Group+7

= = What did you think of Boo Radley wanting to be taken home at the end of the story? Do you think this means he is happy with how things are or he is just scared of where he is at the moment? Faris 12/05/10 5:12PM

I think Boo Radley is very heroic for saving Jem and Scout and also for coming out of his house and being seen by people when he had not been seen for so long. I think he is happy that Jem and Scout like him. I think he realizes that he does not have to hide from everyone anymore because there are good people in the world like the Finch family. I also believe, that in a way, he is still scared of the outside world because of all the people in it that will lie and cheat to get what they want. He is most likely more willing to come outside though because of Jem and Scout. I think they will be good friends. Julie 12/05/10 5:55 PM

I think it takes some stress off of Boo’ shoulders when he helped out Scout and Jem, he knows know that people wont judge him and he will be able to slowly return into society. I think it will take some more time for him to trust more people in the community like the Finches, but eventually he will be like Jem, Scout, Calpurnia, and Dill. Keegan 12/05/10 10:25 PM

I think Boo Radley Is just scared because of the position he is in now. I think that he is afraid that he will go to jail for killing Bob Ewell even though he saved the finch kids from Bob. I think Boo just wants to go home and go back to hiding from the public. Tony 13/05/10 11:41

I agree that because he saved Jem and Scout he is probably more willing to go outside and interact with others. I do not think that people will automatically stop judging him. People will probably still come up with new rumors about him until they really know the truth. Even then, I do not know if all these rumors will completely go away. Rumors such as, different stories about why he never came out of his house will be told. The book does not tell us for sure whether Boo Radley killed Bob Ewell or not and in the police report it said that Mr. Ewell fell on his knife and killed himself accidently. Therefore, I do not believe that Boo cared because he has nothing to be scared about. There is no proof saying he killed Mr. Ewell and the police report does not say that either. Julie 15/05/10 7:15 AM

I agree with tony I be scared too if I just killed someone. It doesn't just have to do with getting caught though, it would feel terrible to know you just ended a life, thats why some soldiers come back from the war with mental trauma. Faris 16/05/10 11:39AM

i agree with all of you i think i would be scared too in this case. i feel bad after i call some one a name i think i wolud never be able to recover from murder. Keegan 17/05/10 7:44 AM

=Tony, Keegan, Rebecca, Julie, Faris= In //To Kill a Mockingbird//, Mayella Ewell is accusing Tom Robinson of raping her. When questioned in court she openly lies to everyone. If you were in Mayella’s position, would you have lied to the jury just to get your way? Also, she swears on the Bible to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”. What does this show about her faithfulness to Christianity and God? Finally, if you were Tom, how would you feel seeing Mayella lie about what really happened that day? Julie 03/05/10 7:38PM

Im glad that we get an opinion question instead of having to use knowledge questions. At one point I was in Mayella’s position. I lied to my parent so I could get my way. I lied so I could blame it on my brother so he would have to take the fall in stead of me. And once I lied I had to fallow through with it because I didn’t want to get in trouble. Now my parents aren’t a jury but they sure act like one. So I lied to them and hopefully I could convince them that I was truth full. Now I don’t know why she accused him of raping her, maybe she didn’t like him. Or maybe she was embarrassed to have like a colored person, and she thought that was the only way out. I don’t think her beliefs where affected by her swearing to the bible I just think she already went to far and couldn’t turn back so she had to go alone with it in order to make it look truthful. I have been wrongly accused before and you don’t feel to good. Your upset frustrated and sad because you know you didn’t do it but every one is against you and you just want to give up. Keegan 03/05/10 10:22 PM

I would never lie just to get my way especially in court. This shows that she does not have that much faith in Christianity. If I were Tom I would be mad and tell the real story in great detail. I also would not lie in court, especially after oath, law enforcers would much more like hearing the ugly truth than seeing through a lie. Mayella would be a lot better off telling the truth in the long run even if she gets away with a lie at the moment. Faris 05/05/10 11:34 (i must have put the wrong name on this or it was changed, not sure why but this was my answer-Faris)

I agree with you for the most part Faris. I do think that she would be better off just to have never lied in the first place, but I don’t think her lying to the court has any thing to do with her beliefs in her religion. I just think she is just to scared to get into trouble with her dad and every one else she told that she was raped and assaulted by Tom. Keegan 09/05/10 1:39 PM

I agree with Faris and Keegan, that she should not have lied in the first place. I think that this does show that her beliefs in Christianity and God are not as strong as they should have been back then. I do believe that her father forced her to lie and therefore, she had no choice because she was afraid of being beaten again. If I were in Tom’s position, I would be scared because I would know that being black wouldn’t be helping my situation and that the jury will most likely chose to believe a white person when there is no real evidence. Mayella is still young at heart and does not have very many friends to confide in. Because of this, her father will always be able to tell her what to do unless she tells the truth about Tom and everyone will know the truth about who her father really is as a person. Julie 09/05/10 6:24PM

Calpurnia's church is described in Chapter 12. What is unique about First Purchase Church. How did it get its name? What is ironic about how it is used on weekdays?

I believe a unique thing about Cal's church is that it is a church dedicated to only coloured people, even though the white Finch children are going anyway. I think its ironic that the church is used only on weekdays because most churches these days are only on the weekend or fridays in some cases. Faris 28/4/10 7:00 PM

First Purchase church was outside the southern limits, across the sawmill tracks. It is the only church in Maycomb that has a steeple and bell. It’s called First Purchase because it was paid for from the first earnings of freed slaves. First purchase was a black community church, because of this they did not have as nice of things as Jem and Scout’s church. When people died during the winter season, they were covered with ice chunks until the ground was softer. Instead of normal head stones like we use today, they used things such as, crumbling tombstones, brightly colored glass, broken Coca-Cola bottles, lightning rods and burned out candles to mark where people were buried. When Jem and Scout went to Calpurnia’s church they heard the way that black people talked around each other. They found this odd because Calpurnia never talked like this around them until she was around people of her race. During weekdays, white men gambled in First Purchase. This is ironic because days before people worshiped god and were at peace in the church but during the weekdays men gambled and acted like it was not a sacred and calm place at all. Julie 28/04/10 7:05 PM

First Purchase church is the only church in Maycomb that has a steeple and bell, and what Julie said about it being paid by the first free slaves. What is unique about this church is that its during the week unlike others the church is a place where men gamble, but during the weekend it’s a sacred place for worshiping god. They improvise the tomb markings like Julie said with pop bottles and burnt out candles. The reason they don’t have choir books I because only Cal and the preset know how to read. What Jem and Scout found interesting is how Cal changes her use of language when she is around the people in the church. Keegan 28/04/10 10:24 PM

I agree with Faris that a unique thing about Cal's church is that it is only for colored people. I can see why the Finch kids felt out of place there. It is ironic that the church is used used only on weekdays when these days most churches are only on the weekend or Fridays. It was named the first purchase church because it was bought with the first earnings of slaves that were free. Tony 28/04/10 11:25

I agree with all of the above, although i must have missed some parts during my reading I find it very interesting that people would gamble in a church. Many of the things described of this church may seem low quality, but it just shows how many things people will deal with to show their faith. Faris 1/05/10 12:10 PM

Jem and Scout's visit to First Purchase Church is significant for many reasons. First, the children experience racism for the first time as white visitors to a black church. When Lula insults Calpurnia and starts up the pathway toward the children, Jem says, "Let's go home, Cal, they don't want us here--" and Scout agrees. However, there are many more people, including Reverend Sykes, who are glad to have the children visit. Jem and Scout are also exposed to several things about Calpurnia's church and the black community. a collection is taken up for Tom Robinson's wife, and everyone is pressured to donate. Jem and Scout see Calpurnia in a new light. They realize that she leads a double life that she is highly educated and respected among her peers, and that she will defend them against anyone if she needs to. Keegan 1/05/10 6:26 PM

I agree that Calpurnia leads a double life. She treats Jem and Scout like they are her own children but then goes home to her own family. When Cal takes them to her church she bathes them as if they were her own children and they needed to look presentable. She wants everyone to know that she takes good care of her “kids” and that they are respectable. Jem and Scout wonder why First Purchase church does not have hymn books and they realize that only Cal and the preset know how to read. Also, I thought it was strange that no one (except Cal) could read. Do you think better education would have improved black people’s social position in society? Julie 02/05/10 6:39PM

I agree that Calpurnia leads a double life between the finch family and the people of her own race. Calpurnia wants the people she is with everyday to see that she is good to the people she cares about and looks after on a day to day basis. Calpurnia wants everyone to see that they are well behaved and presentable also. Rebecca 02/05/10 7:52 pm

The Finches’ relatives have strong opinions towards Atticus defending a black man but are not always straight forward about them. I think they are afraid of telling Atticus that they are disappointed in what he is doing because they know that he has such strong beliefs towards everyone being equal. While the Finch family were at Aunt Alexandra’s house for Christmas, Francis and Scout were talking when Francis said “I guess it ain’t your fault if Uncle Atticus is a nigger-lover besides, but I’m here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family”. This shows that the Finches’ relatives have talked about how they don’t think it is right that Atticus is defending a black man because Francis knows that the rest of the family is mortified about his decisions. The Finches’ neighbors have made several comments about Atticus to Jem and Scout that are similar to what Francis had said. Mrs. Dubose certainly had strong opinions towards Atticus. Jem and Scout were on their way to town and Mrs. Dubose said “Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for!” this certainly troubled Jem and Scout. I think this situation is harder on them because most of their neighbors and peers do not go directly to Atticus about their feelings, they just tell Scout and Jem instead. Julie 20/04/10 5:06 PM

It’s a shame when families break down and start to talk to other members behind someone’s back. I guess though this might be common for people of this time. Especially when it had to do with defending black people. Im guessing from the novel so far that Atticus wasn’t that close with his family when he was younger, it was probably his beliefs or his personal preferences that got him in that situation with his friends. For example he might of let his family down when he stopped using his talents with a gun. Keegan 21/04/10 10:43

The effect was bigger on Jem and Scout because they had to put up with other people calling there father names and things like nigger lover. Scout because of this is getting into more and more trouble with her family. People start to look down on the finches because of all of this. Tony 21/04/10 12:51

I agree with tony when the children do not coexist socially with others let alone their own family people begin to think the children were not brought up right and the family isnt stable. Faris 24/04/10 9:37 I agree with Keegan that Atticus’ family and he were probably not close because they have such different beliefs. I think the only reason why Scout is getting into more trouble with her family is because they say comments about Atticus and because she respects him so much she chooses to stand up for him. During this time period it was unacceptable for children to talk back to their elders and Scout had no problem doing this when somebody was insulting her father. Therefore, she got herself in trouble mainly for standing up for someone she loves very much. I agree with Tony that people started looking down on the Finch family. People of that time probably wouldn’t know how to react seeing somebody defend a black person because they had always been use to not interacting with their race. They say awful comments towards Atticus because they don’t know how else to react. Julie 25/04/10 12:58 PM

I like the way Atticus doesn’t care what other people think. I think its cool how he ignores the comments and just goes on with his day like nothing happened. You have to have a strong personality and self esteem to do that. Especially when its your family and friends talking about you behind your back. Keegan 25/04/10 10:14 PM

I think the trail has a big effect on the Finches' relations with their relatives and neighbors for because of the trial Scout is getting into more fights and Jem is also acting up. Scout and Jem are being told by their neighbors and relatives that Atticus is no good and that what he is doing is an insult to the family. I also agree with Julie about the trail being harder on the them because everyone is going to Scout and Jem about whats going on and not to Atticus. 25/04/10 10:28

I agree with whoever wrote the comment on top of this one. The trial is having a big effect on the Finche's. Thy are getting into more fights and and people are calling them all sorts of names. Their family is really being looked down upon by the town. things for the Finche's seem to be getting worse and worse. Tony 25/04/10 1:13

What do you think of scout and her family through chapters one to six. What was your first opinion on Scout and has your opinion changed through the course of the story. Tony 12/04/10

I think That scout and her family are an average family just with some ups and downs. my first opinion on scout was that she was not that smart and always agreed with her brother if he was right or wrong. Now I see that scout is smart and does not always agree with her brother. Tony 12/04/10

I believe Scout and her family are all very respectful people. Scout and Jem always have opinions on people and Atticus always corrects them. Scout seems to be more disrespectful but only because she is to young to have been taught otherwise and Jem is only somewhat ignorant. Scout just seemed to me like a normal kid, always asking why because nobody has yet told her, and so far, this has not changed. Faris I agree that the Finch family is very respectful, especially Atticus. Even though people around them have different thoughts about numerous people, they stick to their own beliefs and do what they think is right. I think they have a very loving family because Jem and Scout are so close and share everything with each other. At the end of chapter six Scout shows how much she cares about Jem by offering to go back to the Radley house with him even though Nathan Radley threatened to shoot anyone or anything that came near their house. My first impressions of Scout were that she acts like a boy because she was brought up by two males. Atticus and Jem raised her the only way they knew how and being that they are both male, some of their male attributes rubbed off on Scout. I think Scout shows that she and her family are very close because she is willing to stand up to anyone for them. My opinion has changed through the course of the story because in the beginning Scout comes off as very aggressive but now that I’ve read more I think she is actually a very nice person on the inside and cares about people who care about her. 13/04/10 Julie

I think Finch family is also very respectful. The children sometimes forget about morals but Atticus is there to remind them. For example when Scout was being mean to Walter because he was poor Atticus told her that you cant judge somebody just because the live differently. They bond in this family is also very strong. When some one in the Finch family needs help one fo the Finch’s is there to help them. In the beginning of the story I thought that Scout was more of a tomboy then a girly girl. But when Dill came along she acted more “lady like” around him. But when he leaves she goes back to the way she was. So my opinion varies on the situation.

Keegan 14/04/10

I think scout and Jem are very judgmental people only because they don't really know any better at the beginning but Atticus is there to help them to be respectful to others. Rebecca 14/04/10

I agree with you on that and I think because of their upbringing with Atticus teaching them manners they may not seem like it now but when they're older Jem and Scout will have it in mind subconciously to be just as respectful as Atticus was, and to pass that onto their children. Faris 17/04/2010 11:48 am I agree with Keegan. Scout did act more lady-like when Dill was around. Dill and Scout plan on getting married when they are older, even though they are still very young now. I think Scout wants Dill to think that she is more girly because she likes him and does not want him to stop liking her. I do not think Jem and Scout are necessarily judgmental because they are just going along with the opinions of people around them. Atticus tells them the truth about his opinions and feelings and they choose to think the same because they respect him. Julie 18/04/10 12:34 PM