Miss Gates is teaching her class about current events,
and more specifically Adolf Hitler and how he is treating the Jews. She gets
very emotional and upset talking about how cruel Hitler is because she believes
it is wrong to act so meanly towards a certain group of people. She says, “There
are no people better in the world than the Jews, and why Hitler doesn’t think
so is a mystery to me. (p.329)” It is ironic that she is teaching the kids
about how cruel it is to hate a group of people, when she and almost everyone
else in Maycomb hate the black people. Miss Gates specifically talks about how
the Jews are equal to everyone else, which should mean that she also thinks
that black people are equal to white people. However, she is completely
contradicting herself by telling her students that all groups are equal, and continuing
to be racist towards black people.
Later on, when Scout goes home she talks with Jem about
what she learned in school. She asks, “I heard [Miss Gates] say it’s time
somebody taught [the black people] a lesson, they were gettin’ way above
themselves, an’ the next thing they think they can do is marry us. Jem how can
you hate Hitler so bad an’ then turn around and be ugly about folks right at
home? (p.331)” This quote is showing how Scout is able to identify that what
she is being taught seems contradictory to what she views in her every day life
from the people of Maycomb. Scout sees that it’s ironic that Miss Gates is
saying it’s wrong to hate the Jews in Germany, but when it comes to Maycomb, the
black people are lower than the white people and that’s the way it should always
be. The fact that Scout is able to identify this shows that she is maturing
even more than we knew she was. Harper Lee puts Miss Gates and her lesson about
the Jews and Hitler into the story to not only show the irony of Miss Gates’
opinion, but also to show that Scout is coming to a point in her life when she
is able to respectfully question authority and think for herself.
Why do you think Jem had such a strong reaction when
Scout asks him about Miss Gates? Was his reaction mostly about his feelings
towards the Jews and Hitler, or did it bring up feelings from the trial?
Why do you think it is so easy for Miss Gates to talk
about how it is wrong to hate groups in other countries, but when it comes to
her own town, why does she need to hate the black people?
Miss Gates is simply following the ways of life in Maycomb, which was just like a large majority of the rest of the southern areas of the United States during the 1930's. All of the people, clearly with some exceptions, lived a life of treating the blacks like they weren't human. They became so oblivious to exactly what they were doing to the blacks because they were entangled in the typical way of living. It's a completely different scenario to the southerners, however. When the same method that they use on the blacks is being demonstrated on those with the same skin pigment, the story changes. Miss Gates was right in saying that what Hitler was doing was wrong, but her feelings about that don't outstretch to those that are below her personally. It's so easy for her to think that way because, like Lucy said, it's normal. To many people then, it's clear that comparing the Jews and African Americans resulted in different stories and scenarios. Nothing seemed to be similar between them, despite the glaring similarity.
ReplyDeleteDo you think Scout understands this completely? If not, when do you think she will? And how? Why isn't Atticus helping Jem if they're both having similar issues? Do you still think Atticus is a good father figure?
I do not think that Scout completely understands the concept that people think of in Maycomb but rather thinks how we would think today, as she thinks of all people as equal, no matter what their skin color is or what beliefs they have. Miss gates thinks of it as everyone else in maycomb does, that all people are equal, jews and christians, but black people are not considered real "people" and so they are not treated the same.
DeleteI think that Scout understands this partially. I think that she understands the part about what Hitler is doing is wrong, and how the lifestyle is very different in Germany. I don't think that she understands exactly how it affects others that are connected to the Jews in Germany. I think that Scout is thinking more broad about how it isn't right what they are doing. I think that since Scout is still in her maturing age, she will eventually understand. You can tell, because when she does not know the answer to something, she always goes to Atticus or Jem to learn about it. And even if they cannot help, then she will eventually understand it as life goes on. I think that Atticus is still a good father figure, but needs to improve with some things. I think that it is good that he still tries to be a good role model for Scout and Jem, but the confusing thing is why he sometimes answers their questions, and sometimes he doesn't (mainly toward Scout). I think that it is good that he tries to make her curious, but in some ways it would be good for him to teach her about it, rather than her go asking other people when it may be a delicate topic for them.
ReplyDeleteI think it is pretty obvious why Jem had such a strong reaction to Scout mentioning the case: He still has not gotten over how unfair it was, finds it maddening and saddening, and does not want to be reminded of it. He got angry that Scout brought it up, so he had a little tantrum, which frightened Scout.
ReplyDeleteIt is easy for someone to speak lightly of the misfortune that others far away experience, but when it comes to misfortune near you or caused by you, you are blinded by your own needs. TKAM is no exception to this fact. All over Maycomb people are saying stuff like, "Oh, I feel so sorry for the Jews, because they are normal people and have feelings just like us, BLAH BLAH BLAH," but they somehow do not realize that they are being just as racist to blacks as "Old Hitler" was to the Jews. And while Mrs. Merriweather is promoting these "poor squalid black people who need our help to believe in God", neither she, nor anyone she annoys with her little cause realizes that the black people in their OWN TOWN already believe in God, yet they still experience hell just trying to walk to work.
It is so easy for Ms. Gates to teach contradictory lessons to her class because she lives in a world that supports the hate. When she is talking about Hitler hating the Jews, she is looking at it from an outside perspective. When it comes to her hate of blacks, she doesn't even think about it. It's her way of life, and she lives in a community where it is not just okay to hate blacks, but it is actually expected. I believe that if Atticus was around Ms. Gates, he would be able to show her that she is looking past the irony. It's very possible that Scout will call her out on this, causing a huge problem.
ReplyDelete