TKAM Explication Chapter 12
“What you up to, miss cal?” said a voice from behind us. …
I felt calpurnias’s hand dig into my shoulders. ”what you want, Lula?” she asked, in tones i had never heard her use. She spoke quietly, contemptuously.
“I want to know why you bringin’ white chillum to nigger church.”
“They’s my comp’ny ,” said calpurnia. Again I thought her voice was strange: she was talking like the rest of them.
Yeah, an ‘ I reckon you’s company at the finch house durin’ the week.”
A murmur ran through the crowd. “Don’t you fret,” Calpurnia whispered to me, but the roses o her hat trembled indignantly.
When Lula came up the pathway toward us Calpurnia said, “Stop right there, nigger.”
Lula stopped, but se said, “You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillum here—they got their church, we got our’n. It is our church, ain’t it, Miss Cal?”
Calpurnia said, “It’s the same God, ain’t it?”
Jem said, “Let’s go home, Cal, they don’t want us here ——“
I agreed: they did not want us here. I sensed, rather than saw, that we were beig advanced upon. They seemed to be drawing closer to us, but when I looked up at Calpurnia there was amusement in her eyes. When I looked down the pathway again, Lula was gone. In her place was a solid mass of colored people.
On of them stepped fro the crowd. It was Zeebo, the garbage collector. “Mister Jem,” He said, “we’re mighty glad to have you all here.
This story is mostly based on the racism of white people, and how they believe black people are inferior compared to them. Never the less we find the black woman with the name Lula discriminates against Atticus children. “I want to know why you are bringing white chillun to n***** church” (chapter 12 page 119) In her perspective these white children at her peoples church symbolizing the loss of another right. Lula Peoples have been marginalized to live proximity to the town bump, which symbolizes how the white people feel about their African American neighbours. They weren’t allowed to worship at their church simply because the color of their skin. So they built their own and now the presence of white people scares her; it makes her think that yet another thing is being taken away. She uses Jem and Scout as a scapegoat to her fear and anger towards the subject. Her immaturity of her actions foreshadows the rest of the society actions towards the upcoming tom Robinson case and the fear of the monstrous boo Radley.
Regardless the opinions of the rest of society there are some that rise above prejudice and go to great lengths to withhold their morals. Atticus defends his morals by playing a role in the trial by being tom defendant and doing a great job at that. “If I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town (chapter 9 page 75). These words of Atticus show that his personal moral will withstand society pressure in making give in to their morals. Zeebo also follows Atticus morals when he helps Jem and Scout feel accepted and welcomed to the first purchase church regardless of them being white.
“Lets go they don’t want us here’ (chapter 12 pg 119) Jem realizes the he is being prejudged and that his presence is not wanted there. He knows that he is not a destructive monster but Lula preserves him as one. This foreshadows Jem and scouts realization that Boo Radley is only preserved as a scary monster but is actually a kind and gentle soul. Lucky for Jem that he is the son of the lawyer that is defending their friend but he is only a kid and is perceived as harmless to their church. Unlucky for boo he is perceived as a monster and is blamed for task that he didn’t commit his. His unsighted presence in the town only questions the citizens of Macomb that he is a scary man, the fact of unknowing and not seeing Boo Radley scares them the most and they use these fears as scapegoats to judge him and make him of something that he isn’t. These rumors about boo, only make it harder for him to convince people that he is a normal man.
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