Scout is able to confront the men who came to take
Tom Robinson from Atticus because they are fundamentally good people who have
done a bad thing and a young girl, the symbol of innocence is able to bring
them back to their senses of what is right and wrong. The men, of whom she
recognizes only Mr. Walter Cunningham, came towards the end of chapter fifteen
to take Tom Robinson from where Atticus was guarding him at the Maycomb Jail.
At first, Atticus responded to them kindly and politely when they asked him to
step aside "He is... and he's asleep. Don't wake him up..." (Lee,
171). When he refused, they became more insistent, prompting Scout, Jem and
Dill to come out of their hiding place and speak to the crowd of men. Scout
comes along and addresses the personal issues of one particular man she knows-
Mr. Walter Cunningham. She makes a slight faux pas by stepping into the circle,
and the aura of innocence and cute incompetence that begins to surround her
" Hey, Mr. Cunningham." He seemed not to have heard me (Lee, 174)
steadily increases when she talks about Mr. Cunningham's entailment in a manner
that shows she doesn't understand quite what she's talking about. "How's
your entailment gettin' along... entailments are bad..." (Lee, 174). The
last and most potent thing she says to Mr. Cunningham, and at this point to the
gathering of men at large, is to talk about his son, Walter Cunningham. In so
doing, she refers to his life outside of what he was doing in that moment, and
reminds him of his son and the things he cares for in the world, how hurt he
would be if something were to happen to them, and, for that moment, how to love
and be compassionate. Mr. Cunningham soon realizes his mistake and has a change
of heart, taking the entire gang home and promising not to bother Tom Robinson
anymore. Scout is able to turn away Mr. Walter Cunningham and his gang by
reminding Mr. Cunningham how to feel love and compassion, and in so doing
taking away the edge of his proverbial sword which he would use against Tom
Robinson: That of oppression and hatred.
What was Scout's
motivation to show herself to the men, even though she thought they were Mr.
Heck Tate's group? What did she think she could accomplish and why did Jem
stand his ground when Atticus told him to leave?
I believe that scout showed herself to protect her father. She can hear the conversation between Atticus and Walter's group and knows he is in trouble. A quote that backs this theory up appears on page 202 when the group is talking to Atticus "You know what we want. Get aside from the door, Mr.Finch". She isn't aware of who/what Atticus is trying to protect but she knows she needs to help him. This scene was intensified when Atticus said " Heck Tate's around somewhere" to which Walters response is " called him off on a snipe hunt" and then Scout is then aware that he needs backup which she then provides
ReplyDeleteScout came out of the shadows and faced the grown men for her own reasons, to act older and find out what was going on with Atticus. The following quote proves that Scout was her young, curious self when she leapt out of the shadows away from Jem and Dill to get some answers as too what was happening. "This was too good to miss. I broke away from Jem and ran as fast as I could to Atticus" (Lee 202). Scout got lucky when she recognized Mr. Walter Cunningham and started talking about his son and how they were in the same grade. She could have gotten in a substantial amount of trouble if it hadn't been for Mr. Walter Cunningham's change of heart. Scout ran out of her hiding place to Atticus for her own thoughtless reasons, and got lucky when she ended up potentially saving Tom Robinson's life.
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