At the beginning of To Kill a Mockingbird, daily life revolves around summertime activities. Scout and Jem are play buddies, who do pretty much as they please, and are only beholden to Atticus and Calpurnia for their behavior. This remains the status quo in the Finch household for two years, and up until chapter 13 when Aunt Alexandra comes to live with her brother's family. With Aunt Alexandra's presence, changes in the house include, missionary...
At the beginning of To Kill a Mockingbird, daily life revolves around summertime activities. Scout and Jem are play buddies, who do pretty much as they please, and are only beholden to Atticus and Calpurnia for their behavior. This remains the status quo in the Finch household for two years, and up until chapter 13 when Aunt Alexandra comes to live with her brother's family. With Aunt Alexandra's presence, changes in the house include, missionary tea parties, pressure on the children to behave and dress differently, and discussions about "gentle breeding" and "Fine Folks." Scout discusses her Aunt Alexandra in the following passage:
"I never understood her preoccupation with heredity. Somewhere, I had received the impression that Fine Folks were people who did the best they could with the sense they had, but Aunt Alexandra was of the opinion, obliquely expressed, that the longer a family had been squatting on one patch of land the finer it was" (130).
Aunt Alexandra also brings discussions that would not exist in the Finch household without her living there. For example, she pushes Atticus to talk to his kids about her views, which causes Scout to feel insecure about the future of her home. Because of Alexandra's pushing, Scout feels Atticus is not in control anymore. He speaks to the kids about what Alexandra's trying to teach them about their ancestors and Scout cries because she feels like her father has changed. As a result, she and Jem both feel "isolated" (134).
Another change that seems to come with Aunt Alexandra's presence is when Jem seems to act like Scout's parent. He sees how Scout's behavior pits Alexandra against Atticus and he asks Scout "not to antagonize Aunty" (137). Scout thinks Jem is trying to boss her around, but Jem says that he's just to help her understand that Atticus is under enough pressure at the moment without Scout riling up Aunt Alexandra, too. Scout's relationship with Jem changes more and more after this point and this changes the household as well.
The biggest change between Scout and Jem actually comes when they discover a run-away Dill hiding under Scout's bed. Scout feels this change happen when Jem tells Dill that he shouldn't worry his mother by running away and when he goes to tell Atticus on him. Scout says the following:
"Dill's eyes flickered at Jem, and Jem looked at the floor. Then he rose and broke the remaining code of our childhood. He went out of the room and down the hall. 'Atticus,' his voice was distant, 'can you come here a minute, sir?'"
From this point forward, Scout feels as if the household hierarchy fixes her on the bottom. Atticus does clarify when she asks if she must obey Jem, now: "Let's leave it at this: you mind Jem whenever he can make you. Fair enough?" (136). However, Scout must treat Aunt Alexandra respectfully and mind her as much as she should mind Calpurnia.
No comments:
Post a Comment