Chapter 28, amidst all the action, shows a significant character change for several characters. One of these, Jem, seems to be maturing in Atticus's footsteps. Harper Lee describes Jem's maturity, saying, "Jem was becoming almost as good as Atticus at making you feel right when things went wrong." (347) Throughout the novel, Jem really improves as a character. At the beginning of the story, he seems almost like a bother to Scout, irritating her by making her play the bad parts in their summer games and things of the sort, but he is still a great friend to Scout. Later in the novel, Jem starts to change by spending more time by himself reading and acting very mature and superior to Scout. This was a dificult time for Scout as Jem needed his distance to grow up. Now, after over 300 pages, Jem has finally come out of his stage of superiority and started to play the role of the nurturing big brother. He takes scout to the party, caries her costume, caries her dress, and encourages her after the pagent goes badly after she falls asleep. This really shows how with his age, Jem is becoming more secure and confident and no longer needs to act superior to scout to respect himself.
The second character who goes through a significant change is Aunt Alexandra. It is clear that she came into Maycomb to try to "correct" Attucus' parenting, but in chapter 28, it becomes evident that she is really part of the family. This becomes clear when Harper Lee describes her reaction, saying, " 'Put these on, Darling,' she said handing the the garments [overalls] she most despised' ". Earlier in the book, she would have said something about how she would never become a lady if she wore those overalls, however it is clear in this scene that there is more to Aunt Alexandra. In this scene, she is not living in the far away world of the missionary society. She is in the moment and has become not only a teacher to Scout, but a caring mother figure. This represents a major character change in Aunt Alexandra.
What other characters do yo think have changed over the course of the book?
Do you respect Aunt Alexandra more now that she has gone through this change?
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I agree with Jack when he says that Jem has changed from the beginning of the novel. Though we do not know if he has completely gotten over the trial, we see him becoming an older brother figure to Scout. He, as Jack says, becomes more like Atticus. I agree that Aunt Alexandra has changed, especially in the sense that she blames herself for the events of the night, instead of Atticus, which she probably would have done earlier in the novel. I think that by giving Scout the overalls instead of a dress, it symbolizes Aunt Alexandra's acceptance of Atticus's parenting styles and of Scout's character, though she doesn't notice it. In this scene, we see that Aunt Alexandra really cares for all of them, and isn't just the person who wanted to change Scout and the family several chapters before. I agree with Jack when he says that Aunt Alexandra isn't in the missionary society with the fake conversations; she is in a real situation with real feelings.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Jack's first question, I think that Scout has definitely changed. At the start of the novel, she was a young girl who followed Jem around and went around trying to see Boo Radley. At the end of the chapters, we are finally introduced to Boo Radley, and Scout recognizes him, even before being introduced. If she had met him earlier, she would probably have screamed and hid, but we see her maturity as she greets him with tears in her eyes. In response to Jack's second question, I do respect Aunt Alexandra more. Even from the missionary society chapter we start to see a real side of Aunt Alexandra. We see she is capable of emotions and she is a real person. We see how she stays strong through hard times and how she really cares for Atticus. In these chapters, we see that she cares for Jem and Scout, and as I stated before, she starts to accept them for who they are.
A question I have is, do you think Atticus is in a way, "naive"? Do you think his moral side was the reason Jem and Scout got into danger? After these events, do you think Atticus will start to see the evil side of people or will he continue to be moral? Who do you think killed Bob Ewell?
I definetly agree with Jack about the character changes. Both characters go through a big change throughout the book especially in chapters 28 and 29. Aunt Alexandra giving Scout the overalls really surprised me. It shows the reader that she isn't all about being a Southern lady, but has aspects of her that care and love for the family as well. The character change in Jem is huge as well. Scout stating that her brother is turning more like Atticus shows a change in Scout too. It shows that Scout is maturing and understanding more about her brother. She is understanding why Jem is changing as well as his different actions to her.
ReplyDeleteI feel like just because Aunt Alexandra gave Scout the overalls isn't such a big change for me to respect her more. I definetly do respect Aunt Alexandra for being different and standing up for her beliefs in the house, but I do not respect her anymore or any less than I did before.
I think Atticus starts to realize that there is evil and that people can be evil. I think his moral side will slowly fade and he will gradually realize that people are not the way he thinks they are.
I agree that Aunt Alexandra and Jem have undergone a major change in character. Aunt Alexandra originally returned to Maycomb and the Finch family on a mission to salvage Scout from a supposedly outrageously boyish future and care for the family as a whole. In the passed three chapters Scout and Aunt Alexandra's relationship begins to grow as Aunt Alexandra is starts to understand that there are more significant events occurring in Maycomb than Scout wearing overalls or the next Missionary Lady's tea party.
ReplyDeleteAtticus's saintlike demeanor struggles to endure all the appalling incidents that seem to be coated thickly onto every thought, action and opinion in Maycomb. Atticus's pure opinion and hope for mankind has been seriously threatened by Tom Robinson's trial and death, Bob Ewell's threats and dangerous actions towards Jem and Scout, as well as Bob Ewell's death, Jem's broken arm and lastly an appearance by Aurther Radley. Since Atticus rarely speaks of his concerns, Harper Lee demonstrates Atticus's disappointment in the people of Maycomb by him forgetting his ever-present manners and visibly aging.
In response to Amy’s questions, I think that Atticus is naive and if he wasn't so moral his children wouldn't be hurt. If he wasn't so moral he would've realized that Bob Ewell wanted revenge and wasn't going to stop unless he got it. Also, if he wasn't so moral he would've been more cautious of his family and gave Jem some more protection. I think Atticus will start to see the bad in people but there are not many "bad" people in Maycomb besides Bob Ewell. I have no idea who killed Bob Ewell the chances of boo killing bob; Jem killing bob and bob killing him are all equal. I think that boo killed bob though because to me it make the most sense.
ReplyDeleteAunt Alexandra said she had a feeling that something bad was going to happen why wouldn't she tell Atticus?