Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Where do the children sit for the trial? What does this tell you?

In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird,
by Harper Lee the courtroom is crowed and hot.  The children sneak into the courtroom to
watch the trial.  They sit in the balcony which is filled with the Black members of the
community.  This tells the reader that Atticus has done a good job of raising his
children not to see the color of people or at least not to judge them or put themselves
above anyone.  Most of the community would not have sat in the balcony because they
thought themselves above the Black people.  This was an era where segregation was still
very much in evidence all over the country, but especially in the deep South.  The
children are invited to sit in the balcony by the Reverend and even if they had given it
a second thought, the fact that the Reverend suggested it would have put their minds at
ease.  They displayed no discomfort or uneasiness and they could see everything from
where they sat.


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"Jem and Scout find themselves out of their
usual social position in this chapter, but comfortably so. When there is no room for
them to sit downstairs in the courtroom, they are welcomed into the balcony where the
black people sit. Both literally and metaphorically this gives them a new perspective on
the trial."


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