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To Kill a Mockingbird Project – Yen Vo and Eve Chen Foreshadowing – One form of foreshadowing in this novel is when Scout finds the bubble gum in the tree (page 44) . This event foreshadows the interaction between Jem, Scout and Boo, as Boo is putting those presents in the tree for Jem and Scout to find. Another instance of foreshadowing is when Jem finds his pants mended for him when he goes back to get them on page 76. We find out they were fixed for him afterwards on page 78 and when Jem states that â€Å"They’d been sewed up. Not like a lady sewed ‘em. -â€Å" ; this foreshadows the care of Boo Radley for Jem and Scout . We see later on, during the fire, that Boo cares for Scout when he places the blanket upon her. The last instance of foreshadowing would be when Scout is eavesdropping on one of Atticus’s conversations. Atticus was aware that she was listening and allowed for it to happen for quite some time before he calls her out and tells her to go to bed (page 117). This foreshadows the trial plot. Initial Incident – Boo Radley plot: I found that the initial incident within the Boo Radley plot was when Dill was curious about Boo, as it leads to further interactions with the Radley place and the climax (when the children are interacting physically with the Radley place). Trial plot: The initial incident within the trial plot would be when Atticus and Uncle Jack are conversing. This leads to the conviction of Tom and the tension between him and Bob. In Medias Res- I believe that the novel does not begin in medias res, because it does not begin in the middle of a significant event. It begins, however, with Scout explaining to us the situation and thus moving into a flashback of prior events. Motivation – I think that, in this novel, Scout’s biggest motivation is her Father. You really see her character develop as Atticus begins to tell her more. At the beginning, she was very blunt. She didn’t have much care for others or realization of her effect on others. This gradually changes throughout the book as Atticus begins to imply more about what’s right and what’s wrong. He tells her to often be mindful of others and their way of living as well as what they provide for her. For example, he tells Scout to â€Å"think about what Cal does for [her], and mind her,† which has an effect on Scout later as she no longer treats Calpurnia with disrespect or in a rude, ill-mannered way. This, among other implications, leads to a great development of Scout and thus shows the reader that Atticus is, indeed, her biggest form of motivation. Indeterminate resolution – I believe that in the Boo Radley plot there is an indeterminate resolution. I think this, because Boo Radley eventually â€Å"came out† after all that Scout, Jem, and Dill had done. Regardless to the fact that all three of these children were responsible for him coming out, Scout had been the only person to have met Boo Radley, but never saw him again afterwards. It was pleasing to see that Scout had finally been able to meet him, but will never see again nor will Jem or Dill ever meet, and this makes the resolution indeterminate and thus, the reader must decide on their own whether is was a sad, or a happy ending. Resolution – In my opinion, the resolution is satisfying, because after the development of the plot and the issues and questions that had risen from the story were resolved. Also, the solutions were realistic, regardless that they were not as expected or to my preference, but the realistic ideas enhance the story. For example, when Bob was trying to harm Jem and Scout, Scout was able to meet Boo Radley and that links the two storylines and resolves the Boo Radley plot. Setting – There are two passages in which I saw that the setting was significant to more than the physical aspect. One was : Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square. Somehow, it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer’s day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square. Men’s stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o’clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum. because it reveals much more to us about the area, rather than just what eyes might see. We get a feeling of isolation and dreariness from the description. The other would be: The back of the Radley house was less inviting than the front: a ramshackle porch ran the width of the house; there were two doors and two dark windows between the doors. Instead of a column, a rough two-by-four supported one end of the roof. An old Franklin stove sat in a corner of the porch; above it a hat-rack mirror caught the moon and shone eerily. because it evokes a sense of darkness and fear, which is represented further as the children are leaving. Suspense – Three suspenseful moments, I believe, would include when Scout states â€Å" There was more to it than he knew, but I ecided not to tell him. † (page 50) This is suspenseful, because it leaves the reader wondering what could Scout be talking about. What was it that she wouldn’t tell him? And what was its significance? Another moment would be when Scout says â€Å"Then I saw the shadow. † This leaves a very tense and suspenseful feeling, because it raises many questions on what might happen next. The last moment would be this passage: But I must have been reasonably awake, or I would not have received the impression that was creeping into me. It was not unlike one I had last winter, and I shivered, though the night was hot. The feeling grew until the atmosphere in the courtroom was exactly the same as a cold February morning, when the mockingbirds were still, and the carpenters had stopped hammering on Miss Maudie’s new house, and every wood door in the neighborhood was shut as tight as the doors of the Radley Place. A deserted, waiting, empty street, and the courtroom was packed with people. A steaming summer night was no different from a winter morning. Mr. Heck Tate, who had entered the courtroom and was talking to Atticus, might have been wearing his high boots and lumber jacket. Atticus had stopped his tranquil journey and had put his foot onto the bottom rung of a chair; as he listened to what Mr. Tate was saying, he ran his hand slowly up and down his thigh. because it leaves questionable results within the reader and it’s a bit of a cliffhanger in which we can’t determine entirely what will happen next. Symbol – Three symbols within the novel would be mockingbirds, Boo Radley, and the snowman. The mockingbird holds a lot of symbolic meaning within the book. The mockingbird in the book represents the idea of innocence, and when killing the mockingbird it is killing the innocence. Boo Radley helps symbolize the development of Jem and Scout’s innocence into a grown-up moral perspective. The snowman, being black on the inside and white on the outside, symbolizes how the whites need the blacks even in a society in which the white people seem to be predominant. Theme – I believe that a main theme in this novel is the existence of social inequality, in which there is a growing prejudice towards various groups of people. This relates to several human conditions, such as isolation. When there is the inequality mentioned in this novel, it creates isolation to those certain individuals. Another human condition, in which it may relate, is risk-taking. As those individuals in whom the prejudice is against, they constantly take risks whenever they may do something of their will, because the spectators around them will not accept it and might do whatever is needed to stop it. The last human condition would be the commitment to values. This is major, because no matter the effects of others, these people within the book will fight until the end and will stay true to their beliefs. Tone – Narrated action: â€Å"Jem leaped off the porch and galloped toward us. He flung open the gate, danced Dill and me through, and shooed us between two rows of swishing collards. Halfway through the collards I tripped; as I tripped the roar of a shotgun shattered the neighborhood† This narrated action of the kids leaving the Radley house on page 71 creates a very urgent tone, as the use of the words â€Å"galloped† and â€Å"flung† are fast-action paced movements in which a reader would feel the urgency of the situation. Also the intensity of the tone is described in the last sentence, because in a situation such as that one the moment begins to get very tense and suspenseful as to what will happen next. Description: â€Å"The back of the Radley house was less inviting than the front: a ramshackle porch ran the width of the house; there were two doors and two dark windows between the doors. Instead of a column, a rough two-by-four supported on end of the roof. And old Franklin stove sat in the corner of the porch; above it a hat-rack mirror caught the moon and shone eerily† This is a description of the Radley house on page 70 when Scout, Jem, and Dill decide to try to see into it. The tone of this passage is an eerie, frightening one. It’s description is vivd and describes a place in which most people would run from, and thus creates the tone as states before. Dialogue: â€Å"Hush your mouth! Don’t matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house’s yo’comp’ny, and you don’t let me catch you remarkin’ on their ways like you was so high and mighty! Yo’ folks might be better’n the Cunninghams but it don’t count for nothin’ the way you’re disgracin’ ‘em – if you can’t act fit to eat the table you can just set here and eat in the kitchen! This is dialogue in which Calpurnia is speaking to Scout about her behaviour around Walter Cunningham. The tone this creates is very fierce and strong, because it states that she â€Å"whispered fiercely† in which a reader can imagine the anger and the strong tone that she would be addressing to Scout in. Verisimiltude – I find that a moment when Harper Lee demonstrates verisimilitude is when Cecil Jones is beckoning that Atticus defends â€Å"niggers† in a tone that it would be almost shameful of Atticus to do. This reates a feeling in which it seems realistic, because during that time, people would accuse black persons as guilty, no matter what. It shows a prejudice against different coloured persons in which readers would know was present in that time. We understand that during this era it was practically impossible for a black man to win any sort of fight against an unjust accusation, and thus, helps make the novel seem more realistic. Antagonist – Right off the bat, in Part 1, Scout seems to meet a whole range of antagonists. While some are less memorable and less significant; such as Scout’s fights on the playground, misunderstandings between her and Miss Caroline, her bickers with Jem and her utter dislike towards her cousin Francis, there are some that represent a turning point for the characters or last throughout the whole story. One antagonist I think was a turning point for Scout and Jem was Mrs. Dubose. From Scout’s point of view, Mrs. Dubose is depicted as a rather vicious woman, who likes verbally abuse the Finch family, which is no concern to their father. She is more of an antagonist for Jem rather than Scout, as her words seem to wear Jem down more than it has an effect on Scout. The other ones in Part 1 are not as strong of antagonists but their opposition with the protagonists do last throughout the story. They are Aunt Alexandra and Nathan Radley. Nathan Radley, just wants to keep the children away from his brother Boo, but in the process he appears many times to have a slight dislike for the kids. While Aunt Alexandra is someone Scout dislikes due to the attitude her aunt poses towards her. The main antagonist that appears in the trial plot is the main theme of hatred against black people. This theme is represented in many characters but is most noticeable in Bob Ewell. I think this hatred is largely evident to have affected Jem the most because he had felt the most confident that Tom would not be convicted, and starts to cry when the opposite decision is made. He then tries to shut out the memory of the trial from his mind in order to grow up in hopes of fixing this hatred. Antecedent action – 1. During the first five years in Maycomb, Atticus practiced economy more than anything; for several years thereafter he invested his earnings in his brother’s education. 2. †Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired town when I first knew it. 3. â€Å"Our mother died when I was two, so I never felt her absence. † Caricature – Scout: She is described by the adults as a girl who always wears overalls, never skirts. In the time of the story she c an be mocked for not acting the way a normal girl of her age should act. Characterization – Choleric: Scout is someone I would consider choleric. She has a restless nature as a kid and has the impulse to act on her feelings not fully aware of what the consequences will be. She can be described with having the tendency of being physically aggressive when nothing else works out due to her playground fights she constantly has with her classmates earlier on in the book. Melancholic: Mayella Ewell is a girl I feel is rather moody as she seems confused and shy. She does not want to talk much in court anxious that her words can have consequences. She also seems rather unsociable as she does not speak to anyone outside of her household except for Tom. Phlegmatic: Atticus is a lawyer who understands how to keep his calm. He is sensitive to the people around him and acts the same manner towards everyone no matter who the person may be. Sanguine: A character that I find quite lively would be Dill. Although he expresses to Scout how he feels lonely at home, he is one not to let the issue make him depressed. He finds a way to narrate it in a creative way to Jem and Scout before he reveals the truth. He is very easy going with his words as he tells Scout he hopes to marry her when he grows up, not caring about the problems that come along with his words. Direct: – Walter Cunningham (â€Å"If Walter had owned any shoes he would have worn them the first day of school and discarded them until mid-winter. He did have a clean shirt and neatly mended overalls. †) In this sentence alone, Walter doesn’t seem to be able to afford another pair of shoes or he would have not had to wait until it was cold to reuse them. Scout later in provides evidence towards this statement when she tells Miss Caroline about how the Cunningham family â€Å"never took anything they can’t pay back – no church baskets and no script stamps. She also explains to the teacher â€Å"They don’t have much, but they get along on it. † -â€Å"Burris† Ewell (â€Å"The boy stood up. He was the filthiest human I had ever seen. †) This sentence gives us detail on Burris’ physical character as previously mentioned in this chapter, the reason they children stopped to look at Burris in the first place was becau se something had crawled out of his hair. – Mrs. Dubose (â€Å"She was vicious. Once she heard Jem refer to our father as â€Å"Atticus† and her reaction was apoplectic. †) The writer does not waste time in pointing out to us that Mrs. Dubose is a vicious character. Also as many children do not refer to their fathers by their first name, she may have found this as the children growing up with disobedient manners. Indirect: – Dill (â€Å"The Radley Place fascinated Dill. In spite of our warnings and explanations it drew him as the moon draws water, but drew him no nearer than the light-pole on the corner, a safe distance from the Radley gate. †) This quote is conveniently placed at the beginning, to give us hints of Dill’s character right of the bat. He, like most children, is curious and has a desire to cure his curiosity no matter the cause, but is threatened by the thought of encountering something horrific or disappointing. This characterization is again used later on in the story when he goes with the Finch children to the trial, but later ends up crying when the trial ends up leaving him confused and short of words. -Calpurnia (â€Å"Again I thought her voice strange: she was talking like the rest of them. †) Calpurnia when is first heard by Scout talking to a fellow black person, she finds it odd how she changes her dialogue and grammar to match theirs. This hints that Calpurnia, even though she is well educated I too ashamed or embarrassed to be different from the rest of her community. – Atticus (â€Å"He put the newspaper down very carefully, adjusting its creases with lingering fingers. They were trembling a little. †) In the part of the story Atticus is confronted by several men from Maycomb, somewhat threatening him for taking action on defending Tom Robinson. We can tell that Atticus must have felt some fear making his fingers tremble, but still remains calm trying to remove the children from the scene. Dynamic: I do not find Atticus as an overly dynamic character. Throughout the book, his attitude towards the people of Maycomb does not change as well his actions are not compromised. He has some instances of disbelief and confusion towards the ending of the book, but these instances do not have much effect on Attticus’ psychological thinking. Realistic: Jem is a boy with very realistic feelings. He tries to hide his problems from the people around him, as he recognizes their problems and does not want to add to the issue. He reminds me of a teenager wanting to be left alone to think of their future or to sort out their thoughts. Stock: Burris Ewell to me is considered as a stock character. He portrays what people typically think of as â€Å"hill-billys†. He is too poor and his family too corrupted for him to attend school, therefore he drops out after a few days of it. Static: Bob Ewell to me has not changed in any way throughout the story. He is a person many people disrespect dues to his attitude and actions, and he proves it by having the trial against Tom Robinson, assuming he would be a hero for treating a black person like trash. He is deeply angered though, when people do not approve of his action and threatens not only adults but having the will to kill children in the end, proving to us that his personality does not change one bit. Climax – I think the climatic event of the trial plot was when Tom was convicted of rape. In the trial the tension between the two parties, being Tom and Bob, heat up as the plot is explained more with every testimony given. The information is accumulated to a point where the jury has to make a decision. This decision would then give us the climax and the result of everything that occurs afterward. The climax of the Boo Radley plot would for me be when the children sneak into the Radley house, although they see nothing, they are chased out of the house with fear. This fear I would consider to be the climax as afterwards the children seems to gradually stop thinking about Boo Radley, resulting in a denouement. Complication- In the trial plot, Scout’s main goal is to understand the trial and the changes it brought to the people around her. This is complicated by the fact that many of the people in Maycomb whom she thought she understood are suddenly opposed to Atticus’ actions. Some significant ones are the whispers of parents towards their children to treat the Finch children well, as Scout does not understand why they needed to be treated any differently. Another would be the how the adults in the story try to get Scout and the other children to leave the court, as she feels as she needs to be there to feel at ease with what’s been happening around her. In the Boo Radley Plot, the children’s main goal is to get Boo out of his house. They are stopped however, by many adults in hopes that they would stop pestering the Radley family. To these adults dismay, they continue though until one day they attempt to sneak into the Radley house and Jem loses his pants. After this, Jem is terrified enough that they stop these attempts. They then start finding odd objects in the tree near their house that start up their goal again, but this is quickly stopped when Nathan Radley presumably fills the tree hole. Conflict- Scout: Although Scout has to deal with the problem of the aftereffects of the trial towards the ending of her story, I think her conflict is how her peers and kin try to train her to be a lady as she is aware of their attempts and reasons but feel that they re unreasonable. Jem: Jem unlike Scout has a better understanding of why the adults want him to grow up to be a gentleman, but this is complicated when the trial of Tom Robinson comes into his life. He feels confused and rather that the trial ws unjust that he tries to erase every memory of this moment, leaving his emotions with nowhere to go. Dill: Dill de als with the problem of being a lonely child. He initially is sent to Maycomb to spend time with his aunt. Miss Rachel but Maycomb later on becomes his place of refuge when he runs away from home. He explains that he left because he felt as if his parents have no interest in him and he has no siblings to share this feeling with. Atticus: Atticus may be a confident lawyer, but he seems to be self-concious when it comes to being a father. He always tries to help his children follow the correct path in life but sometimes doubts himself in the process. This happens more frequently after the trial has taken place, as Atticus hopes that his children are not outcasted in the town due to his actions and beliefs in the trial plot. Crisis- When the Boo Radley and trial plot interlock, a crisis occurs as Scout and Jem who struggle to escape from Bob Ewell are rescued by Boo, this comes as a turning point as Scout had always thought Boo would never come out of his house, even though she had moments when she wishes he does. Deux ex Machina- Bob Ewell’s death would be something I would consider as deux ex machina, as it was very unlikely that anything was going to happen to Bob Ewell after the trial, however his death was placed in there will the people of Maycomb believing he fell on his knife. I think the author had placed this in the story to give us closure being that the narrator of the story was a child that would have slept uneasy knowing that Bob Ewell was still alive. Dialogue- The dialogue in the novel I felt was well written. It was very clear in the dialogue who was speaking and who they were speaking to most of the time according to their tone of voice and the emotions they express. Discovery- Scout throughout the book, her perceptions of Boo Radley changes as it goes from believing he was a dangerous man, to someone that save her and Jem’s lives. Exposition – 1. â€Å"He liked Maycomb, he was Maycomb Country born and bred; he knew his people, they knew him and because Simon Finch’s industry, Atticus was related by blood or marriage to nearly every family in the town. † This background info at the beginning doesn’t seem like much, as it just explains to us how close the Finch family is to the people of the town. However later on, we find out that due to Atticus being family to almost everyone in Maycomb, it is harder for them to deal with him defending a black person accused of a despicable crime. 2. † First Purchase Africa M. E. Church was in the Quarters outside the southern town limits, across the old sawmill tracks. It was an ancient paint-peeled frame building, the only church in Maycomb with a steeple and bell, called First Purchase because it was paid for from the first earnings of freed slaves. Negroes worshiped in it on Sundays and white men gambled in it on weekdays. † This gives us insight on how the black people of the time were disrespected, that a house of worship for the people is regarded as a house of sin for a white man. Flashback- In one flashback, when Scout explains to us once when Uncle Jack helped her with an injury when she was younger. For me, I would consider the whole story a flashback. The story starts off with telling us about when Jem was thirteen, but on the next page it tells us Jem is only eleven. Foil- Bob Ewell can be considered a foil to Atticus as Atticus does not seem to view him as an enemy but someone rather with opposite values. Bob Ewell is what the people in Maycomb would consider a no-good, and being careless towards his children. While Atticus is seen as the opposite as a man who takes good care of his children and is focused on his job. Hero- the hero in this book would be Atticus. Atticus being a lawyer, to the children it seems like he is defending â€Å"innocent† people no matter who it is as to them he seems like a hero. Jem idolizes his dad, as he shows many instances of wanting to grow up and be a lawyer like his dad. Many people around Scout also praise Atticus as being a hero for being able to stand up for his beliefs and not giving up no matter the situation. Narrator- I believe Scout is a combination of a naive and reliable narrator. She is naive being that she only a child and have not developed a complete understanding about the situations around them. We catch her not understanding the trial as much as we thought when Jem accuses Scout of not being able to comprehend the situation. This is later proven when the results from the jury are shown yet she does not feel as sentimental as her family does towards the situation. Protagonist – the protagonist in this book would be Scout. It is Scout because she is narrating the story in first person, meaning the story is about problems and situations revolving her she is the only person that all the situations in the entire book could be about. Subplot – I think the Boo Radley plot would be considered as a subplot, as this plot I feel does not impact the reader as much as the trial plot. The Boo Radley part gives us an introduction to the children and their lives, but they do not give us a clear problem that the children deal with. The Boo Radley plot does not seem to have much effect on the children when they are grown enough to accept that Boo Radley will not come out of his house as they seem to accept Boo they way he is.