Harry Grubb's English Journal

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How is hypocrisy shown in chapter 24?

In chapter 24, scout has joined aunt Alexandra and miss Maudie in a meeting with the other ladies in Maycomb. In this meeting, mrs Grace Merriweather shows a lot of sympathy to the tribe in Africa called mruna’s. This one of the ways how Harper Lee created the hypocrisy in this chapter. This is because she feels for the black people in Africa (the mruna’s) however, she doesn’t feel sorry for any black citizen in Maycomb. This includes Tom Robinson as she forgot his last name. She also calls her made a ‘sulky dearly’ which is rude as she is tom Robinson’s wife.

Chapter 22: How has Harper lee shown the change in the children’s character after the trial?

In chapter 22, Jem becomes very upset with the outcome of the trial. This was an unusual change in Jems behaviour because the fact that he has been raised in a racist society. Harper Lee has expressed the changes through his speech. When he was talking to miss Maudie, he said ‘oh well’. Jem saying this could mean that he is maturing and is understanding more about the problems in the community.

Also, Atticus said,’only children weep’. This is because children aren’t born being racist. They just learn from what is going on around them. As Jem and Scout have been brought up by Atticus who was defending a black man and Calpurnia as being a motherly figure, they haven’t seen much racism. Because they saw a innocent man being accused of rape, they would feel sorry for him.

Task one:
Harper Lee prepares us readers for the verdict through a tension in the courtroom. ‘The feeling grew until the atmosphere in the courtroom was exactly the same as a cold February morning’. This quotation is very strong because cold can relate to a silent morning. This shows the tension in the courtroom was going on for a while as it was very silent

Quotation
-I thought he would have a fine surprise, but his face killed my joy.
-Atticus got up from his chair, but he was moving slowly.

Scout creates tension in chapter 13 as she is right in the middle of a dangerous situation that she is unaware of. However, she is also used by Harper Lee to release the tension.
When she saw Atticus, she said ‘I thought he would have a fine surprise, but his faced killed my joy’. This creates a lot of tension as Atticus has realised not just he’s in danger but Scout, Jem and Dill is in danger too.
However, when she finds a familiar face in the mob of strangers, she speaks to him about his son to him.

In chapter 13, we meet another member of the Finch’s family. It was aunt Alexandra. This upset Scout

How was Calpurnia’s identity shown in chapter 12?

In chapter 12, Calpurnia brought the children to her church which was different to what Jem and Scout was used to. It had no roof or Hymn books. After the service, we learn as readers that Calpurnia had her own children but it was clear that they do not get along well. This is because when her son, Zeebo came to collect the dog, they did not interact. We also learn how she has lost contact with the black community as she is spending a lot more time with the finch’s and the Budford’s.
She also invades Scouut when she says what is rape. Calpurnia responds with ‘you better ask Mr Finch about that. Is anyone hungry.’
This suggests that she isn’t sure wether or not Atticus wants the children to know what it is.

How does Harper Lee present courage in chapter 11?

In chapter 11, Harper Lee introduces Mrs Dubose as a new character who is already sick. Harper uses her to interact with Jem. Jem would have to read to her after school everyday for a month. Jem and Scout thought of her as being rude and aggressive towards their family. It was at the end of the month of reading that presented courage. Mrs Dubose died. Atticus tried to explain to his children that she was a nice and thoughtful lady. He used the words, ‘I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand.’
We already know that Atticus has shot a wild dog. This suggests that he isn’t proud of his marksmen talent but he thinks that strong people who fight for something has alot more courage.

How do the children react to Atticus’s secret? Why?

In chapter 10, Maycomb society came to a stand still as there was a ‘mad dog’  on the loose. Scout and Jem were inside their house watching Atticus, behind a glass door, deciding wether to shoot the dog or not. Atticus decided to shoot the dog with just one accurate shot. This left the children shocked. In the text, it states ‘Jem was paralysed. I pinched him to get him moving’.
This shows the reader that what the children witnessed was the first time they have seen it. They obviously didn’t know that aAtticus was called ‘One Shot Finch’.

What do we learn about Atticus?

In chapter 9 we found a quotation from Atticus saying ‘I’m simply defending a negro’ The word simply implies that defending a negro is a normal and is not significant to him. Saying this at that period of time is unusual as defending negros was not thought about. Atticus also uses the correct terminology of a black person instead of the popular rude term. This is effective because he is giving Tom Robinson rights that many other people doesn’t. Uncle Jack thought that he was forced to defend him but Atticus proved him wrong. Atticus could have let the court case go against Tom easily but he had feelings for him and supported him. This quotation suggests that he has no problems with any ethnicity in society.