It came about that Dill's parents were convinced to let him stay in Maycomb County, and summer seemed perfect for about a week. Then the nightmare descended. One night while they were in the living room after dinner a group of men came to the Finch house to speak with Atticus. Although they'd only come to talk with Atticus about the danger of moving Tom Robinson to the Maycomb County jail, Jem thought it was a mob after Atticus. His father explained that those people were their friends and neighbors and that there were no mobs in Maycomb, so Jem need not worry. That night Jem told Scout that he was worried something would happen to Atticus, but he wouldn't be specific about his concerns, so Scout was left in the dark.
At church the next day, Scout saw Heck Tate and Mr. Underwood, The Maycomb Tribune editor, talking to Atticus although they were not churchgoing men. Atticus told her that they'd shown up to tell him that Tom had been moved back to the Maycomb County jail. The rest of that Sunday passed in the same dull routine until that evening when Atticus came in the living room with a long extension cord with a light bulb on the end. He told them that he was going out and wouldn't be back until quite late so he was saying goodnight then. He drove away in the car, which he usually only used for business trips, and Jem's curiosity and concern were peaked. That night at bedtime he and Scout sneaked out of the house, gathered Dill, and headed to town to find Atticus. He wasn't in his office in the bank building, so they headed up the street to see if Atticus was at the newspaper with Mr. Underwood. As they walked they noticed a light in front of the jailhouse, which was unusual because the jail didn't have an outside light. As they got closer they discovered that Atticus was sitting under the extension cord with its light bulb hanging over his head. He was in a chair by the jail entrance reading a newspaper. They turned to take a shortcut home, satisfied that he was okay, but as they walked across the square, they saw four cars stop in front of the jail.
Scout, Jem, and Dill hid themselves near enough to watch what happened as men got out of the cars. The men demanded Tom Robinson, but Atticus wouldn't budge. Scout, misunderstanding the seriousness of what was happening, ran through the crowd to her father. Dill and Jem followed her because they couldn't stop her. Atticus looked afraid then. Scout was embarrassed when she looked around and realized that she didn't know any of these men. They weren't the same group of neighbors who had gathered in their yard the night before. These people were strangers and they were all looking at her. Atticus insisted several times that Jem take Dill and Scout home, but Jem wouldn't budge. While Atticus pleaded with Jem, Scout looked around again and recognized Mr. Cunningham, her classmate Walter's father. She started talking to Mr. Cunningham about Walter and the case Atticus had helped him with. She kept trying to make desperate attempts at conversation and Mr. Cunningham didn't respond. Scout began to feel more embarrassed than ever so she kept rambling on. She realized she was sinking and looked around her again. Atticus stood with his mouth hanging open a little in amazement and Scout asked what was the matter. Mr. Cunningham surprisingly told her that he would tell Walter that she said hello as she'd asked him to do. Then the group of men got in their cars and drove away.
When Scout turned to her father to ask if they could go home, he was sagging against the jail in relief. A voice from a window overhead asked if the men had gone and Atticus assured Tom that the men wouldn't bother him anymore. Then Mr. Underwood furthered that assurance from his window above the Tribune office as he leaned out with his shotgun and told Atticus that he'd had him covered the whole time. On the way home Jem and Atticus walked ahead of Scout and Dill, and although she expected Atticus to be angry with Jem for his disobedience, when they passed under a streetlight, Atticus was ruffling Jem's hair, the only sign of affection he ever exhibited.
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Basically, Scout, Dill, and Jem go find Atticus, blah blah blah, find him at the jail talking to tom, people wants to kill tom, and are about to fight with Atticus, Scout comes out, talks to mr. Cunningham, then everything is ok, and everybody goes home
2007-11-25 09:01:16
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answer #1
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answered by wierddude 3
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If Aunt Alexandra embodies the rules and customs of the adult world, then the reappearance of Dill at this juncture offers Scout an opportunity to flee, at least for a short time, back into the comforts of childhood. However, Dill’s return also emphasizes the growing gulf in development between Scout and Jem. In the previous section, we saw the twelve-year-old Jem indignantly urging Scout to act more like a girl, indicating his growing awareness of adult social roles and expectations. Here again, Jem proves clearly too old for the childhood solidarity that Dill’s presence recalls. Scout relates that, upon seeing Dill under the bed, Jem “rose and broke the remaining code of our childhood” by telling Atticus. To Scout, this act makes Jem a “traitor,” though it is really an act of responsibility that marks Jem’s maturation toward adulthood.
Dill’s account of his family troubles reminds both Scout and the reader of the Finch household’s good fortune. Atticus is a wonderful father, and Aunt Alexandra’s faults result from caring too much rather than too little. Dill’s parents have treated him with apathy and disregard, perhaps the greatest offense a parent can commit.
As Scout duly notes, the world of childhood fun that Dill represents can no longer stave off the adult reality of hatred and unfairness that Jem finds himself entering. Whereas, two years before, the Finch children’s lives were dominated by games and friendship with Dill, their lives now focus on the adult world of Tom Robinson’s trial. The now mature Jem leads Scout and Dill into town on the night that Atticus faces the lynch mob. Symbolically, this scene marks Jem’s transition from boy to man, as he stands beside Atticus and refuses to “go home,” since only a child would do so. Though he disobeys his father, he does so not petulantly but maturely. He understands Atticus’s difficult situation with regard to the case and consequently fears for Atticus’s safety. Nevertheless, the confrontation is dominated by Scout’s innocence, still sufficiently intact that she can chat with Mr. Cunningham about his son despite being surrounded by a hostile lynch mob.
Some critics find Scout’s performance and the dispersal of the mob in this scene unconvincing and pat, wondering how Scout can remain so blissfully unaware of what is really going on and how Mr. Cunningham can be persuaded by Scout’s Southern courtesy to break up the drunken posse. Within the moral universe of To Kill a Mockingbird, the behavior of both characters makes perfect sense. As befits her innocence, Scout remains convinced of other people’s essential goodness, a conviction that the novel shares. Rather than marking them as inherently evil, the mob members’ racism only shrouds their humanity, their worthiness, and their essential goodness. Scout’s attempt at politeness makes Mr. Cunningham realize her essential goodness, and he responds with civility and kindness. As Atticus says later, the events of that night prove that “a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they’re still human.”
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2007-11-25 08:56:26
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answer #2
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answered by Kate T. 7
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who takes a stand in chapter 15
2015-02-12 14:07:48
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answer #3
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answered by Suzanne 1
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Do your own homework. Or ask the teacher for help.
2007-11-25 08:56:45
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answer #4
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answered by Anonymous
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5⤋