End of the book" Explain Scout’s reference to the mockingbird on page 370. (Julia)

This quote relates back to Christmas when Scout and Jem got guns and Uncle Jack tells then that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. Mockingbirds do no harm to us, all they do is mind their own business and sing songs. It is not even close to harmful or a predator. Boo Radley and Tom Robinson symbolize mockingbirds. Neither of these men have done any harm to anyone and helped whoever needed the help. Boo Radley noticed Jem was in need when they were attacked, "The man was walking with the staccato steps with someone carrying a load too heavy for him. He was going around the corner. He was carrying Jem. Jem's arm was dangling crazily in front of them" (Lee 352). Rumor has it that Boo stabbed his father. Since then, no harm has been done by him and all he has done is help the children the night of the fire, give them little presents in the tree, and help Jem when Jem and Scout were attacked. On the other hand, Tom was the only person even remotely pleasant and helpful to Mayella. Tom and Boo being help and kind without expecting anything in return have made them the mockingbirds of Maycomb. 

End of book: Look closely at the description of Boo. Why has Harper Lee included these details and why here? (Charlotte Shapiro)

Harper Lee includes the description of Boo Radley where she does to give the reader suspense. Rather than outright telling the audience that it was Boo Radley standing in the corner of Jem's room, Harper Lee provides an incredibly detailed description of Boo in order to make sure the audience knew it was him. It was quite obvious that it was Boo when Scout described, "They were white hands, sickly white hands that had never seen the sun, so white they stood out garishly against the dull cream wall in the dim light of Jem's room." (Lee 362) Harper Lee also includes the detail to show that Boo Radley is not the monstrous figure that the kids had pictured. It is a scene that characterizes both Jem and Scout, as well as Dill, because it shows how they have grown. When they were younger, they were highly impressionable and believed the rumors about Boo Radley being deformed and psychotic; but now that they are older, they understand that he is just a regular person who is extremely pale because he has not seen the sun for who knows how long. The moment when Scout realizes Boo Radley is standing in the same room as her is both a moment in which she matures a little, and a moment of complete and utter shock. It turns out Boo Radley is a good guy after all.

End of the Book: Explain Scout’s reference to the mockingbird on page 370. (Sharon)

"Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird wouldn't it?" (Lee 370) By this she means that putting Boo in jail for killing Bob Ewell is wrong because all he was doing was saving herself and Jem. "Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy... That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." (Lee 119) Mockingbirds like it says in the quote they don't do anything bad, they just sing for people. This relates back to Boo, because he was only doing what was right. He stays out of other peoples business but when someone needs something he seems to be right there. For example in chapter 8 when Boo put a blanket over Scout because he saw that she was cold. He was thoughtful enough to do that. Whenever Scout, Jem, and Dill bothered Boo, he didn't do anything to them. Another example is when Jem went back to find his pants "They'd been sewed up. Not like a lady sewed 'em like something' I'd try to do." (Lee 78) Guessing that it was Boo who sewed the pants it shows that he was always looking out for Jem and Scout in one way or another.

Chapters 28-31: What does Heck Tate mean when he says, “Let the dead bury the dead this time” (369)? Explain what is going on here and what he means. (Simru S-E)

Heck Tate is saying that the Tom Robinson case should be sealed by the event of Bob Ewell’s death, since in reality the case didn’t end in the moral way.  When Atticus tries to convince Heck that Jem was the one that killed Ewell, Heck fires back with, “Knowing everything that’s happened [in Maycomb County]... there’s a black boy dead, and the man responsible for it’s dead” (369).  Heck sees that the end would only be fair if no one was blamed for Bob Ewell’s death, that it’s high time it came to him.  Mr. Ewell, he thinks, doesn’t deserve someone making excuses for him, since he made them for himself already, unjustly.  These excuses were Tom’s supposed ‘crime.’  Mr. Ewell had Tom’s blood on his hands; he was the one that accused him, and he was well aware that the case would indeed end this way, since the society probably wouldn’t take a stand for the racial revolution.  Since Ewell practically killed Tom, Jem shouldn’t be blamed for Ewell's death - no one should, only himself.  He doesn’t deserve a ‘fair trial,’ since Tom didn’t get one either.  This event nearly rights all the wrongs in the case for Heck Tate, though still the damage can’t be erased.  As Mr. Tate said, two men are dead and racial prejudice has been demonstrated yet again.  Still, it’s even, in a way, since both ‘sides’ lost a life.  But all in all, the word ‘bury’ could refer to the case being closed once and for all; it can now be forgotten, since the two main people involved in the case, Tom and Mr. Ewell, have been buried themselves.  It’s even in the way that though one man is dead, the man who killed him is as well, so they’ve both received their fate.  The phrase ‘let the dead bury the dead’ possibly refers to the evening out of this case to Heck Tate.  Atticus, on the other hand, though he fought through a case that he felt very strongly for and lost, still wants to be completely truthful with this.  Though he has been in turmoil with Bob Ewell, he still supports him, in a way.  He didn’t blame Bob Ewell for killing himself, while he very much deserved it.  He expected the worst (that Jem killed him) and was selfless about it, but still thinking of Jem’s reputation.  This also shows that he wants his children to live under the same truthfulness that he does; he wants them to have the courage to hide behind nothing.  Heck and Atticus may have slightly different views on what should be done about Ewell’s death, but they must both agree on one thing: it wouldn't have been just for Mr. Ewell to remain alive and without a scratch, and it was a shame that it had to end so badly for Tom.

If Jem was taken to court for supposedly killing Bob Ewell, what would be the outcome?  When it’s a young white boy against a disgraced white man, who would gain more respect and more trust?  Is Atticus right to put his own son forward as a murderer?

End of Book Has justice been served in this novel? (Think about this) Why or why not? To answer this, you must define what ‘justice” is and then provide specific examples to support your stand on this. (Myles)

I don't think justice has been served in the novel. Wanting to be a lawyer when I grow up, I had given the definition of justice some good thought, and I think justice is fair or just treatment of a person. The book didn't seem to really resolve the injustice stemming from the eras prejudice and the controversy surrounding Bob Ewell. There was no justice in trying to stab Jem and Scout, nor in being killed. A more just approach would be to put Bob on trial, but since he fell on his knife, there was no justice in that sense. Also, for like of a term, I believe that Tom was slaughtered like a pig. On page 315, to take part of Atticus' quote, "...Seventeen bullet holes in him. They didn't have to shoot him that much..."(Lee 315). To make a text to world connection, in one of the more recent shootings, an officer fired around 30 shots into the wind shield of a car in which a black couple was sitting just because it looked like he was reaching into the car for a gun. There was no gun in that car. In both of these cases, there was no justice. Instead of stopping Tom outside the gates, or calmly escorting the couple out of the car, both groups were shot. Also it is in no way just to convict Tom with evidence. While I like to think that "Evidence is everything in the court of law"(Phoenix Wright[Phoenix Wright:Dual Destinies]), persuasion is everything, both in past and present. Because their "values" were prejudiced, they were persuaded to make the wrong decision. However, I do think when Mr. Tate  says"...Let the dead bury the dead," he is correct. While justice was not be served, it now cannot be served.

Do you think justice was served?

"The Radley Place had ceased to terrify me, but it was no less gloomy, no less chilly under its great oaks, and no less uninviting." Explore this with reference to Scout's development. (Mitch)

As Scout becomes older and starts to mature, she loses her childish ways. She is not afraid of the "Radley House" anymore. On (Lee 324) Scout states, " The Radley place ceased to terrify me, but it was no less gloomy, no less chilly under its great oaks, and no less uninviting." She has seemed to lose her empathy for Boo Radley. She used to walk by and feel sad for him and his situation: Boo being trapped in that house for many years for doing wrong. Now she does not seem to care. She cared when he was doing good, putting blankets around her, leaving her surprises in the tree, but all of that is forgotten and it is now just looked at as any old house, not the scary Radley House it used to be. 

Chapter 26-27 Explore Scout's confusion in class. What is the root of Scout's confusion about Miss Gates? How is Miss Gates being a hypocrite? Why does Harper Lee include this? What is the purpose? (Emily Plump)

        Scout is confused in class about Miss Gates because she is a hypocrite. Miss Gates goes on about how she thinks what Hitler does to the Jews is terrible. Even though she thinks that treating someone badly because of their race or religion is bad, she still does it. Scout overhears her saying a lot of bad stuff about the black people so Miss Gates is doing what she said was wrong, to the people in Maycomb. What is happening with the Jews is really similar to what's happening is Maycomb with the blacks and whites. Scout is talking to Jem about what she overheard Miss Gates say about blacks right outside the courthouse, "I heard her say it's time somebody taught 'em 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" (Lee 331). Scout really doesn't understand how Miss Gates says bad things about people in Maycomb then thinks it's terrible for the same thing that's happening with the Jews. Harper Lee includes this whole scene to show the racism in Maycomb. Miss Gates is explaining to the class what democracy and persecution is, "Over here we don't believe in persecuting anybody. Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced. Prejudice" (Lee 329). Miss Gates says this but she really doesn't mean it. There is persecution everyday in Maycomb with the blacks. Scout was really confused about Miss Gates because she said it was wrong to discriminate the Jews yet she is discriminating the blacks in Maycomb.