Summary of to kill a mockingbird chapter 23. To Kill a Mockingbird Chapters 20 2022-10-18
Summary of to kill a mockingbird chapter 23
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In Chapter 23 of "To Kill a Mockingbird," several key events take place that significantly impact the characters and the overall narrative of the novel.
At the beginning of the chapter, Atticus is called away to Montgomery for a legal matter, leaving Jem and Scout alone in Maycomb. The children are left in the care of Calpurnia, their black housekeeper, who becomes concerned when she sees that Scout is being bullied by a group of boys. Calpurnia takes Scout to her church, First Purchase African M.E. Church, where Scout witnesses the kindness and generosity of the black community.
Later, Scout and Jem learn that their father has been involved in a fight while in Montgomery. Atticus tells them that he was defending a black man who was being mistreated by a white mob. Atticus's actions are met with mixed reactions in Maycomb, with some people praising him for standing up for what is right and others condemning him for going against the racial norms of the town.
One of the most significant events in Chapter 23 is the revelation that Boo Radley, a mysterious figure who has been a source of fascination for Jem and Scout throughout the novel, is responsible for saving the children from Bob Ewell's attack at the end of the previous chapter. Scout realizes that Boo has been watching over them and protecting them all along, and she feels a sense of gratitude and respect for him.
Overall, Chapter 23 of "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a turning point in the novel as it highlights the themes of courage and morality, as well as the importance of understanding and empathy. Atticus's actions in defending a black man and Boo's actions in saving the children demonstrate the power of standing up for what is right, even in the face of opposition and danger. The chapter also shows the contrast between the prejudiced and narrow-minded views of some members of the community and the kindness and compassion of others, particularly Calpurnia and Boo.
To Kill a Mockingbird Chapter 23 Summary and Analysis
Jem maintains his position, but Atticus replies vehemently that he should always remember that a white man who cheats a black man is trash. He's beginning to think that Boo Radley stays inside all the time because he wants to. Scout takes up conversation with Mrs. Scout grows furious, and Jem rapidly takes her out of the room. Wishing to withdraw back into the childhood world of actions without abstract significance, Scout moves to crush the bug. This says more about Ewell's pride, which was wounded during the trial, than about Atticus's pride, which is firm and well-founded, rooted as it is in his sense of honor and moral code.
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To Kill a Mockingbird Chapter 23 Summary
Though Atticus is a very good and very respectable lawyer, he's aware that some laws need to be changed and knows that, in spite of this necessity, changing the law will take a long time. Aunt Alexandra puts her foot down. Question Answer Choices That he has found a hair on his chest That he is thinking of running away That he plans to fight anyone who says a bad word about Atticus That he can't sleep without a nightlight Submit. This is part of a larger, systemic problem that results in the majority of prisoners on death row being African American. He feels that some of the white people had done their best to protect Tom without explicitly admitting that they were on his side. Jem interjects that it is wrong for Tom to get the death penalty when he did not kill anybody.
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To Kill a Mockingbird Chapter 23 Summary & Analysis
They said if he had two good arms he would have made it, he was moving that fast. Jem stubbornly says that the jury is the problem, but Atticus argues that in his opinion, only judges should be able to set the penalty in capital cases. After all, his credibility had been destroyed. Jem and Atticus discuss the judicial system in Maycomb County for much of Chapter 23. Please check back weekly to see what we have added. Chapter 25 Things have eventually normalized at the Maycomb County. Jem Consoles Scout Scout begins to cry, and Jem pulls her away, into his bedroom.
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To Kill a Mockingbird Chapter 23 Quiz
Atticus makes him realize that though ideally, a jury should be fair, very often the members carry their prejudices into the courtroom and so their verdict is shadowed. He didn't expect Ewell to confront him about it and doesn't consider Ewell a threat, but this conflict will in fact prove fatal for Ewell later in the novel. Even the warning given by Ewell to Atticus has lost its force over the children. Ewell okay with what happened. This faith represents the adult perspective toward which Scout, who begins the novel as an innocent child, is forced to move as the story progresses. Through Atticus, Lee argues the laws must be changed, and men must be treated equally. He cautions that it will be hard, and Jem might be an old man by the time it changes.
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To Kill a Mockingbird 22 23 24 Summaries
An Evening Talking About the Law The children resume their normal summer activities. Though the law says there should be 'reasonable doubt,' Atticus believes 'a defendant's entitled to the shadow of a doubt. One night, Scout asks what will happen if Tom loses his appeal. It seems better to stay at home and be labeled a madman, rather than face a world full of evil and injustice. Their communique is an training for Jem in the realities no longer best of the jury gadget however additionally of life. Upon hearing this revelation, Scout announces that she wants to invite young Walter Cunningham to dinner, but Aunt Alexandra expressly forbids it, telling her that the Finches do not associate with trash. Atticus describes the situation, ".
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To Kill a Mockingbird Chapters 20
Aunty responds they may be 'good folks,' but they are 'not our kind of folks. This is, naturally, quite discouraging, but not entirely without hope: there are more people in Maycomb who think Tom's innocent than the kids realized. Today, African Americans and other minority groups are disproportionately represented in prison populations, just as they were in the 1930s. She sees the difference between Walter and the Ewell family, and Walter is not trash. Atticus doesn't think they have anything more to fear from Ewell, but Aunt Alexandra isn't sure.
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To Kill A Mockingbird Chapter 23, 24 & 25 Summary
Miss Maudie calls Jem over; Miss Stephanie butts in to pepper them with rude questions, before Miss Maudie shuts her up and offers the kids some cake. Scout and Jem then ask Atticus about Tom, who has been sent to Enfield Prison Farm in Chester County, seventy miles away. Miss Stephanie Crawford, who had originally reported the news in the previous chapter, happily elaborates on the confrontation. Atticus claims that if he saved Mayella, or one of the other children, from a beating, he is glad to be the recipient of Bob's anger. They discuss the class system—why their aunt despises the Cunninghams, why the Cunninghams look down at the Ewells, who hate black human beings, and other such matters. Jem and Scout continue to struggle not only with the unfairness of an innocent man being convicted, but also with issues of race and class that cause separations in society.
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To Kill A Mockingbird: Novel Summary: Chapters 23
It turns out that Tom is dead: he had been shot as he had been trying to break away from the jail. This is a very egalitarian view not unlike the line "all men are created equal" that Atticus quotes during Tom's trial. Jem and Atticus talk the judicial machine in Maycomb County for lots of Chapter 23. However, Jem and Scout are worried that Bob will attack their father, and they want him to arm himself. One thing is apparent, though, the women in the group hold diverse viewpoints and represent the various liberal, conservative, and hypocritical viewpoints found in the general population. Scout feels that her father should not have listened to Bob Ewell quietly; instead he should have shot him. As Jem tries to figure all of this out, Scout begins to take on the role that Dill did outside the courthouse when she suggests that people are just people.
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