Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Freewrite/Irony of Ms. Gates: Chapter 26
This whole idea of Ms. Gates preaching to the kids about Hitler and how bad discrimination is, is a huge part in Scout growing up. Scout realizes things far more realistic than her teacher and can't understand how she could be so hypocritical. If you think about it, Scout's recognition over her teacher's is ironic as well. It shows how Scout is coming to realize not only the concrete idea of prejudices and segregation but also the types of people there are in Maycomb. Maycomb is not the way it used to be in her eyes and the more experiences she deals with regarding oblivious remarks and verdicts, the more real and deep her life becomes. Scout points out that Ms. Gates was one of the people who came out of the coutroom saying it's about time blacks are taught a lesson in this town. Scout gets what is going on and when she looks to her brother for help he usually turns her down so then she seeks answers from Atticus. Scout is curious about the types of people in Maycomb and why justice isn't equal in the town she lives in. This all ties into Atticus having a huge influence on Scout and her beliefs. As the book progresses it seems as if Scout grasps things better than her brother who is older than her.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
It is difficult enough for Scout to grow up to be a southern lady as a tomboy, in addition, Scout must now attempt to sort out what is permissible to belief in Maycomb. Inconsistent beliefs are expected of Scout, and she cannot find the logic behind Maycomb's selective prejudice. Scout is mystified when her teacher thinks it is normal to discriminate against one type of person, yet feel sympathy and a sense of injustice for another. This concept challenges Scout's previous idea of only "one type of folk," as she is exposed to the view of different types of people with different human rights and lifestyles, even as they are all human.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Scout does not fully understand the contradictions of Ms. Gates. She is seeing the events as what a jury should see things, but I believe she still cannot put the pieces together. In these chapters, Atticus hints to Scout that she must figure out these life lessons by herself, and cannot rely off Jem. Scout must soon fit the pieces together and do something about it.
ReplyDelete