The Empty Gun

       In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout imagines Atticus walking into the street and raising a rifle to his shoulder knowing the whole time that the gun was empty, because it resembles what he's doing for Tom Robinson. Atticus knows he isn't going to win the case, but he accepts it and tries his hardest to represent Tom. This can also relate back to Mrs. Dubose. She knew there was no point in trying to become not addicted to morphine, but she did it anyway to feel free. "It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin it anyway and see it through no matter what" (Lee 149). Atticus knew that there was no hope for Tom Robinson, but he defended him anyway because he wanted to do the right thing, and wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't. Atticus's reaction to the verdict was very calm because he was expecting it; Jem wasn't. After everybody's testimonies it was clear that Tom Robinson did no harm to Mayella. Therefore Jem thought for sure Tom would be ruled innocent. When the verdict was declared guilty, Jem was shocked but Atticus wasn't because he knew from the start that they jury would never choose a black man over a white man. The empty rifle signifies Atticus's actions of defending Tom Robinson because he tried his hardest, but he knew the whole time that there was no chance of him winning the case.

- Molly

Wrong Move

In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson unintentionally expresses his pity for Mayella Ewell and puts himself in a difficult situation. When Mr. Gilmer says "You're a mighty good fellow, it seems-did all this for not one penny?" (Lee 263), Tom replies by saying he felt sorry for Mayella and just wanted to help. He quickly realizes that he shouldn't have said that. In Maycomb, white people are ranked higher on the social pyramid, given more respect, and always get their way. If a black person were to say something hurtful to a white person, the black person would probably get beat up. However  if a white person were to say something mean to a black person, the white person would be able to walk away without a scratch. By saying he feels sorry for Mayella, Tom makes the jury assume that he thinks of himself higher than the white people. Since the jury assumes that, they believe he is boastful and uncaring about the case. Mayella, because she is white, is already getting more pity and support. Tom puts himself further into trouble by saying he feels sympathetic for Mayella.

-Jenny

Rejected

Although she tries to create an image for herself as a victim and not wanting to fit into the society that she lives in, Mayella Ewell is very alone and has nobody to talk to. She is not accepted by society and not appreciated by her family, making her "the loneliest person in the world" (Lee 256). She cannot talk to her father, because it is like walking into a cave without knowing what is inside. Because of Mr. Ewell's drinking and generally foul mood, Mayella has no way of knowing how he will react to anything she says; she does not know when he will yell at her or even beat her. Her younger siblings are not viable options for her to talk to, because they are too young to understand what she is going through at nineteen years old. The other White people in Maycomb will not converse with her because she is a Ewell; she is the dirt under the feet of 1935 white America, only a small step above black people at that time. She cannot interact with the black community of Maycomb, because it is not socially acceptable for a white person to mix with black society, and because some black people do not welcome white people into their community.  Mayella needs somebody to talk to; she needs some form of human interaction that does not involve getting yelled at or beaten, so she calls in Tom Robinson to jobs for her. Eventually, when Mayella feels so rejected by society, both white and black, and is in such dire need for intimacy with somebody, she makes advances on Tom Robinson, an easy target who Mayella thought did not have the mental strength to resist her. By accusing Tom Robinson of rape, Mayella is trying to cover up how desperate she is for company. Mayella Ewell tries to get close to Tom Robinson to compensate for the neglect she feels from lack of interaction with other people.

-Jackie

Glimmer's Techniques (Emory)

During the trial, Glimmer uses the technique of treating Tom Robinson like an inferior to intimidate him. Throughout his cross-examination, Glimmer calls Robinson "boy" and cuts him off constantly, while also asking him many questions at once, trying to confuse him. Robinson doesn't know what to do, and seems nervous, because Glimmer is questioning his honesty by asking if he is telling the truth and Mayella was lying. the way that Glimmer treats Robinson makes Dill cry. Scout takes him outside for a breath of fresh air because she thinks he is sick, but, actually, he is not. He says, "It ain't right, somehow it ain't right to do 'em that way. Hasn't anybody got business talkin' like that-it just makes me sick" (Lee 266). Dill is referring to the way that Glimmer treated Robinson, and how he tried to intimidate the poor, helpless witness.

-Emory

Dolphus Raymond

In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Dolphus Raymond is in the book to represent a role model for favoring colored people instead of who he is, a white, and is also a good representation of Maycomb who is hung up by the past. Just like the town, Dolphus Raymond has been having a hard time moving away from his past. He's so hung up in his wife's suicide just before their wedding that "he's been drunk ever since" (Lee 215). He felt some sort of guilt because his wife knew he was having an affair so he felt like it was his fault for her passing. Since Dolphus Raymond had children with a colored woman, his children are half white, half black. After Jem asks why half white, half black people are sad he replies "They don't belong anywhere. Colored folks won't have 'em because they're half white; white folks won't have 'em 'cause they're colored, so they're just in betweens, don't belong anywhere." (Lee 215) Unlike most members of the Maycomb community, Dolphus Raymond reaches out and is good to these children with no true identity. He plays a large role as a role model for the rest of the citizens of town, including Jem and Scout. Dolphus Raymond seems to be a man who he doesn't care too much about his reputation. He took the risks of sitting with the colored people and dating a colored woman regardless of what people thought of him, as long as he was happy. In conclusion, Dolphus Raymond was in this book to be willing cross lines that could potentially ruin his reputation and to represent the lack of progress that Maycomb has made since the past.

-Kim

A Gang Of Animal's, Are Still Human

A lynch mob has formed in front of the jail cell of Tom Robinson, in an act of bravery by Jem and Scout they make the mob realize that this isn't right and Mr. Cunningham call's off their mob. Atticus has left the house for the night to protect his client, Tom Robinson. A lynch mob was formed because a group of Cunningham type people have had too many drinks and don't know any other way to express there hatred of black people. When Scout stands up to them and asks Mr. Cunningham is he could tell his son that she says hello, Mr. Cunningham realizes that he needs to go home and that they aren't making any difference in Atticus's mindset. When they all form the mob, they feel more powerful together and that's why they would do things that they wouldn't normally do on their own.

- Cooper

New Form

     In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout is born and does not remember her own mother. She died when Scout was two years old. Because of this she has no feminine figure to model off of. She grows up like her older brother, Jem, who wears breeches. Scout is the opposite of a lady. People are constantly yelling at her to become a proper lady, especially Mrs. Dubose. There is one person in the novel who desires Scout to become a lady even more than Mrs. Dubose. It is Aunt Alexandra.
     Scout's Aunt Alexandra comes to stay at the Finch house to teach Scout how to be a lady. "Aunt Alexandra fitted into the world of Maycomb like a hand in a glove but never into the world of Jem and me. " (Lee, pg. 175). Although Alexandra is family, Jem and Scout will consistently reject as their Aunt that they love. For Scout to be a proper lady, it might take a while for her to mature. Having people try to teach her will not work. Atticus needs to let Scout take her natural course.
-Shayan

To Kill A Mad Dog

In the book To Kill A Mockingbird , Atticus has many different, and intelligent views, on many  topics. One of his views is that it's a sin to kill a mockingbird, but it's okay to kill a mad dog. I think he said this because these two animals have characteristics that make them very different from each other. A mockingbird is very innocent and all it does is bring joy and happiness to the world, through its singing. As for the mad dog, all it does is cause panic and fear wherever it goes. A mockingbird gives to the world, where as a mad dog takes from the world. That is why Atticus thinks it's a sin to kill a mockingbird and it's okay to kill a mad dog.

-Jamie

Courage

Atticus's definition of courage states that being courageous means standing up for something important even if the odds aren't in your favor. Atticus uses Ms. Dubose to show this. Ms. Dubose knows that she is sick and she understands that she will die soon but she chose to fight her addiction to Morphine rather that just give up. She understands that it is pointless to keep on fighting her addiction but she does so anyway, showing her courage.  This is shown on page 148 when Atticus says, "It's all right to take anything to make it feel better...She said she meant to break her self of it before she died and that's what she did.
Atticus's statement also connects to his decision to take on Tom Robinson's case. Due to the political climate of the time, even if Tom Robinson is innocent, it is impossible that he would win. Atticus understands that but because of his conscience he accepts the case. The odds are definitely not in Atticus's favor with this case but he continues to defend Tom showing that he is truly courageous.
-Erica

Having Two Bodies

Calpurnia, the black maid in Atticus's house in the book, To Kill a Mockingbird has a very unique double life. She works at Atticus's house during the day and sleeps in the "black headquarters" on the other side of town. One Sunday when Atticus is busy working on another trial Calpurnia take Jem and Scout to the Macomb's black church an old building, called First Purchase. When all the colored folks greet Calpurnia she replies with "nigger talk." She says "They's my comp'ny (Lee 158)" when Lula asks what Calpurnia is doing bring white children to a black church. Jem and Scout never heard Calpurnia talk like this before so after church ends Scout asks why Calpurnia doesn't talk like the rest of the colored folks at Atticus's house. Calpurnia says that she has to talk to the colored folks with "nigger talk" because she is black. Jem tells her that Calpurnia knows better but she answers with,  "It’s not ladylike—in the second place, folks 
don’t like to have somebody around knowin‘ more than they do. It aggravates ’em. 
You’re not gonna change any of them by talkin‘ right, they’ve got to want to learn 
themselves, and when they don’t want to learn there’s nothing you can do but keep your 
mouth shut or talk their language. (Lee 167)” Calpurnia has a complicated double life that never struck Jem and Scout. Since Calpurnia is black she has to be part of Atticus's community and part of the black community she has grown up in.

-Josh

Mockingbird Metaphor

“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . . but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (Lee, page. 119)

            In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses many important quotes to give the readers a foreshadow of what's later to come. One of the most important quotes come in chapter ten, on page 119, when Lee refers to mockingbirds for the first time in the book. The passage is about the title (To Kill A Mockingbird) and how there's no reason to harm a mockingbird because all they do is good for the world and bring peaceful music for people to enjoy. This introduces one of the key metaphors of the book; the idea of a mockingbird as a good, innocent being that is being harmed by humans. Boo Radley is an example of a person who doesn't harm anybody, but leaves Jem and Scout gifts and wraps Scout up in blanket to keep her warm in the cold, yet Boo is locked in his house for possibly being a troublesome teenager.

      -Cooper

"Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win".

In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus never believes in slavery and teaches Scout to never give up. On page 76 Atticus say's, "Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win". When Atticus says, "No reason for us not to try to win", he means that he knows from the beginning that he isn't going to win the court case. Even though he knows they're likely to lose, he doesn't give up. This is also teaching Scout a good lesson. Never give up even though you know you're going to lose. This quote also plays a role in my family. When my brother went to his first debate tournament, he didn't have confidence in himself.  He didn't think he would get to the finals or even the semi-finals. Then one of his teammate said, "We didn't come here to lose, we came here to win". This automatically gave my brother confidence that they still had a chance of wining. In the end, my brother and his teammate went to the semi-finals. His experience tells me never to give up and keep on trying even if you know you're going to lose. A good quote from the book is when Atticus takes Tom Robinson's case. He says, "I'm simply defending a negro—his name's Tom Robinson" (p.75). Atticus knows he has no chance of winning because many people in Maycomb County are racist. Even though he knows that he's not going to win, he knows he should still fight for Tom Robinson, whether he is guilty or not. Both the quote and my brother's debate experience mean never to give up even though you think you're going to lose.

-Michael 

Mockingbird

In the book To Kill a Mocking Bird, Atticus never had told Scout and Jem that he was a expert marksman because he doesn't want to set a bad example for Jem and Scout. When Jem was going to shoot his air rifle in the back yard Atticus said to him "I'd rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." (Lee 119) Further down on that page Jem asks Miss Maudie what Atticus means by that and she describes it as mockingbirds are innocent creatures who "don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us." (Lee 119) That's why to kill a mockingbird is a sin. Atticus used to shoot lots of animals in one shot until he realized that god had given him an unfair advantage over most living creatures. He decided he wouldn't shoot until he had to. When the sick dog came down the street he felt it was a time when he needed to shoot it because it was "dangerous" and could hurt the people in Maycomb. Atticus doesn't want his children to follow in his footsteps and shoot innocent creatures that they had an unfair advantage over. Atticus referred to a mockingbird as an innocent being in a way to describe to his children that shooting is different from playing piano or learning to ride a bike. In order to perfect this hobby, you were to take the lives of helpless creatures. Atticus never told Jem and Scout that he was an expert marksman because he doesn't want to send the message to his kids that it's ok to take innocent creatures lives for your own pleasure and he doesn't want them to follow in his footsteps.

-Kim

Relationship

In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout and Jem have a very different brother and sister relationship compared to other siblings. They don't always understand each other. When Scout said that "It was then that Jem and I first began to part company", she meant that it was the first time that she fully understood what Jem was thinking. Before Scout said this, Jem was saying that he was going to go back to the Radley house after they both just barely escaped. Scout kept telling him that this was a bad idea. Then he realized that Atticus had never really whipped him and that he really didn't want that to happen. Jem also said "We shouldn'a done that tonight Scout". When he said this I got the impression that he felt bad about what they did and they got so close to getting in trouble that he wished that it had never happened. I conclude that when Scout said the they first began to part company that it was a very big moment in their relationship and that they will start to understand each other more than they did.

-Jamie

Misunderstood

         In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, the character Boo Radley is known as a psychopath in the town of Maycomb. He is known to have stabbed his own father. He was locked in a house for thirty years for committing a petty crime. The only problem is some of these assumptions might not be entirely true. The person that said Boo stabbed his father in the leg was the town gossiper. The story is being told by a six year old child, so the reader has to filter what is true and what is not. What is true, and what is not?

         Scout and Jem find a tree that has gifts in it. They do not know who left these gifts, but they are grateful. When they decide to leave a letter to the generous giver the tree gets sealed up by Nathan Radley. When Jem snaps in front of Atticus, he says that Nathan Radley sealed up the tree and that Nathan is the true crazy one. During the fire Boo puts a blanket around Scout. This shows that Boo is clearly not a crazy psycho. With Nathan sealing up the tree, Jem claiming that Nathan is crazy, and Boo putting a blanket around Scout, which Radley truly is crazy? 

-Shayan

Moving On

Hidden Love

The relationship between Calpurnia, the maid and Scout the narrator, in To Kill a Mockingbird is Calpurnia as the evil stepmother and Scout as the poor child but we have to keep in mind that this is in Scout's view. At first Calpurnia was just a maid that always argued Scout and got her in trouble with Atticus. "She was all angles and bones; she was nearsighted; she squinted; her hand was wide as a bed slat and twice as hard. She was always ordering me out of the kitchen, asking me why I couldn't behave as well as Jem when she knew he was older, and calling me home when I wasn't ready to come. Our battles were epic and one-sided. Calpurnia always won, mainly because Atticus always took her side. She had been with us ever since Jem was born, and I had felt her tyrannical presence as long as I could remember." (Lee 44). This quote makes Calpurnia an evil person and just an evil enemy that was always against Scout. I don't think we could trust Scout perspectives on Calpurnia though because Scout always thought that her own opinions were always right and anyone who opposes her is wrong. Scout never knew that Calpurnia was being hard on Scout because she cared about Scout. Scout's mother died when she was two so she couldn't remember what her mom was like so she never knew how it felt to have a mom. Calpurnia was like Scout's step mom. "Calpurnia bent down and kissed me. I ran along, wondering what had come over her. She had wanted to make up with me, that was it. She had always been too hard on me, she had at last seen the error of her fractious ways, she was sorry and too stubborn to say so." (Lee 38) This quote portrays the hidden love between Calpurnia and Scout that is hiding in the book and lingering in Scout's eyes. 

-Josh

The Name Tells the Story

         In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, families in Maycomb have reputations in which the children must uphold and be judged by. Scout encounters these families' children in school. He knows of Walter Cunningham and the rest of the Cunningham family who don't know where their next meal is coming from. I think Scout bullies Walter a little because on page 30, Scout is rubbing Walter's nose into dirt. I think this has a bit of symbolism because scout is trying to show Walter that he is better than him. Scout also encounters Burris Ewell at school. The Ewells go to the first day of school every year, and expect the teacher to mark them absent for the rest of the year. The Ewells, along with the Cunningham family, are very poor. The Ewells however, live like animals and are looked down upon by everyone else. I think because Maycomb in such a small town, the word of these families gets around and then people just expect each and every one of them to be just like one another. An example of this is the Radley family. People judge them because they have heard stories about Boo Radley and his Psycho because of what gets around in their small town. Now people don't even eat pecans that fall from the Radley tree. Atticus teaches Scout that he can't judge these families until he knows what it is like. "...You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-" (Lee 39) Families in Maycomb get judged on how they live which is unfair because maybe one of those days, they just might change.

~Brianne

Items in the Tree

The items in the tree may be gifts for the children; they could be a sign that Boo Radley is alive and not actually dangerous.  In the first chapters, Boo Radley is portrayed as a psychopath. This is what we hear from the children. When Jem and Scout first discover the items in the tree near the Radley Place, they think that it could be someone's hiding place, or some child had lost it. Jem had said, "Naw, don't anyboy much but us pass by there, unless its some grown person's" (Lee 46). Scout then said that no grown people have hiding places, and questioned why would someone hide gum. It is a known that no one really passes by the tree with the items in it, and it is highly unlikely that it is a hiding place. This means that the items in the tree could be gifts for Jem and Scout. Now, the question is, who left the gifts for them? Scout later accidentally rolls into the Radley Place in a tire, and she hears laughter coming from inside the house. This is another sign that Boo Radley is alive, which means there is an even greater chance that he left the gifts. If it is Boo Radley that left the gifts, the question is why would they be harmless, and actually helpful, considering he was crazy. "The gum looked fresh. I sniffed it, and it smelled alright. I licked it and waited for a while. When I did not die, I crammed it into my mouth." (Lee 44). The gum given to Scout was fresh, which means someone - Boo Radley - had put it there very recently; the gum was also not poisonous; the Indian-heads for Jem were good luck charms. If it was Boo Radley who left them, then he had no intentions to hurt the children, and may actually be helping them. All in all, the items in the tree are highly possible to be from Boo Radley to the children, as a sign that he is not who the children think he is.

~ Athena
(edited)

Tree Gifts

         I think that the sets of items that Scout found in the tree mean that Boo Radley knows the kids are there, and he's giving them presents to show that he is still alive, even if they think he is dead. Jem tells Scout that the gum and pennies are someone else's, and that the person is using the tree as a safe-keeping place. I think the items are from Boo Radley, and I believe that Jem might suspect that too. "'But these are important to somebody'... Before Jem went to his room, he looked for a long time at the Radley Place. He seemed to thinking again" (Lee 47). Jem won't tell Scout about his suspicions because he's afraid it will scare her; that's why he keeps reassuring her that Boo Radley is probably dead. Both of the gifts came in pairs, and I think the reason they did was because one was meant for Jem, and the other meant for Scout. I predict that the gifts will keep coming until they both think that Boo Radley is the giver. For now, it remains a mystery. I think that Boo Radley wants the kids to know that he is living, and is trying to communicate that to them through his presents.