To Kill a Mockingbird -- Post # 5

--Post # 5--

Chapters 18-24

Atticus Finch

Inside, I knew that we never really had a chance. I knew that since Tom was a black man, it didn't really matter at all what we had to say. But I did like to pretend that somehow, we might be able to convince them. Pretending is fun, but it just makes the truth that much harder to take. If only for just one second these crazy people were able to set aside their outrageous prejudice, and just see this case as a settlement between two equal people instead of a white man and a black man then we would have won. Tom did nothing to deserve this. He is one of the bravest people I have ever met and I swore to protect him the best I could. Now he is dead. I just don't believe it. I suppose I knew that people are capable of doing things this horrible, but I didn't want to believe it. I wonder if it actually happened like they said it did, or if they were planning to kill him the whole time and managed to do it as subtly as they could. But 17 bullet holes? One would have been enough.  I have no way of knowing what really happened and I don't think that I really want to know. 

As for Ms. Mayella Ewell, I just feel sorry for her as well. I can't imagine what it would be like to live a life when you are always scared of being beaten by your own father. Everyone is making a big fuss about how Mr. Bob Ewell came up to me and spit on my face and threatened me. Of course he needed to take his anger out on someone, and I am just glad that it isn't Mayella. The poor girl can use a break from that. She must have been scared out of her wits the whole time. I can't find it in myself to blame her for anything that happened. It was all her father. That man is a plain fraud. How he can live with himself  I will never know. He is the most disgusting, racist, evil man anyone will ever meet. You can't be lower than that man. I wish for that just 10 minutes that he and Tom's roles were reversed. Then maybe he would understand the cruel thing he is doing. 

Jem seems to be taking this whole thing pretty hard. Just wait until he finds out that Tom is dead. The poor boy doesn't understand any more than I do how people have it in them to be so cruel. He is so young and innocent that he understands that race shouldn't matter. That it is completely irrelevant. No adults seem to understand it. I hope that he will soon grasp the fact that it is out of control. This case proves that. I wish that he and Scout didn't have to see the case. I didn't want them there. I wonder how much of it Scout understands. She can be so good at hiding her emotions. Everyone is so worried about how I am raising her up, and that she ain't coming out right, like a lady. But to me Scout is one of the best, most interesting people I know. I don't want her to change. I really truly deeply hope that this whole experience only affects my children in a good way. I can't seem to see how it would, but it may somehow. And after all, it isn't time to worry yet. 

To Kill a Mockingbird -- Post # 4

--Journal # 4--

Chapters 13-15

Dill Harris

"Jem?" I heard Scout ask. "How does a snake feel?"  

"Sort of rough. Cold. Dusty. Why?" Jem replied through his door. 

"I think theres one under my bed. Can you come look?" Hah! Scout had thought I was a snake. Do I feel like a snake? What a silly thing to assume. I remember thinking that I should probably come out soon. Well, maybe I'll wait just a few minutes, let her be scared. 
"Are you bein' funny?" Jem said as he walked in. I guess Jem realized that Scout was serious, because the next thing I knew, there was a broom stuck in my face. I dodged it the first time, but he got me the second, and I grunted in pain. He must of been pretty surprised since he was oblivious of the fact that a person was hiding under Scout's bed opposed to a snake. I knew I had to come out then so I crawled forward and out from under the bed. Boy, did it feel good to stand up after laying all cramped up down there. Scout and Jem sure were surprised all right. I told them my long winding story about how I got there and they both seemed real worried. Who cares what my parents think? They don't care about me. They never wanted me around, so I left. End of story, no one needed to be upset. And then Jem went and betrayed me. He went and got Atticus for goodness sakes.I guess he just wanted a defendant. I knew some grown up was going to find out eventually, but did it have to be right now? I was so hungry and tired, I just wanted to eat something and go to sleep in a warm bed, not get yelled at! But Atticus wasn't that mad after all, just worried like the others. I decided not to be mad at Jem. Then I ate some nice warm food. I was so hungry! How long had it been since I last ate? One, maybe two days! I needed food bad. And then I crawled in bed with Jem and finally got to go to sleep. 


After every one got over the initial shock of me showing up in Maycomb alone, no one was really mad. I indulged in seconds for every meal the next day, I was still so hungry.  Scout seemed happy to have some one to hang out with since Jem is too grown up to play anymore. That night that I was discovered Sout and I had a long talk. I tried to go to sleep in Jem's bed, but I couldn't sleep and he did fall asleep, and I needed to talk to someone. I went over and got in bed with Scout instead. We talked about why I left, and I realized that I didn't know why, but Scout helped me figure it out. She is such a good friend. I wish that I could live full time in Maycomb. My parents don't want me. No one seems to want me except Scout. 


Yesterday Jem and Scout came and got me in the middle of the night, or what felt like the middle of the night. I didn't question them. I trust those two more than anyone else in the whole world. That part is infallible. I don't know if they trust me the same way but I hope so. Once I snuck out, I asked them what we were up to. Jem said that he didn't really know. He just had a feeling. Made sense to me, so I dutifully followed Jem downtown. I didn't really understand why he hadn't dispelled of Scout yet, but it turns out to be a good thing that he didn't because she ended up saving us all. I bet we would all be dead if it weren't for Scout! She's like a superhero. I don't even understand why those people were going to hurt Atticus and the man in the jail cell, and I don't know what Scout said to make them change their minds, but they did! It was the most exciting thing iv'e seen this whole summer! 

To Kill a Mockingbird -- Post # 3

--Journal # 3--

Chapters 10-11

Calpurnia

It seems like lately both Jem and Scout have been real upset and worried about old Atticus. They always be wanting him to go out in the yard and wrestle, or do something absurd like play football. They know he's to old for that kind of thing. There's no reason to be bitter about it. Frankly, I am quite disappointed in them. Well, I suppose it's not really their fault. Their school contemporaries all have young fathers who probably love to prance around the yard with them all day. They are also probably upset and a little remorse about him because I am sure that he isn't the most inconspicuous person in the town right know. What with all the talk about him defending a Negro. Personally, I am glad he is up there defending Mr. Tom Robinson. He is a fine gentlemen and had been part of our church for as long as I have! It is just wrong the way they treat us black people nowadays. Ridiculous. They are all saying that Mr. Ewell's daughter was in peril or something along that lines. I don't believe it one bit. Not one bit. Anyway, back to what I was saying before I got sidetracked, If only those kids knew what good of a shot their old father is. They would be the proudest kids in all of Maycomb. If they knew their daddy was old "One shot Finch" I wonder how long it's been since he's ever picked up a gun. I bet he'll never touch one again. 


Today I had the shock of my life. It practically flat out contradicted what I wrote before. I was just in the kitchen minding my own business when Mister Jem comes running in howling about a dog. A dog! No one worries about a dog in February for goodness sakes. If this had been August, then maybe people would have expected it more. But when I realized that the kids were right, and had phoned up Mr. Finch, the police, and Eula May, and was running around warning people like a crazy person, I realized that people probably thought that I was crazy. But it didn't matter. I still needed to warn them. I heard Jem behind me and whipped around to order him inside. His lips moved, but his words were inaudible. Probably scared to death, poor child. "Get inside!" I hollered at him. He turned, grabbed Scout by the cuff of her dress and dragged her inside. Right around them Mr. Finch showed up with the Hector Tate, the sheriff.A few minutes later they were arguing, well not quite arguing, (Mr. Finch is way to calm for that) more like discussing who would shoot the mad dog. Mr. Tate didn't want to be the one. They had one shot, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to aim well enough. So Mr. Finch, mumbling about how he hadn't shot anything in years, scooped up the gun and marched out into the street. Then it was like slow motion. His glasses fell from his face and hit the floor as he raised the gun to his shoulder. He took aim quickly then pulled the trigger. The dog fell dead. I turned around and saw two bewildered faces peeking out from around the screen door. Hah! That would show them what their daddy was capable of , I thought.