Calpurnia did not want or know how to explain rape to Scout. Scout was confused about what it was and when Cal said this it only added to the confusion. Usually when someone tells a child that they need to ask a parent about something instead it confuses them even more because they don't understand why you can't just tell them. “He sighed, and said rape was carnal knowledge of a female by force and without consent.” (Lee 154) Atticus said this when Scout asked what rape is. Scout may not have fully understood what rape is, but she understood enough to know what the trial was about. 

The difference between the way Cal and Atticus talked to Scout is that Cal probably thought it was a good idea to leave such a hard question to Atticus. This is because, with certain topics such as rape, it is better for the parent to describe it how they want the child to see it. Atticus telling Scout this was better because he did not have to tell Scout a more detailed answer, instead he gave her this answer and she was satisfied enough to not have to ask again. 

Scout and Jem learn more about the racial tension and conflict in the town too when they realized they were not wanted in a black church after Lula, who has a special hatred for white people, Says to Calpurnia “You ain’t got no business bringin‘ white chillun here—they got their church, we got our’n. It is our church, ain’t it, Miss Cal?” (Lee 158) 

Scout and Jem make a visit to Calpurnia's church where they learn of the respect that the african american community has for Atticus for defending Tom Robinson. Jem and Scout learn what Calpurnia knows, which is that a person has no merit before god. Another moment that lessons the conflict is when reverend skye lets scout know that he has a high respect for Atticus by saying “We were ‘specially glad to have you all here,” said Reverend Sykes. “This

church has no better friend than your daddy.”(Lee 163) 

  These quotes show the differences in the adults because Lula decides to be spiteful and switch the roles and be racist back towards Scout and Jem for being white kids in a black church. Reverse Racism, However Reverend Sykes is happy for them to be there and uses a sensitive tone to welcome Jem and Scout by telling them that they have no better friend than Atticus, because he is a white man defending a black man. 

This better helps me understand the town and its functions because although the Finch’s are being insulted and many are not happy that he is defending Tom Robinson, there are still people who are grateful to him and can help Scout and Jem see passed the racist ideologies to differentiate when someone has done something wrong and when they are being accused only because of blatant racism. 

“‘Don’t you worry about anything,’ he said. ‘It’s not time to worry.’” (Lee 152)

“Until my father explained it to me later, I did not understand the subtlety of Tom’s predicament.(Lee 221) 

In these quotes Atticus shows Both sides of fathering he shows that he wants to protect his kid but the other part shows him he wants his kids to do right and teaches them about what happened. Atticus shows that he wants to be a good father in the world and he wants his kids to see why his father acts like this

“‘… what’s rape, Cal?’ ‘It’s somethin‘ you’ll have to ask Mr. Finch about,’ she said.” (Lee 165)

“‘What’s rape?’I asked him that night…He sighed, he said rape was carnal knowledge of a female by force and without consent.”(Lee 180) 

Scout still doesn’t understand everything that is going on with the court case. Cal told Scout to try and not tell her the truth about this subject. This just adds more confusion for Scout because nobody is telling her what is going on. It also sounds like a snarky remark because everybody knows that Mr. Finch is dealing with this case. Mr. Finch then reduces this confusion by explaining to her later that night what rape actually is. I think he does this because he wants to save his children's minds from the horrible things that happen in the world. And he doesn’t want Scout going around and talking about his court case that is already not making him look very good. 

“ I don't want you to remember it. forget it.” (Lee 152)

“‘...what’s rape, Cal?’ ‘It’s somethin’ you’ll have to ask Mr. Finch about,’ she said.” (Lee 141)

Each of the adults are motivated to just get on with the case and make sure it goes well while also not wanting the kids to know exactly what. They don’t exactly want the kids knowing what is going on. They don’t want to tell people like Scout what rape is so she doesn’t have to know about it.

“You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here-they got their own church, we got our’n.” (Lee 158).

“You’re not gonna change any of them by talkin’ right, they’ve got to want to learn themselves, and when they don’t want to learn there’s nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language.” (Lee 167).

In the first quote, Lula was at the African-American church in town and she noticed Scout and Jem with Calpurnia. Lula was not impressed with Calpurnia bringing white company to their church, because there was a church specifically for them. Lula was not afraid to show how she felt about them being there and was not impressed. Which ended up affecting Jem making him want to just leave. In the second quote, Calpurnia was giving advice to Scout about how to handle discrimination problems. Calpurnia is educating Scout on how people will think. Calpurnia helps Scout because she knows Scout is dealing with many discrimination issues throughout her life now just like how Calpurnia has had to handle discrimination herself throughout her life. This shows that the town is very split apart by race still, and nobody seems to want to come together as one whole community. 

“Atticus, is all this behavin’ an’ stuff gonna make things different? I mean are you--? I felt his hand on the back of my head. Don't you worry about anything, he said. It's not time to worry” (Lee 152)

Scout asks Atticus if how everyones behaving lately is gonna change stuff and Atticus tells her not to worry about it. This adds to the conflict because instead of explaining it to Scout he just tells her not to worry, which doesn't help her confusion. 

“What's rape? I asked him that night…he sighed and said rape was carnal knowledge of a female by force and without consent.” (Lee 153-154) 

Scout asks Atticus what rape is because Atticus’s case with tom robinson was about rape. He told her what it meant and she asked if that's all it was, why did Calpurnia get all choked up when Scout asked her. This moment was Atticus lessening Scout confusion and giving her help with understanding what was going on recently. 

The difference between these two moments is Scout not knowing what something is and being confused and so she goes to her father to get clarity and in the first example he doesn't give her any answer just tells her not to worry about it. Which ends up leaving her in  confusion still. Compare to where when Scout asked about rape, Atticus told her and she started understanding more and got that clarity. 

“..whats rape, Cal? Its something youll have to ask Mr. Finch about, she said” (Lee 141) 

“He sighed, and said rape is the carnal Knowledge of a female by force without consent” (Lee 154) 

The difference between the adults and the kids in these quotes is that Cal doesnt want to tell them about what rape is or much about it because he isnt sure if Atticus wants them knowing about rape, or the court case. The second quote is atticus coming in and telling her what it rape is, almost in disbelief that Cal would try and hide the definition the topic. It is a good thing that atticus treats his childeren with respect and like adult. This helps me better understand different points of views on how the kids are taking the trial. It is like the town is functioning on sheltering the children. 

“You might hear some ugly talk about it at school, but do one thing for me if you will: just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matter what anybody says to you, dont let ‘em get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change.” (Lee 87)

Atticus knows that by taking the Tom Robinson case and the circumstances around it, more than just himself will be targeted by the community, specifically Jem and Scout. He is talking to them about why he is taking the case, Scout and Jem dont necessarily understand, but the reasoning is because Atticus believes it is right and he wouldnt be able to live with himself if he didnt and the consequences have to happen. Scout and Jem are immature when it comes to handling conflict and he is trying to tell them to not retaliate and use their head when they innevtably hear it from others. Atticus’s words help prevent fights because since he said this Jem and Scout would feel as if they are letting him down by giving into the harassment and fighting. They also struggle with understanding why their dad is taking the case when he knows he is not going to win, with their young perspective all they can think is it doesn't make sense if he knows he is not going to win. My best prediction is in part two the conflict will bring the three closer because with all the hatred around this case and Atticus, the only people supporting him will be those he is defending and his kids, I also infer that this will lead to a monumental lesson when Jem and Scout come to understand further their dads character and why he is fighting a unwinnable case.

"'They were after you, weren't they?' Jem went to him. 'They wanted to get you, didn't they?'" (Lee 166).

"Atticus lowered the paper and gazed at Jem. 'What have you been reading' He asked. Then he said gently, 'No son, those were our friends.' 'It wasn't a--a gang?' Jem was looking from the corners of his eyes. Atticus tried to stifle a smile but didn't make it. 'No, we don't have mobs and that nonsense in Maycomb. I've never heard of a gang in Maycpmb'" (Lee 167).

Jem, Scout, and Dill were eavesdropping on a conversation going on outside the house with Atticus and members of the town. They were talking to Atticus about how Tom Robinson is getting moved to the county jail and they feel uneasy about it. Atticus may come across some trouble and Jem was scared that people were after him and that he was gonna end up getting hurt. Atticus reassured him and told him that those men were there to warn and help him. This helps me better understand how the town functions because Atticus has made allies. The people of Maycomb like Atticus and want to help him.