In Chapter 26, Scout and Jem have started another year in school and
things are looking a little different. As a seventh grader, Jem is now at the
high school and is very involved with the high school football team, even
though he only carries the team water jugs. Scout is starting 3rd
grade and she is only growing more distanced from Jem. One day the class is
assigned a project to present a clipping from the newspaper. This proves to be
challenging to the class because many people in class don’t have access to the
newspaper and use something called “The Grit Paper”. Eventually Cecil Jacobs
presents his event on Hitler persecuting the Jews in Germany and this gets the
attention of Miss Gates, as well as the class. When someone in the back of the
class asked Miss Gates why Adolf Hitler was doing this she wrote on the board
in capitol letters “DEMOCRACY.” After she has the class repeat this, Miss Gate says,
“That’s the difference between America and Germany… Over here we don’t believe
in persecuting anybody. Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced.”
(328-329)
Although
the words of Miss Gates hold much meaning, they are also very hypocritical.
Just days ago, the whole town witnessed an innocent Black man being convicted
of a crime he clearly did not commit and sent away to his death. Miss Gates might feel sympathy for the
Jews in Germany because they are also white, but at the same time they
nonchalantly brush aside injustice that has taken place in their very
neighborhood. For instance Aunt Alexandra can sit around her fellow missionary
group members and talk about how there are so many unfortunate people in the world,
but when she hears about Tom Robinson being shot, she acts like nothing ever
happened. Although it may seem like Scout is mature enough to understand this,
the constant exposure to such bigotry and racism affect her views upon such
matters. She is constantly seeing certain factions or groups of people
receiving more privileges. The main group is obviously the white population of
Maycomb, and in the Tom Robinson trial, although the evidence was questionable
and it was all circumstantial, Mr. Ewell still got his way because he was a
white man. Without Jem or Attius’ advice, Scout is left with choice to see the
situation in Germany and Maycomb through the town’s eyes, or from an objective
point of view.
Will Scout encounter any more instances of subtle racism like this? Why did Harper Lee not have Jem or Atticus help Scout out? What does this mean?
Will Scout encounter any more instances of subtle racism like this? Why did Harper Lee not have Jem or Atticus help Scout out? What does this mean?
I agree with the fact that what Ms.Gates is hypocrytical because of the prejudice and persecution of Tom Robinson's case. On the other hand, Aunt Alexandra didn't act like Tom Robinson's death was nothing like her missionary group would have done. In fact she was quite shocked and almost, almost upset. She acted like nothing had happened when she got back to her missionary group because she knew that they wouldn't have cared. It's ironic that Ms. Gates is teaching the children about prejudice and persecution not only because she's being hypocritical but also because that is what Maycomb is practically built on. Maycomb has a, "way." When a person is not the "Maycomb Way," those people are not accepted and they are strongly judged and disliked. People gossip about them and say awful things about them. Take the Radley's for example, Boo Radley is shut up in his house because he chooses to but, he used to not be accepted into the community. Technically Ms. Gates is telling the class the prejudice and persecution are wrong, and so is the "Maycomb Way." As stated above as well, Scout takes a minute to see this through Germany, and Maycomb's eyes. Scout may not realize it yet, but Ms. Gates doesn't exactly understand the Maycomb way entirely just like Ms. Caroline.
ReplyDeleteI think that Ms. Gates understands the Maycomb "way" very well. It is similar to how the ladies at the missionary circle acted when talking about the Mrunas. They were being hypocrites by talking about how they feel bad for one black community in another country because they are poor, yet the African Americans in their own community are suffering just as much. On the other hand, Mr. Gates is explaining how it is awful for Hitler to be prejudice towards the Jew's, while according to Scout Ms. Gates talks about how the black community is the lowest class. In my opinion part of acting the "Maycomb way" is being a hypocrite.
ReplyDeleteWho do you think is more of a hypocrite, the missionary circle or Ms. Gates? What other characteristics fit under the "Maycomb way"?
Harper Lee uses empathy and racism intertwined to create one of the big themes of TKAM. When Ms.Gates teaches the students about Hitler's dictatorship she clearly shows she hates Hitler. This shows that she is using empathy to think about the white Jewish people in Europe. This is ironic because in the trial the town didn't use empathy at all for TRob. This also ties into racism because Ms. Gates feels bad for white people being murdered but doesn't feel bad for a black person being sent to the chair on a false lead.
ReplyDeleteBesides Empathy and Racism what other big themes/topics are there in TKAM, how are they represented in these last chapters?
The largest theme in To Kill a Mockingbird is Scout's coming of age. Harper Lee uses the secondary themes such as empathy and racism to further push Scout's journey into adulthood. Racism is used to show Scout the differences in peoples' opinions, and how life isn't always fair because of prejudice. This opens Scout's eyes to the views of the world beyond Atticus's household. Empathy is not only a tool to help her mature. Harper Lee also uses empathy as a recurring theme to show Scout's relationships with other characters. At first, a lesson in empathy brings Scout and Atticus closer. As the novel progresses, Harper Lee brings empathy back to show Scout's more developed mindset (with Aunt Alexandra, for example). Both empathy and racism are used by Harper Lee as standalone themes and also tools to show Scout's journey.
ReplyDeleteHas Scout fully matured after the trial? Is there still more "growing up" for her to do in the last few chapters?