Chapters 8-9 How did Scout end up with a blanket across her shoulders? Why would Harper Lee include this moment in the book? (Ben Kohlberg)

       Scout ended up with a blanket on her shoulders because Boo (Nathan) Radley put it there when sneaking up on her. "'Someday maybe, Scout can thank him for covering her up.' 'Thank who?' I asked.'  'Boo Radley.' (96 Lee) Harper Lee added this part of the book in to provide more details about Boo and to get the reader more intruded for when Boo Radley will finally show up.

 

       Throughout the book, Scout, Jem, and sometimes Dill have been constantly looking for this mysterious person, Nathan "Boo" Radley. He was accused of murder but never went to jail, however the 3 children don't think he is a very bad person. Boo has been leaving the children bread crumbs, like putting gifts in the tree hole, and fixing Jem's pants, but putting a blanket on Scout when she wasn't paying attention was the closest clue the kids have found to finding and proving Boo's innocence. Atticus Finch, Scout and Jem's father, always had a spot in his heart for the Radley's, but the rest of the town disliked them. The Radley's were known to be gloomy and crazy, but Atticus didn't think so.

 

      This is similar to the book "Of Mice and Men" when everyone thought Lennie was a scary monster, but he was just a kind person with some mental issues. I don't think Boo necessarily has mental issues, however I do think he is perceived badly but is a good person.

 

 

 

Do you think that Jem and Scout will ever see Boo face to face?

       

8-9 How did Scout end up with a blanket across her shoulders? Why would Harper Lee include this moment in the book? - Geoffrey Goose

     "'Someday maybe, Scout can thank him for covering her up.'
     'Thank who?' I asked.
     'Boo Radley.' (96, Lee).
     When Scout, Atticus, and Jem are talking about the nights events, Atticus asks why Scout has a blanket that isn't hers. Scout ended up with a blanket around her shoulders because out of kindness, and selflessness, Boo Radley gave her a blanket to stay warm. Harper Lee would include this in the novel because it gives a side to Boo Radley that we haven't seen thus far. A side that isn't crazy, or vicious, but rather kind, sweet, and generous. Boo Radley reminds me of a Darth Vader like character. While that sounds sort of outrageous both of these character's started the story as hated, mean villains, and then become heroes. Despite starting the book as a feared villain, I think that Boo Radley will become a hero as the book progresses.  

What do you think Boo Radley's role will be as the book continues?

Chapters 8-9 - How did Scout end up with a blanket across her shoulders? Why would Harper Lee include this moment in the book? (Fiona)

So far, throughout the book, Boo Radley has been a background character, until this incident. When the fire breaks out at Miss Maudie’s house, Atticus tells Jem and Scout to wait by the Radley house, in front of the gate. When the fire is extinguished and everyone is safe and sound, Scout and Jem realize that someone has laid a brown blanket across their shoulders! Scout mentions to the reader, “I looked down, and found myself clutching a brown woolen blanket around my shoulders” (95). Atticus and Jem inform her that Boo was the one to drape the blanket across Scout and her brother’s shoulders. At first, Scout is very disgusted at the thought of wearing something that Boo owned. “My stomach turned to water and I nearly threw up when Jem held out the blanket” (96). Until this point in the story, Harper Lee has made it unclear as to whether or not Boo is a friendly, or evil-spirited character, but this incident certainly clears it up. If Harper Lee wanted to the reader to think that Boo had wanted to scare the kids, or trap them, then she would have had him tie them up in the blanket, or stand behind them until they notice him, and got scared, but that is not the case. Boo’s only intention was to try to make Scout and Jem warm when they were standing outside, waiting for the fire to be out, which is a very caring and thoughtful thing to do. Overall, Harper Lee’s reasoning for including this moment in the story was to clear up any ideas that maybe Boo Radley truly a shady, evil-spirited character.

Do you think that Scout or Jem realize that Boo is nice?

Gavin- 6-7 Why do the children play the Radley Game?" What does it reveal about them (Together and Individually)?

The children play the "Radley Game" to try and catch a glimpse of Boo Radley, but little did they know it would also help them discover things about themselves that they never knew. To catch a glimpse of him they snuck into the Radley's yard and looked through a broken shutter. While they were there they were caught by Mr.Radley and Mr. Radley shot at them with a shotgun because he thought it was a "negro". When trying to get away from him Jem lost his pants in the fence, which almost made them get caught. Because of this "game" Jem and Scout found out many things about themselves that they never knew. "Atticus ain't ever whipped me since I can remember. I wanta keep it that way" (Lee pg. 75). This quote shows that Jem does not want to disappoint Atticus and he always wants to keep him happy. "Jem and I first began to part company" (Lee pg. 75). This shows that Scout is now starting to feel distant from her brother and she feels like they don't get along like they used to. The "Radley Game" got the children in lots of trouble, but it also helped reveal things they didn't know prior to the "game" about themselves that they know now.

Chapters 6/7: Explain Jem's Statement: "When I went back they were folded across the fence... like they were expectin' me." (Ben Friedman)

When Jem tries to look at Arthur "Boo" Radley, he got stuck under the fence hole and his pants got ripped and left behind. Dill lied and said that he took them off of Jem in strip poker, so they would not get in trouble. When Jem goes back after the conversation with Atticus and Miss Rachel, his pants were folded across the fence and sewed poorly. He says that they looked as bad as if he were to do them. The only other person that could have sewn like that is Boo Radley. "Like somebody was readin' my mind... like somebody could tell what I was gonna do. Can't anybody tell what I'm gonna do lest they know me?" (Lee 78). Only Boo would know what Jem is going to do, because Boo has been watching Jem his whole life. This proves one example that Boo is really a nice person.

Do you think that Boo is really a nice person? Why or why not?

Chapter 6-7: What does it mean "It was then, I suppose, that Jem and I first began to part company." (Eve)

Throughout the book so far, it has been obvious that Jem and Scout have been very close.  They are brother and sister and they spend lots of time together, like when they play games with Dill or talk about the Radleys.  When Scout says, "It was then, I suppose, that Jem and I first began to part company." (75), what she means is that she is realizing that her relationship with her brother is growing less close. Even though she knows that they wouldn't always get along, she is now noticing that they disagree on almost everything.  One reason for this could be Dill.  Jem finally has someone to play with besides Scout and begins to shut her out.  She mentions “They spent days together in the treehouse plotting and planning, calling on me only when they needed a third party.” (55) This shows Jem and Dill were only using Scout when they needed her and often excluded her from their games. Another reason Scout and Jem's relationship is growing apart could be Jem wanting to fit in. Although they don’t say it in the book, Jem might think other kids might think he’s weird because Scout is younger or his sister or a girl.  He might think excluding her could be his solution to fitting in.  Scout hadn't realized how close they had been until they began to drift apart. She is trying to figure out what is happening with her relationship with her brother.

Do you think Jem realizes that he and Scout are growing apart?

Chapter 4/5: What can you infer about Miss Maudie’s character based on clues provided in the novel? (Stephen)

Miss Maudie is a kind, but eccentric old woman. It is easy to tell that she is a kind woman because Scout says “Miss Maudie’s benevolence extended to Jem and Dill…” (Lee 57). By saying benevolence, Scout says that Miss Maudie is a kind and generous person. It is clear by how she lets the Finches use her yard with very generous rules. Scout says “We could play on her lawn, eat her scuppernongs if we didn’t jump on the arbor, and explore her vast back lot. Terms so generous…” (Lee 56). Her eccentricity starts to show when it comes to the plants in her yard. She heavily dislikes nut grass, for no explained reason. Scout explained this when she said “If she found a blade of nut grass in her yard, it was like the Second Battle of the Marne.”  (Lee 57) Besides the small amount of eccentricity, Miss Maudie is a kind, and gentle old woman.