Reflection on Discussion 7

This was the last section in the book To Kill a Mockingbird, and the discussion we had was nice.

From Daniel I learnt that his opinion on Tate covering up Boo was generally positive, and the reason he gave for this was that it would avoid a town fiasco. This is contrary to my reason for not turning him in, because I think that they shouldn't turn him in because it would be useless, knowing Ewell's worth.

Nora, who was connector said that people are often embarassed on stage for forgetting cues etc. She connected this to when Scout falls asleep in the pageant. I thought that this was a sensible connection.

My question about why the kids are not scared anymore ignited an intersesting conversation about all the things they used to do to bug Mr. Radley. I think this was important because it shows how many ways the kids have matured.

Reflection on discussion 6

This was one of the most important discussions held during the novel due to the critical position of the chapters in the plot. Everyone had very firm ideas, and the Jigsaw groups provided the experts with evenly distributed ideas.

Tarek very firmly thought that the jury should have let Tom go, whether there was peer pressure or not. He thinks its cowardly to ignore the concrete evidence that Atticus provides, just because the accused is black. He also thinks that the verdict was unfair because the other lawyer didn't provide any real evidence, except for three people's words.

Ivan said that the fact that Scout showed her maturity by not breaking. By this he means that she went through a lot of things most eight year olds would not have to endure, yet she stayed sane and calm. Mainly this refers to her extremely appropriate behaviour after Atticus' announcement about Tom's death.

My question on Atticus' passive behaviour being courage, not cowrdice, led to good discussion on his character. That Atticus was a true hero, for bearing those remarks from Maycomb, and silently tolerating the degraded behavior of Mr. Ewell, was unanimous.

Reflection on discussion 5

I learned a lot from this discussion, and the chapters are getting
more excicting, thus leaving room for even more discussion.

Ghania and Young Chan, and Ivan thought that Atticus was right to have pushed Mayella so far, but Ghania also felt sorry for her because her father and her siblings treated her so badly. This was different from my thoughts which are all negative, when Mayella Ewell is concerned.

Young Chan's question on why Mayella was not immediately provided with a doctor, led a good discussion of money during the Great Depression and Mr. Ewell's very bad behavior, and responsiblity towards his kids.

I also contributed to this discussion. My question pertaining to the drop of black blood led to a analysis of Maycomb and its inhabitants. We all reached consensus that the people were highly prjudiced because they lived in such a small town.

Connector 16-18

1. Child Development
When Jem and Scout return from the jail house he is very kind to her, and comforts her. Even though most children would not have to see their father defending a person who is not particularly popular in the community, the older sibling would take care of the younger one under harsh circumstances.

What is the relationship between Jem and Scout like?

2. Values
Atticus’s known for his politeness, but he is very firm while questioning the witnesses. Once, in eighth grade, my english class had a mock trial, in which I was a lawyer. I remember being very firm towards the witnesses. I think lawyers, real ones, also think of their witnesses as answers, rather than pondering upon their feelings.

Do you agree with actions of Atticus when he questions Mayella so firmly?

3. prejudices and stereotypes
Jem says that in Maycomb if you have one drop of black blood you are considered black. Often in day to day life I see that people who are stereotyped might not even be entirely of a certain group that is the reason for the stereotype.

What does the author show the reader by the comment that Jem makes pertaining to having a drop of "black blood "?

Reflection on discussion 4

This discussion was fairly short because it was preceded by a lecture on the chapters. Most of the group had the same data and agreed with it, therefore not much debate was involved. However new things were presented and learned.

1. Tarek thought that tellling on Dill was the right thing to do for Jem, and that it showed his maturity, contrary to Scout's negative feeling towards Jem's "growing older". I thought this was new of looking at it because, personally I thought he, Jem, should have waited a while before telling Atticus about Dill.

2. When a question was asked about the reason for the novel being based on the trial of a black man being accused of raping a poor white girl, Mo assumed the reason was that Harper Lee lived during the period of the Scottsboro Trial.

I also contributed to this discussion by introducing a novel topic, the verbal violence toward Atticus. Most of the roup, unlike me, thought that Atticus should continue being passive about it. Bethanie said, and i agreed that Atticus might possibly try to explain to the denizens of Maycomb why he was acting as he was.

Theme Hero and Courage Developement

Hero and Courage

1. 1.Jem refusing to leave the jailhouse when Atticus tells him to
2. 2. Jem returning to gather his pants from the Radley backyard
3. 3. Jem touching the Radley house when Dill dares him to

4. 1. Atticus defends Tom Robinson despite much opposition
5. 2. Atticus guarding prison
6. 3. Atticus bringing up his children alone
7. 4. Atticus shooting at mad dog

8. 1. Scout walking away from fight
9. 2. Scout speaking to Mr. Cunningham in front the men
10. 3. Scout standing up and talking to the teacher
11. 4. Scout going with the boys to put the note into Mr. Radley’s house

12. 1. Mr. Cunningham asking all the men to leave
13. 2. Mrs. Dubose fighting her Morphine addiction
14. 3. Miss Maudie adjusting immediately after her house burns down

Reflection on Discussion 3

This time the groups were larger therefore not all the people could present their ideas due to lack of time.

New things that I learned were :

Ivan said that Atticus' reluctance to shoot might be due to an accident might have had and he shot a mockingbird. I thought that this was an interesting point of view because I would have said that he doesn't like to shoot because he doesn't like to shoot and that is the end of it.

Daniel said that Scout not beating up Cecil was a sign that she was maturing, and I agree because I think this shows how she can refrain herself from hurting others if she tries hard enough, and this should please Atticus.

I did not get to speak much because we ran out of time before my turn, however i did provide some information. I encouraged the group to observe the strangeness of the fact that Atticus sent his very young children to the side of a very old and dying lady, when most parents would not. This lead to the discussion of the impact of these sessions on the children.

Discussion Director Section 4

1. Prejudice and Stereotypes: What examples can you find to show that Alexandra is a strong believer of stereotypes?

2. Hero and Courage: What motive is there for Jem’s refusal to leave the jailhouse when his father asks him to?

3. Family and Values: How does the author show us that the children know that it is hard for Atticus to bring them up as an only parent?

4. Child Development: Why did the men chose to leave when they heard Scouts childish attempts at conversation?

5. Violence and ways characters deal with it: Atticus seems to be constantly violated verbally (n****r lover) what would you recommend him to do to deal with it, or prevent it?

9-12 Illustrator

This picture shows a boy reading to a woman, and I chose it because it looks like the woman is forcing the boy to read to her, and this was like Jem and Mrs. Dubose.

This is an important part of the novel and the growing up of because after Mrs. Dubose's death Jem changes a little. This picture falls under child developement and growth because it is representative of Jem's daily excursions to her, and her influence on his maturing.

In the picture, the boy doesn't look very happy to be reading to the woman and the woman seems to be forcing him. I thought the painting made to look a little gloomy, despite the colourful background.

Reflection on Discussion Section 2

As the literary luminary of my group I was able contribute and learn quite a bit from this discussion, as I could from the previous discussion. Coincidentally quite a few of my questions corresponded to those of Francesca, the discussion director in our group. The connector in our group was unable to provide us with connections or question due to health problems.

1. From the Connector, who did take part, I learnt to look at the actions of Jem in a different light. He said that when Jem goes and retrieves his pants from the Radley’s yard it was a respectable action. I was of the opinion that two wrongs don’t make a right but he said that the second excursion to the yard could not be considered a full wrong, because Jem was doing it to stay out of trouble with his father.

2. The DD asked what would have happened if Jem and Scout had not been caught while putting in the letter to Arthur Radley. I thought that this question was important in moving our conversation on to the behavior of the characters, such as that of Boo. Consensus was reached that if they had succeeded in delivering the letter, then Boo would have come out and the kids would have stopped playing the game because they actually know the reality about him, not just some far fetched rumors.

I also contributed to this discussion. I called the fire that burned Miss Maudie’s a violence theme. I thought that it was violence of the elements. The question I asked about Miss Maudie’s behavior based on her reaction to violence made my group look at the fire and Miss Maudie a little differently, because earlier their train of thought took them to think of Miss Maudie as reacting to loss of possession, not reaction to violence.