[First half of blog below]
I'm continuing this blog here, because my focus has shifted from school to when Dill returns to Maycomb the next summer.
When Dill comes back the next summer, Jem, Scout and Dill are bored. They decide to push each other in an old car tire down the sidewalk. When Scout takes her turn, though, Jem decides to push her extra hard because she contradicted him on something he told them earlier. Scout can't get out of the tire, and rolls right into the Radley yard. She comes out so scared that she yells at Jem to get the tire. What I found interesting is what he says on page 50 when he comes back with the tire. "'See there?" Jem was scowling triumphantly. 'Nothin' to it. I swear, Scout, sometimes you act so much like a girl it's mortifyin'.'" Jem acts like Scout isn't a girl, but a younger brother. Often times boys call each other girls when one is a "scaredy-cat" or acts cowardly. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout acts like it's an insult to be called a girl when she is, in fact, a female. I wondered. Why is Scout so offended when she is called a girl? Does she believe that she is a boy?
As the summer progresses, Scout spends less and less time with Jem and Dill, enduring the pain of being called a girl. Scout also begins to spend more time with Miss Maudie. She is starting to grow into a young woman rather than staying a complete tomboy. Soon after, on page 61, Scout tries to join Jem and Dill in what they are playing. They tell her to go away, but Scout is persistent and keeps nagging them. Finally she agrees to do whatever they say in order to know what is going on. At this time, Jem and Dill are beginning to use their "male superiority" to influence Scout. Basically what their actions say is that if Scout wants to stay a tomboy, she has to listen to those who are actually boys and who have a higher rank than she does.
When they do try to implement Dill's plan, Atticus catches them in the act and tells them to stop making fun of Mr. Radley with their acting. This seems to put Jem in his place, at least for a little while, when he realizes that he was done in by the "oldest lawyers trick on record".
On the last night that Dill is staying in Maycomb, Jem and Dill plan something new. Scout suspects something's up when Dill says "I know what, let's go for a walk." on page 68. Scout states that "nobody in Maycomb just went for a walk," showing that people in Maycomb only walked when they were planning on doing something specific or going to a specific place. Scout senses that something's up, and tries to stop them, but Jem calls her a girl and so she comes along. Because of the way Jem is acting, it's clear to see that while he cared earlier about his little sister and what would happen to her if he didn't come back from a dare, he doesn't now. "'If I got killed, what'd become of you?'" (page 17) Now he just wants Scout out of the way. He's using her "girly" side to influence her into following them.
When they get into the yard and sneak up to the house, Mr. Nathan Radley sees them and shoots up in the air to scare them off, thinking that they were Negroes. When Jem and Dill and Scout come up to the crowd that is wondering why Mr. Radley shot, Dill lies and tells Atticus that they were playing strip poker, and that is why Jem isn't wearing shorts. In reality, Jem lost his shorts at the Radley place, but fears being humiliated by his father, as shown on page 75 by how he reacts to Scout's statement: "'Mr. Nathan's gonna find 'em in the morning, Jem. He knows you lost 'em. When he shows 'em to Atticus it'll be pretty bad, that's all there is to it. Go'n back to bed.' 'That's what I know,' said Jem. That's why I'm goin' after 'em.'"
When Jem does get his pants back, they've been fixed - not very well, but they've been fixed - and soon after they start finding other things in the knothole in the tree on the Radley's property. They find carved soap figures of themselves, and a ball of twine. They also find a pocketwatch and a whole pack of gum. I believe that Arthur "Boo" Radley is leaving the things for the children. What doesn't make sense is that when Mr. Nathan Radley fills in the hole, why Jem is so devastated. At first, when they first found the knothole, Jem said that anything in it was poisoned because it was on Radley property, but now he feels lost without it.
The way that this story is written still bores me, but it has a good storyline and many plot twists and hidden information for the reader.
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P.S. More To Kill a Mockingbird coming soon!
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