Throughout the novel, we as audience memebers are forced to view the events of the story through the eyes of a child - Scout's. This creates an interesting dillemma for the reader. The story is in no way childish or simplistic (in fact, it's incerdibly sophsticated and adult), but it still manages to maintain a tone of child-like innocence. We see an adult world through the eyes of a child.
Your task: Find a passage in the novel in which we as readers must interpret the true nature of a given situation. In other words, discuss a passage in which Scout sees the events of her life one way, but we are supposed to see them another way.
Your paragraph should be thoughtful and thorough. It should include a quotation with correct parenhetical citation. It should contain a claim (topic sentence), evidence (context and quotation), and a warrant (an explanation of how the quote proves the topic sentence). All rule of grammar and punctuation apply. Pay attention to your tense, your person, etc. Be sure to read all of the entries before you create your own. Remember, no repeats.
Scout tends to do many unruly things she does not realize.In many chapters but especially chapter nine Scout cusses about a lot of things. She cusses about things from her teacher to her Uncle's stories. When Jem asks about Uncle Jack's cat Scout says "she's gettin' fat." her uncle says " I should think so, She eats all the leftover fingers and ears from the hospital." After what she thinks is an absurd story she says "Aw, that's a damn story." (Lee 104) Even though we know that cussing is an unruly way to go about things, in Scout's eyes she thinks that cussing is a normal thing to do like breathing. After her uncle says that cussing is unladylike, she wants to do it more because she would be teased by Jem if she was to be ladylike. Even though know she is older and understands she now realizes that cussing was not the best thing to do.
ReplyDeleteBrendan - I think what you're really getting at here is a little kid acting like an adult. That's what we find funny about the passage. This is why South Park is such a hit - little kids cussing and actin like adults. It is this juxtaposition of images, a child and cursing, that creates humor. And yes, we as adults know that little kids should not curse, and yes, we know that when they do, they do it poorly. They know the lyrics, but they get the tune all wrong.
ReplyDeleteScout can see events happen in they eyes of a little child, which she is. But, what she see's or hears, usually is not the absolute truth about what happend. Because Scout is just a little kid, she might over react to an event or statement givin to her. Like when it snowed for the first time in Maycomb in 100 years. When Scout was playing outside, Mr. Avery came outside and told Scout that it had snowed because "bad children like you makes the season change" (Lee 65) Scout takes that "insult" seriously and actually thinks that Mr. Avery was mad at her and blaming her for the snow. When the audience reading the book knows that in reality, Mr. Avery might have been mad that it had snowed, but the comment was directed as a playful joke not an insult to Scout.
ReplyDeleteWhile Atticus was gone dealing with the legislature issues, Calpurnia sayed with Scout and Jem. Calpurnia realized that Atticus hadn't made sure that the children's teacher would be at chuch to make sure they behaved. Calpurnia decided to take them to church with her. A woman at church, Lula, is not happy that white children are at their church and fights Cal about it. After church, Scout questions cal about Tom, rape, and about why Cal talks two different ways. "Cal," I asked, "why do you talk nigger-talk to the --- to your folks when you know it's not right?" (Lee 167) Scout is too young to understand why Cal acts differently around the white and black people. She also is too young to understand the subject of racism. She thinks everyone is the same, which is true, but in this time period that is not what people think. Scout also does not understand the difference between both communities.
ReplyDeleteScout tends to think too seriuosly about minor situations because of the little kid that she is. However, the readers look at it in a different perspective. In chapter 14, Dill and Scout are talking about where they can get babies. Scout says that "God drops 'em down the chimney" and Dill says that a man has "all these babies" and "he breathes life into 'em" (Lee 191-192). Scout and Dill seemed very serious about getting babies. They seemed very confident that that is where babies come from, while the readers think that this is humorous because the readers know that this is definitely not true.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter fourteen, Scout is misleading.
ReplyDeleteWhen Scout finds Dill under her bed, and asks him, "How'd you get here?"(Lee 186), Dill goes on to tell about how his father chained him up, and he "survived on raw field peas from a passing farmer" (186). When he got free from his chains, he joined a passing circus show until his "infallible sense of direction told him he was in Abbott County, just across the river from Maycomb" (187). Jem also believes Dill's story because he asks Dill how he got from Abbott County to Maycomb (187). Scout believes what Dill says even though we know it to be unrealistic. From what we know about Dill's previous lying experiences, we can gather that Dill is lying. However, Scout is too young to realize this, and her naivety reflects back on how she believes what Dill says, especially after he lied to her before.
In chapter five Dill asks Scout to marry him and and promises that they will get married when they are old enough. Dill told Scout that she "was the only girl he would ever love" (Lee 55). Readers find this somewhat entertaining because lots of relationships will never last that long. Scout and Dill are serious about getting married eventually even though us as readers know it will never happen.
ReplyDeleteIn chater 2 of the book when Scout goes to school for the first time, Walter Cunningham does not have his lunch because his family is poor. Miss Caroline allows Walter to use her quarter as long as he pays her back. But Walter does not accept the money and Miss Caroline does not know why. So Scout stands up and says "Miss Caroline, he's a Cunningham" (Lee 26). Scout thought that she "made things sufficiently clear" (26). But Miss Caroline is not from Maycomb and does not know the infamous families there. So she had no idea what Scout was talking about and Scout is speaking a little bit vague. Then Scout ends up getting whipped because Miss Caroline has enough of Scout.
ReplyDeleteScout the narrator may act very adult-like to the reader, but scout is actually still just a kid. She still is misleading and she doesn’t understand many word. Throughout the book Scout misunderstands words and believes almost everything she is told. In chapter nine, an instance of this occured. When Uncle Jack is talking to Scout about the fight she had with Francis, Scout asks Uncle Jack "what's a whore-lady?"(Lee 99). After, the Scout the narrator says "Uncle Jack plunged into another long tale about an old Prime Minister who sat in the House of Commons and blew feathers air and tried to keep them there when all about him men were losing their heads"(Lee 99). Scout believed Uncle Jack that he was explaining what a whore-lady was, but we know he was actually trying to avoid answering her question. In many other chapters there are similar instances where this happened. Scout is intelligent, but she still acts like a child her age. She misunderstands words and believes in inconceivable stories people tell her. Scout can be very childlike in this book.
ReplyDeleteBrendan - I get what you are saying. I do agree with it. I agree with it because i also wrote about an instance where Scout was acting very childlike eventhough she may seem very adult-like. Also i agree with you becuase i do understand now, that sometimes Scout may not even Know that she is being very childish.
ReplyDeleteIn the book Scout is an adult retelling her story as a child. Thus she sees a lot of things that adults think are funny or totally not true to be seriouse and really the truth. After the inccident of Atticus shooting the mad dog Scout finds out that her father is the best shooter around. She asks Miss. Maudie why Atticus never told them about his skill. Miss Maudie replies that Atticus realized that,"god had given him an un fair advantage"(Lee 130)over all the game he was hunting because he was good at shooting. When Scout hears this she does not undersatnd and says,"looks like he'd be proud of it"(Lee 130). As an adult one can tell that Atticus is a fair person and that's why he doesn't want to shoot animals if they don't have a fair chance of survival. This is also why he doesn't tell Scout or Jem about his shooting skills since he is trying to forget that part of him. Scout doesnt understand why he wouldn't want to brag about the fact that Atticus is the best dead shot shooter in the town since she knows she would love to tell her friends about her dads cool skill. this is another childish thinking of Scout.
ReplyDeleteBrendan i agree with you. Scout doesn't take cussing as seriousely as we would since she is just a child. She thinks that cussing is cool, it will keep her more close to Jem since it's unlady like, and she wants to try and get out of school by proving that school only teaches you bad habbits. Scout uses cuss words without understanding the seriousness of it since she is just a kid and feels it's no big deal.
ReplyDeleteIn To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout is starting to grow up faster now, but she is still a child. For example in chapter 14, Scout believes that no one can tell her what to do. Jem tries to give her innocent advice about how she should not get Aunty and Atticus upset. And even though Jem is older and probably knows what he is talking about, Scout thinks she knows better. This happens quite often throughout the book, but chapter 14 is just an example. But in this chapter, her and Jem really get into it. She was sick and tired of having Jem always trying to tell her what to do. And I can relate to this, when my sister tries to tell me what to do, I get upset also, it is just the feeling of being treated like a litte kid. And no one wants that. Scout was acting very childish by not letting Jem give her some advice and by starting a fight with him. And when she told Atticus that Jem had started the fight, that was not exactly the truth. She was trying to act like an adult by trying to be independent and not take simple suggestions from the people around her.
ReplyDeleteMatt- Thanks for agreeing, I also agree with yours because most readers recognized Uncle Jack was avoiding the question, but Scout had no clue. Which I also thought was funny.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mitch on his example. Scout tells Francis not to say anything about that fact that Dill and her "are getting married as soon as we're big enough." As little kids, we all make a funny joke every once in a while, like I am going to marry a celebrity or they have a big crush on a boy or girl in their class. But, the humorous thing about Scout and Dill's "marriage" is that they are completly serious about running off and getting married as soon as they have enough money. They are trying to act like adults but in reality, they probably will not marry each other. People rarely marry the person they dated in high school.
ReplyDeleteIn the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout is a narrator looking back at her life as a child. Though Scout as an adult is extremely intelligent and sophisticated, she can mislead you with her tone. For example, on page 16 Jem is giving a terrifying description of Boo Radley that Scout says was reasonable. "he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were blood stained." (Lee 16) As you can see, Scout believs this. She is so scared by waht she doesn't know that she leaves us to interpret that that's probably not true. As an audience we want to believe Scout because she's our only reliable source, but we know that he really doesn't eat cats.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the book of To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout is telling the story as an adult from the eyes of a little kid. Since she does, the readers have to interpret and has to know what Scout is saying. In this book, there is numerous times where Scout says the events in her eyes of a little kid while the readers are supposed to view the situation in a different way. For example in the beginning of chapter twelve, Jem, Scout’s brother, has grown up. He is now twelve years old and had reached the age of maturity. Many people know that in the process of growing up, people tend to get moody and impatient. Also, kids that are in the process tend to eat much more than they have done before. However, Scout, only being a little kid, did not know what was happening to her brother when Jem had behaved such ways. Scout asks Atticus, “Reckon he’s got a tapeworm?” (Lee 153) To this, Atticus told Scout that “Jem is growing” and that Scout “must be patient and disturb him as little as possible” (Lee 153). When the author says this, the readers could assume that Jem is going through puberty. However, it does not say it directly in the book. The readers have to think a little before determining what is happening to Jem. They just cannot decide that Jem has tapeworms since Scout says Jem does. Scout is only a little kid, who does not get everything that is happening to the world. So the readers have to not be so oblivious and really pay attention to what Scout really wants the readers to comprehend.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 14, when Scout explains her day at church with Calpurnia, Scout asks to go visit Cal at her house on Sunday. Before Atticus answers, aunt Alexandra immediately says "You may not" (Lee 181) in a tone that sounded amazed Scout would even ask such a thing. Scout gets irritated with her aunt and says "I didn't ask you!" (181) which got Atticus a bit angry that Scout would speak to her aunt that way. Scout is used to Atticus letting her do basically whatever she wants, so visiting Cal would most likely be fine - but when Alexandra says no, Scout is confused on why this is such a problem. She acts like a child in this 'scene' because at this time in U.S history, it wasn't everyday that white kids had such relationships with african americans, Scout being oblivioius to this though. Scout did not understand that black and white people were not equal (yet) and showed immaturity on her part on what was going on in the rest of the country at this point.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Raina. Many times in the book, Scout had took Jem seriously when she is not suppose to. Not everyting that Scout says is what Scout wants the readers to believe. In Raina's example, Scout says that Boo Radly ate " raw squirrels" and "any cats he could cath" (Lee 16). However, the readers could tell that this statement is probbaly untrue. Most men does not eat "raw squirrels" and "an cats he could catch" (Lee 16).
ReplyDeleteI agree with Min. I thought it was funny that Scout thought Jem had tapeworms because he was going through puberty, but Scout didn't understand this.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the story is narrated by the adult version of Scout we are seeing the story through the child Scouts eyes, because of this Scout at times can seem very adult like but in reality she is still a little kid. An example of this is when Scout was explaining how when her Uncle Jack comes over every christmas he "yelled across the street for Miss. Maudie to come marry him" (Lee 58). Scout then tells us how she thinks that that was a "strange way to ask for a lady's hand in marriage" (Lee 58). As a six year old she does not understand that he Uncle Jack is not being serious when asking Miss. Maudie to marry him. But being the audience and being more mature we understand the humor behind it. Not only is it humorous because of Uncle Jack but it is also funny because Scout takes it literally thinking he is really asking her to marry him because he "was just trying to get Miss. Maudie's goat" (Lee 58).
ReplyDeleteI also agree with mitch's comment because all little kids at some point were dating or going to get married to their kindergarden or first grade sweet heart and i just think it is so funny because of how serious Dill and Scout are about it. Just like all of us were when we were in first grade with our boyfriends/ girlfriends or future wives/husbands.
ReplyDeleteTammy Song said...
ReplyDeleteThe narrator in "To Kill A Mockingbird" is the adult version of Scout telling us about her childhood. Of course, since Scout is already grown up, she tells her own story like an adult would, but she is describing her story like she is twenty years younger so that we may see the perspective of Scout at that age. Close to the end of chapter 15, Scout notices Mr. Cunningham in a mob to get Tom Robinson from the Maycomb County jail Tom is held in. Everyone is in a serious mood creating this intense atmosphere. Then, suddenly, Scout comes in and talks to Mr. Cunningham like nothing is happening. She says "Don't you remember me, Mr. Cunningham?" (Lee 153) as to get his attention. "I go to school with Walter....He's in my grade. He's a real nice boy...Tell him hey for me, won't you?" (Lee 154). She pushes it further "Entailments are bad." (Lee 154). This whole scene is about how these men were going attack them along with Tom Robinson and then this little nine year old girl steps in to remind them how unreasonable they are acting.
In chapter 2, Scout is questioning whether she deliberately lerned to read or not. Scout thinks: " In the long hours of church- was it then i learned?"(23 Lee). This can show the reader that she is not really sure about how she has more knowledge than th other kids and how she has been learning more and more things quickly. We as readers can interpret this situation because with her dad being a lawyer, she is sitting at home listening to the news everyday and staring at Atticus's work and how he writes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Molly because that is a great example of the difference between actual reality and the things that go through children's minds. It does show how different the level of how the character is actually being serious and when the adult is just joking around
ReplyDeleteScout is talking about how she dislikes the second grade. She is trying to describe that "it was not until one reached the sixth grade that one learned anything of value" (Lee 79). Scout is describing this as an adult from a childs view and it shows because Scout has been in school for a year and she has obviusly learned things in school.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Molly's comment about how scout takes it seriously when Uncle Jack asks Miss Maudie to marry her from across the street because it shows how Scout views these types of situations.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator of this book, Scout, is reflecting what she did as a child. The readers see the story through her as a child. In chapter 11, scout is talking about Jem's birthday and says, "his money was burning up his pockets"(Lee 116). When children get money, their first thought is to spend it all right away. As adults, people invest their money and try to save for future needs.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Raina because while reading this book, everything that Scout says makes us want to believe her. You kind of start to trust her in away. No matter how unbelievable a story may be, if you trust the person you will believe them.
ReplyDeleteIn the first chapter, when both Dill and Jem meet, Dill proudly tells Jem that he can read and "[...] anything that needs readin' I can do it..." (Lee 18) To Dill, reading seems like a gift that sets you apart from the rest. He feels the need to say that but looking at it from an adults' point of view, it might seem quite amusing.
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