Chapter 16
Page 208 Chapter 16’s setting started at the Finch’s house when Scout, Jem and Dill arrived home after their downtown adventure to spy on Atticus. When they get home Scout starts to rehash the night’s events and when she finally put everything together and starts to cry. Jem hearing this comes to console her while actually being caring and nice for a change. This action of Jem’s shows a theme of maturity and how Jem is learning to put his feelings aside to console and help others in need.
Page209 The next morning Aunt Alexandra was, “radiating waves of disapproval,” when she found out that Jem and Scout sneaked out the past night to go spy on Atticus. Aunt Alexandra believes that kids who slips out at night were are a disgrace to the family. Atticus replied with a witty remark of, “I was right glad my disgraces came along.” This page shows the constant fight between Aunt Alexandra and Atticus. This is a person versus person conflict which has been everlasting since Aunt Alexandra moved in. I believe that Atticus and Aunt Alexandra are representations of what Scout and Jem’s relationship will be like when they mature.
Page 210 Scout and Jem show their intelligence by digging deeper into the events of last night and start interrogating Atticus. We then realize where they get their intelligence from when Atticus shows his wisdom in his answer. He states that a, “mob is always made up of people and they can be stopped because their simply human.” This shows Atticus’s character perfectly how he can keep calm and very serious situations, analyze it, and break it down so everyone can understand it.
Page 211 There is a great example of a exaggeration when Dill comes bounding into their dining room announcing that, “It’s all over town this morning, all about how we held off a hundred folks with our bare hands.” It is exaggeration because there wasn’t anywhere near a hundred people and Scout just put some sense into them with the power of language, which made them flee. As Jem Finch stated, “that’s just Dill’s way.”
Page 212
Page 213 There is an allusion by Miss Stephanie Crawford from all the people heading to town for the Tom Robison case, “-you’d think William Jennings Bryan was speaking’.” William Jennings Bryan was a leading American politician from the 1890’s till his death in 1925.
Page 214&215 Jem, Scout and Dill after dinner go to town to watch Atticus’s case. On their way they see Mr. Dolphus Raymond sitting with the colored people instead of the whites. Mr. Raymond is one of few who respect the blacks in Maycomb and is actually married to one. They have produced mixed babies, who are isolated because the blacks won’t accept them because their part white and vice versa. The theme of isolation is front and centre, because they are in the middle, they are creations that are ahead of their respected time period. Page 216 There is my favorite quote of this chapter by Jem finch, “but around here once you have a drop of Negro blood, that makes you all black.” This quote represents the time period they are in by showing that even if your 99% white you are still considered black. This shows how much the colored folk were antagonized during that time.
Page 217 We have the second setting of this chapter; the courthouse in downtown Maycomb. We also have what I think is the significant object in this chapter; the courthouse. The courthouse is the significant to this chapter because it is where the chapter is focused around. It is where everyone is trying to get to. The courthouse also shows the different levels of respect between black and whites and where they stand in their society because of where they get seated. That is why the courthouse is significant to this chapter. Page 218 Scout, Jem and Dill enter the courthouse for Atticus’s case when Scout looses Jem and Dill in the large crowd and gets stuck behind Idlers’ Club. We have a good description of the Idlers’ Club; “white shirt, khaki trouser, suspendered old men.” Scout overhears their conversation and gets the information that Atticus did not choose to defend Tom Robinson, he was appointed by the court. He had to do it. This puts a whole new perspective on things; it would have helped all their encounters about Atticus lawing for Negros if they knew the reason why, which raises the question why didn’t Atticus tell them? I believe Atticus did not tell them, because he wanted to do the case. He did not want his kids going around telling others something that wasn’t true. Atticus wasn’t a coward, he had the courage to accept the case and fight for it until it was done.
Page 218(last couple paragraphs) &219 These two pages really show the theme of prejudice. Of how the colored people had to let all the white persons in first before they could find their seats in the courtroom and how even smaller white children like Jem, Scout and Dill outranked them. The seats of the courthouse were not a first come first serve as it was; first all whites then blacks. The whites got all the front rows then blacks got standing room, balcony or not even allowed in. In today’s modern society we would see that as unfair and disrespectful but back then it was just a way of life.
Page 220&221 It sets the scene for the next chapter. Harper Lee’s diction makes us feels like we are in that courtroom getting ready to watch the case. She describes the room and people in it so well to make us believe that we are a part of it. These two pages are bridges leading to bigger thing s in this novel like the trail.
Superstar of Chapter: Is Atticus because he manages to stay calm during his roughest time. He is having a person versus self conflict in which he knows that defending Tom Robinson is right but the effects on his family is not. Even with his inner battle Atticus still manages to love and respect his children during this time and that is why he is the superstar of this chapter. Final Summary
In summary this chapter had 3 major themes of prejudice, isolation and maturity; it was in an important chapter to the buildup of the main parts of the story and demonstrated the divisions between white and blacks. That is what I believed to be the main parts of chapter 16
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