Example research essay topic: Jem And Scout Jem And Dill - 5,977 words

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... use. Scout gets him some cornbread to eat and notes mentally that he is now "home. " Jem says that Dill should let his mother know where he is, then he "broke the remaining code of our childhood" by calling for Atticus. Atticus is lenient, however, and calls Miss Rachel to ask if Dill can stay the night, and Scout gets him more food. Miss Rachel appears on the scene and reprimands Dill but allows him to stay. Dill and Jem sleep in Jem's room, which adjoins Scout's room.

Late at night, Dill wakes Scout up and asks if he can sleep with her. He explains that his new father and his mother don't seem interested in him, they are kind to him but they don't need him around, they'd rather spend time alone together. Scout realizes how lucky she is to have a family that needs her. Then Dill suggests that they have a baby together, and even though he knows the real way that babies occur, he makes up a long dreamy story about a magic island where babies are collected like flowers.

Scout wonders why Boo Radley doesn't run away, and Dill thinks maybe Boo doesn't have anywhere to run to. Chapter 15: Dill is allowed to stay for the summer. Just a week later, events surrounding the trial begin to come to a head. First, a group of men pay a call on Atticus at his home. Jem and Scout watch from inside. The men make allusions to the fact that Tom will be moved to the Maycomb jail tomorrow (Sunday), because the trial will occur on Monday.

They are concerned that the "Serum bunch" will get up to some trouble, though Atticus thinks they won't do anything (such as a lynching) on a Sunday night. Mr. Link Deas says that Atticus has everything to lose from the trial, but Atticus says that he wants the truth to come out. Jem gets concerned that the men outside mean Atticus some harm, but Atticus assures him later that those men are his friends they " re not part of a gang or the Ku Klux Klan, who Atticus claims is gone and will never come back.

Jem overhears Aunt Alexandra warning Atticus that he is bringing disgrace to the family name. Jem is still concerned for Atticus's safety. On Sunday there are more people at church than ever in Scout's memory, even Mr. Underwood from the town newspaper is there, and he almost never attends church.

Later that afternoon, Atticus leaves the house in his car, carrying an electrical extension cord with a lightbulb at the end. He refuses to allow Jem and Scout to come. But at around 10: 00, Jem starts changing his clothes and tells Scout that he's going downtown. Scout insists on coming, and they also pick up Dill on the way. They look for Atticus in his office, but finally find him sitting outside the county jail, with the lightbulb providing light for him to read his book. Jem feels reassured knowing where his father is, but as they " re about to go home, four old cars come into town.

A group of men emerge, shadowy. Atticus informs them that the sheriff is nearby, but they counter that they called him into the woods on false pretenses. Atticus still seems unperturbed. Suddenly Scout runs out into the circle, but is taken aback when she realizes that these men are strangers to her. Atticus orders the children to go home, but Jem refuses. One man picks up Jem by the collar, and Scout kicks the man in the groin.

Jem still won't go. Scout becomes interested in the men, who smell of "whiskey and pigpen" and are dressed in heavy dark clothes despite the summer night. She recognizes Mr. Cunningham, the father of Walter from her class at school. She innocently begins to talk about how Walter is a good boy, and recounts how they invited him home for dinner one day, and asks Mr. Cunningham to say hello to his son for her.

Then she tries to engage him on the topic of his entailment, but notices that every one is staring at her. Mr. Cunningham bends down and says, "I'll tell him you say hey, little lady. " Then the men decide to disperse, and go home in their cars. Mr. Underwood reveals himself in a nearby window with a gun, pointing out that he had them covered the whole time. The Finches and Dill go home.

Chapter 16: Scout cries that night and Jem consoles her. Atticus says that Mr. Underwood despises black people even though he was willing to defend Atticus. Aunt Alexandra urges Atticus not to speak like that in front of Calpurnia, but Atticus protests as usual for fairness. Scout wonders out loud why Mr. Cunningham wanted to hurt Atticus when he usually is Atticus's friend.

Atticus explains that some people can forget that they are human beings when they become part of a mob. He says that it took an eight-year-old girl to bring them to their senses. Tom Robinson's trial begins, and Scout, Jem, and Dill go to the courthouse where the locals are all out picnicking in the park. They notice Mr. Dolphus Raymond drinking liquor from a paper bag and sitting with the black people. Jem explains that he married a black woman and that he has "mixed" children.

Jem says that these children are "sad" because they don't feel accepted by black people or by white people though they can be accepted in the North. They see one of the mixed children and Scout thinks he looks black. She asks Jem how to determine whether someone is "mixed" or not and Jem says "You can't tell by looking, that you have to know their history. " The Finch family is all white, but Jem considers that during Biblical times, it's possible some of their ancestors were from Africa however, that probably doesn't count because it was so long ago. If anyone has a drop of black blood, they are considered all black by Maycomb society.

In the packed courthouse, the children have trouble getting seats until Reverend Sykes helps them find seats upstairs in the balcony where black people sit. She observes Judge Taylor, who she considers to be a rather good, sensible judge Chapter 17: The trial begins with the testimony of the sheriff, Heck Tate. The prosecution's attorney, Mr. Gilmer, asks him about the events surrounding Tom Robinson and Mr. Ewell's daughter, whose name is Mayella. Mr.

Tate says that on November 21 st, Mr. Ewell came to get him because "some nigger raped his girl. " He says that he found Mayella on the floor, all beaten up, and she said that Tom Robinson had taken advantage of her and beaten her. Atticus questions him next, asking whether anyone called a doctor. Mr. Tate says no. He asked where Mayella had been beaten, and Mr.

Tate says, with some hesitation, that her right eye and entire right side of her face were bruised, and she had scratches all around her neck. Mr. Ewell is the next witness. Scout recollects mentally the way that the Ewell's live, in a tiny hut made of planks and corrugated iron and flattened tin cans, surrounded by junk salvaged from the nearby dump.

In the corner of the yard there are some geraniums planted in slop jars by Mayella. Scout concludes that the only thing separating Mr. Ewell from the black people around him, in terms of social standing, is that his skin is white. Mr. Ewell is surly and crass in the witness's chair, but the judge manages to keep everything orderly. Mr.

Gilmer asks Mr. Ewell for his version of the events. Mr. Ewell claims that he heard Mayella screaming when he was coming in from the woods with kindling, and he ran to the house to find Tom Robinson having sexual intercourse with her. He uses the highly offensive term "retain, " which sets the court in a fervor. Mr.

Ewell says that he ran to get the sheriff. He implores the judge to "clean up" the "nigger-nest" that are his neighbors, claiming that his neighborhood is getting dangerous. Atticus questions Mr. Ewell, asking whether a doctor was called, and Mr. Ewell again says that no doctor was called, saying that he has never called a doctor in his life and never thought of doing so. Atticus asks if Mr.

Ewell remembers Mayella's injuries as being the same as described by the sheriff. Mr. Ewell says that he does. Atticus asks if Mr. Ewell can write, and he says he can, so Atticus asks him to write his name on an envelope. In so doing, it is revealed that Mr.

Ewell is left-handed. He also claims to be able to use both of his hands equally well Chapter 18: It's now Mayella's turn to be a witness. She is very distraught and cries in the witness stand, saying that she is afraid of Atticus. She finally tells Mr.

Gilmer that her father asked her to chop up an old chifforobe (chest of drawers) for kindling, but she didn't feel strong enough. When Tom Robinson came along, she asked him to do it in return for a nickel. As she went inside for the money, he followed her, got her to the floor, and took advantage of her while she screamed and tried to fight back. Then her father arrived and Tom ran away.

Atticus has his turn to question Mayella, but first he asks her some background questions to show the jury what kind of family she comes from. She is nineteen and her family receives relief checks, but there isn't enough food to go around; her father seems to be a drunkard; Mayella went to school for a few years but none of her eight siblings go; their mother is dead; Mayella doesn't seem to have any friends. Atticus asks if Mr. Ewell is a loving father, and with hesitation, Mayella says that he is "tolerable" except when he is drinking. However, she insists that he never lays a hand on her or beats her.

Atticus asks if this was the first time Tom Robinson has been invited into her house, and she jumps a little before she says that it was the first time. He asks Mayella if she remembers being beaten in the face, and Mayella first says no, but then yes. Atticus asks her to identify the man who raped her, and Mayella points to Tom, who is asked to stand up by Atticus. Everyone notices that Tom's left arm is twelve inches shorter than his right, due to an accident in a cotton gin. Atticus asks for more details about the struggle, then he asks many questions which Mayella doesn't answer. Why didn't the other children hear her screaming?

Where were they? Why didn't they come running? Did she start screaming when she saw her father in the window? Did she get beaten up by her father, and not Tom Robinson? Mayella just says that she was taken advantage of, and if the upper class gentlemen won't prosecute Tom, they are cowards. Atticus seems to find something involving his interview with her distasteful.

The court rests for ten minutes but no one leaves the courthouse Chapter 19: Tom goes to the witness stand to present his testimony. As he tries futilely to put his hand upon the Bible, it becomes evident that his left arm is entirely non-functional, and slips off lifelessly. Atticus questions him, first asking whether Tom had ever been convicted of a crime before. Tom explains that he was once convicted for fighting because he could not pay the fine that would have released him.

Tom gives his account of the incident with the Ewell's. He says that he passes by the Ewell's' house every day in order to get to work at Mr. Link Deas's farm, where Tom picks cotton and does other farm work. One day last spring, Mayella did ask him to chop up an old chifforobe with a hatchet, but that was long before the November day in question. After that, Mayella often asked him to help her with odd jobs around the house as he passed by. She offered him a nickel for doing it the first time, but he refused, knowing that the family had no money.

He said he helped her out because she didn't seem to have anyone else to help her, and he never went onto the Ewell property without being invited. Scout thinks about how lonely Mayella issue's so poor that white people won't befriend her, but black people will avoid her because she's white. Atticus asks about the events on November 21 st. Tom says that he passed the Ewell's' house as usual, and everything seemed very quiet.

Mayella asked him to come inside and fix a broken door, but he came inside and said that the door didn't look broken. Then Mayella shut the door behind him and said that she has sent the children away to get ice cream, having saved enough for each child to have a nickel. Tom starts to leave, but she asks him to take a box down for her on top of another chifforobe. As he reached, she grabbed him around his legs. Tom was so startled he overturned a chair. Next she hugged him round the waist and kissed his cheek, saying that "she never kissed a grown man before an's he might as well kiss a nigger.

She says what her pap do to her don't count. " Mayella asks him to kiss her back, and Tom asks her to let him out of the house. However, her back is to the door, and he doesn't want to force her to movies a black man, if he lays a hand on her he could later be killed. Then Mr. Ewell arrives, calling his daughter a "goddamn whore, " and telling her he will kill him.

Tom runs away in fear. It's now Mr. Gilmer's turn to question Tom, which he does somewhat aggressively, using the term "boy" to address him. He tries to get at Tom's motivations for helping Mayella, insinuating that he must have had ulterior motives for helping her. Tom finally says he just tried to help because he felt sorry for her, which stirs up the audience considerably. Mr.

Gilmer asks whether Tom thinks Mayella was lying about asking him to chop up the chifforobe in November Tom avoids a potential trap by saying he thinks Mayella must be "mistaken in her mind" about this and everything else. Mr. Gilmer asks why he ran if he had a clear conscience, and Tom said he was afraid of being tried in court, not for what he did, but for what he didn't do. At this point, Dill starts to cry, and Scout takes him outside the courthouse. He says he can't bear to watch Mr.

Gilmer behaving so disrespectfully toward Tom. Scout says that all lawyers do that and Mr. Gilmer didn't even seem to be trying as usual today. Dill points out that Atticus isn't like that. A sympathetic voice behind them agrees that it makes him sick toothed turn to see Mr. Dolphus Raymond.

Chapter 20: Mr. Dolphus Raymond offers Dill his drink, and they discover that he is only drinking Coca-Cola. Mr. Raymond explains that he feel he has to give the population some reason for his odd behavior (being friendly toward black people). He says that it's easier for people to handle strangeness when they have a reason to explain isthmus he pretends to be a drunkard.

He says he thinks that children like Dill haven't lost the instinct that tells them that it's wrong to for white people to "give hell" to black people without consideration for their basic humanity. Scout and Dill return to the courtroom, where Atticus is beginning his speech to the jury. Atticus explains that the case is very simple, because there is no medical evidence and very questionable testimony to prove Tom's guilt. Atticus explains that Mayella has "broken a rigid and time-honored code of our society" by attempting to seduce a black man. He acknowledges her poverty and ignorance, but says "I cannot pity her: she is white. " He explains that Mayella followed her desires even though she was aware of the social taboos against her actions. Having broken one of society's strictest codes, she chose to "put the evidence of her offense " Tom Robinson away from her by testifying against him.

Atticus accuses Mayella of trying to rid herself of the source of her own guilt. Atticus suggests that Mr. Ewell beat his own daughter, as shown by Mayella's bruising on her right side: Mr. Ewell leads predominately with his left, while Tom can't punch with his left hand at all. Atticus points out that the case comes down to the word of a black man against the word of the white people, and that the Ewell's' case depends upon the jury's assumption that "all black men lie. " Atticus reminds everyone that there are honest and dishonest black people just as there are honest and dishonest white people. He tells the jury that in a court of law, "all men are created equal. " A court is, however, no better than the members of its jury, and he urges the jury to do their duty.

His speech is over, and suddenly Calpurnia is seen moving toward the front of the court. Chapter 21: Calpurnia arrives with a note for Atticus from Aunt Alexandra, who is concerned that the children have been gone all day. Atticus allows the children to return to hear the jury's verdict after dinner. They return home, where Aunt Alexandra is saddened to hear they the three, particularly Scout, were at the courthouse, and they eat, then go back to the court, where the jury is still discussing. The courtroom is packed but everyone is silent and still, and Scout feels the sensation of chilliness in the room. Finally the jury returns and Judge Taylor polls the jury.

Every jury member declares Tom guilty. Atticus whispers something to Tom, then exits the courtroom. All the black people in the balcony rise to their feet to honor him. Chapter 22: Jem is crying and angry he expected that the case was clearly in Tom's favor. Atticus is exhausted and when Jem asks him how the jury could have done it he responds, "I don't know, but they did it. They " ve done it before and they did it tonight and they " ll do it again and when they do it seems like only children weep. " The next morning, however, he explains that there's a good possibility for the case to be appealed in a higher court.

Calpurnia reveals that the black community has left Atticus all sorts of appreciative gifts chickens and bread and produce. Atticus's eyes fill with tears; he says he's very grateful but tells Calpurnia that they shouldn't do more when times are so hard. Dill comes by for breakfast and tells them that Miss Rachel thinks, "if a man like Atticus Finch wants to butt his head against a stone wall it's his head. " The children go outside and Miss Maudie saves them from Miss Stephanie's nosy gossip by inviting them over for cake. Miss Maudie says that Atticus is someone who does other people's unpleasant jobs for them. Jem is discouraged and disappointed with the people of Maycomb, who he formerly thought were "the best people in the world. " He thinks that no one but Atticus worked on Tom's behalf, but Miss Maudie points out that many people helped, including the Mr. Tate the sheriff, the black community, and especially Mr.

Taylor the judge, who offered Atticus the case in the first place. Miss Maudie says that even though she knew Atticus couldn't win, he did manage to keep the jury out in discussion for longer than anyone else could. She says, "we " re making a step it's just a baby step, but it's a step. " As they leave, Dill says he wants to be a clown when he grows up, because "there's ain't one thing in this world I can do about folks except laugh, so I'm gonna join the circus and laugh my head off. " They see Mr. Avery, Miss Stephanie, and Miss Rachel discussing something with animation in the street: Mr. Ewell saw Atticus by the post office, spat in his face, and told him that "he'd get him if it took the rest of his life. " Chapter 23: Atticus is unconcerned about Mr. Ewell's threat, and tells his worried children that Mr.

Ewell, who has been publicly discredited by the trial, just needs to feel like he is retaliating against someone, and better to have it be Atticus than the Ewell children. Tom is being held on a prison farm, and cannot be visited by his wife and children. Atticus thinks there's a good chance he " ll be spared execution by having his sentence commuted by the governor. Atticus comments that too many people are sent to death based upon purely circumstantial evidence.

Jem thinks that juries should be done away with, because they can't make reasonable decisions. Atticus responds that men don't behave rationally in some situations, and will always take a white man's word over a black man's. Atticus tells Jem that any white man who cheats a black man is trash. Jem and Atticus talk about what keeps people off of juries.

Women can't serve on juries in Alabama, and many people don't want to get involved in court cases because their livelihood depends in some way upon maintaining good favor with both parties involved in a case. Jem thinks that the jury decided quickly, but Atticus reminds him that it took a few hours, which is much longer than usual, typically a case like Tom's would be settled in a matter of minutes. Atticus sees this as a sign of the beginnings of change for the better. Also, the one-jury member who wanted to defend Tom's innocence was a Cunningham. Atticus thinks that all Cunningham's will stand solidly behind anyone who wins their respect, without failed the incident at the jailhouse won the Finches great respect. Scout wants to invite Walter Cunningham over for lunch more often, but Aunt Alexandra puts her foot down, saying that the Cunningham's aren't the right sort of people for Scout to spend time with.

She can be gracious to him and polite, but can't invite him over because "he is trash. " Scout is upset about this and Jem tries to comfort her by explaining that Aunt Alexandra is just trying to make her into "a lady. " He says that there are four different kind of people is Maycomb county, "ordinary" people like themselves, then there is people like the Cunningham's in the woods, people like the Ewell's by the dump, and black people. Each class looks down upon and despises the class below it. The two try to resolve exactly what separates and distinguishes the categories of white people. Background doesn't seem to matter, because all the families are equally old. Jem thinks it has to do with how long the family has been literate.

Scout thinks, "there's just one kind of folks. Folks. " Jem says he used to think so as well, but he doesn't understand why they despise one another if that's the case. He adds that maybe Boo Radley stays inside because he wants to. Chapter 24: Aunt Alexandra has ladies over for a meeting of the Missionary Society of Maycomb. Scout is in attendance in order for her to learn to be a lady. The women discuss the plight of the Mount people, a non-Christian group who are said to live in squalor and are being converted thanks to the efforts of a missionary named J.

Grimes Everett. Scout doesn't enjoy being around women but does her best to take part. The discussion moves toward the topic of Tom's wife, Helen apparently the black cooks and field hands in town were discontented during the week after the trial. One of the ladies comments on how much she dislikes a "sulky darky, " and says that when her black female servant complains about something, she reminds her that Jesus never complained.

Another lady says that no amount of education will ever make "Christians" out of black people, and says "there's no lady safe in her bed these nights. " Miss Maudie tersely shows her differing opinion on this topic. Aunt Alexandra magically smoothes everything over in the discussion. Another lady says that Northerners are hypocrites who claim to give blacks equal standing but actually don't mix socially with them, whereas in the South people are very up-front about their lack of desire to share the same lifestyle. Scout remembers that Calpurnia told Atticus that the day Tom went to prison he lost hope.

Atticus couldn't promise Tom an acquittal so he didn't try to reassure Tom by giving him potentially false hope. Suddenly Atticus comes inside and requests Aunt Alexandra's presence in the kitchen: he gives her the news that Tom tried to escape from the prison and was shot to death by the prison guards. They tried to tell him to stop and fired warning shots, but he would not listen and kept running. Atticus needs Calpurnia to go with him to Tom's wife to give the news. The two of them go, leaving Aunt Alexandra to tell Miss Maudie in the kitchen that she's concerned about Atticus.

The trial has taken a lot out of him and it seems to be unending. Miss Maudie thinks that the town has paid Atticus a high tribute by trusting him to do right and uphold justice. These people are the small handful who know that blacks should be given justice, and who have "background. " The two women then join the other women effortlessly, and for the first time Scout feels inclined to be ladylike, thinking that "if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I. ." Chapter 25: Jem and Dill were out swimming on the day that Atticus and Calpurnia went to see Tom's wife, and they got a ride with them. Dill said that when Tom's wife saw the two of them, she seemed to faint, falling to the ground in a heap. Scout is remembering this week later, after Dill has gone home to Meridian.

Tom's death was only news in Maycomb for two days was regarded as "typical" in the sense that black men are thought to typically run away without having any plan, as if it reflects badly upon his character. Scout reflects that "in the secret courts of men's hearts" nothing Atticus could have said could have freed Tom. Upon hearing the news, Mr. Ewell is rumored to have said "one down and about two more to go, " but Jem tells Scout that Mr.

Ewell won't really take action on his threats. Chapter 26: School is in session again, and Scout has lost her fear of the Radley place every now and then she thinks about what it would be like to see Boo one day sitting on the porch, and greet him as if they spoke to each other every day. School is hard for the Finch children: their peers are generally somewhat cold toward them, as if their parents had instructed them to be civil but not outwardly friendly. One-day Scout's class gets into a discussion about Hitler and the persecution of the Jews. Her teacher, Miss Gates, speaks at length about how the German dictatorship allows for the Jews to be persecuted by a prejudiced leader, but she claims that in America, "we don't believe in persecuting anybody. " Scout tells Jem that she is confused because on the day of the trial, she heard Miss Gates say that she thought it was "time somebody taught them a lesson, they though they was getting' way above themselves, an' the next thing they think they can do is marry us. " Jem is furious and doesn't want to discuss the events surrounding Tom's trial at all. Atticus assures Scout that Jem just needs some time to think about things, and then he " ll be himself again.

Chapter 27: Scout relates a few events. Mr. Ewell holds down a job for a few days, he is fired from the WPA (Work Projects Administration) for laziness. One night Judge Taylor finds the strange shadow of a prowler in his house. Helen Robinson has been working on the property of Mr. Link Deas, but walks nearly a mile out of her way in order to avoid walking past the Ewell's house, because they "chunk" at her when she passes by.

When Mr. Link finds out, he approaches the Ewell house and yells to them, warning them not to bother Helen, or else he " ll have them put in jail. The next day, Mr. Ewell follows Helen to work, "crooning foul words" the entire way, but Mr.

Link again threatens him with jail and he stops this behavior. Aunt Alexandra thinks that these events bode poorly. It's nearly Halloween, and Mrs. Grace Merriweather writes a pageant for Maycomb people to perform in a pageant about the history of the count. She wants children to play the parts of Maycomb's agricultural products. Scout is going to play the part of the pork.

She will wear a large costume made of chicken wire and wrapped around with brown cloth, which she puts over her head so it comes to just above her knees. She can't put it on or take it off without someone else's help, as it pins her arms down, and she can't see well through the eyehole's. Jem takes her to the play because everyone else is tying to avoid having to go to it. Chapter 28: Jem and Scout walk past the Radley house on the way to the school, where the pageant will be held, along with a country fair. It's very dark, and they can barely see anything.

They are scared by the sudden appearance of the boy Cecil Jacobs, who runs out to scare them. Cecil and Scout entertain themselves at the fair until the pageant begins. Scout misses her cue during the pageant because she falls asleep listening to Mrs. Merriweather's dull history. However, she comes on for the last song.

She is very embarrassed, and wants to keep her costume on for the walk home. The walk back will be very dark, and near the school, Scout remembers that she forgot her shoes inside. She is thinking of returning to get them, when Jem thinks that he hears something, which seems to make a noise when they walk and stop when they stop. Scout heard it too, but thinks that maybe it just Cecil again. They call out taunts to Cecil in order to get a response, but there is only silence.

Jem thinks maybe Scout should take off her costume, but she doesn't have any clothes underneath, and can't get her dress on in the dark. They are almost home, near the dark shadow of the tree by the Radley's' house, and are trying to walk faster. It sounds like the person behind them is wearing thick cotton pants. The next time they stop walking, the footsteps behind them suddenly quicken into a run. Jem yells to Scout to run, but her costume throws her off balance.

Something is crushed against her and she hears metal ripping. Jem's hand tries to pull her, but she is tangled up in her costume. There is a crunching sound and Jem screams. The man who they are struggling with grabs Scout and begins to strangle her, when suddenly he is jerked backwards and thrown to the ground.

Scout thinks Jem must have saved her, but she still can't see anything. She hears the sound of someone breathing heavily and walking toward the tree to lean on, and she reaches out with her toes to find a person on the ground with stubble and the smell of stale whiskey. She makes her way in the direction of the road, and in the street light she sees a man carrying Jem, whose arm is hanging down oddly. Scout comes home and the doctor and sheriff are summoned.

Jem is unconscious and has a broken arm. Scout checks on him, noting the man who carried him sitting quietly in the corner, who she assumes is a countryman she doesn't know who happened to hear the fight and come running. The sheriff investigates outside and comes back to report that Mr. Ewell is lying outside dead with a kitchen knife in his ribs. Chapter 29: Scout tells the story of what happened to Atticus, the sheriff, and everyone else assembled. Mr.

Tate notes the mark that Mr. Ewell's knife made in Scout's costume, and points out that Mr. Ewell meant to seriously harm or kill the children. When Scout points out the man who carried Jem, she finally takes a good look at him. He is very, very pale, with thin cheeks and feathery hair, and seems somewhat tense and nervous. Se suddenly recognizes him as Boo Radley and says hello to him.

Chapter 30: The doctor returns and everyone moves to the back porch, where Scout finds herself assisting Boo into a rocking chair, feeling her odd fantasy about finding him sitting on the porch one day to be coming true. The others are discussing who killed Mr. Ewell. Atticus thinks that Jem must have done it, and he doesn't want it to be hushed up. However, the sheriff insists continually that Mr. Ewell fell onto his knife and killed himself, which irritates Atticus, who wants Jem to be treated as fairly as anyone else and not have exceptions made.

After much arguing, finally the sheriff yells out that he's not trying to protect Jem (he is trying to protect Boo). The sheriff urges Atticus, this once, to accept the situation even if it's not perfectly just according to law: Mr. Ewell was responsible for Tom's death, and the sheriff urges Atticus to "let the dead bury the dead. " He says that it would be a sin to drag shy Boo Radley out into the limelight, and declares officially that Mr. Ewell fell on his own knife. Atticus asks Scout if she understands, and she says that she does, and that having it another way would be like shooting a mockingbird. Atticus thanks Boo for the lives of the children.

Chapter 31: Scout asks Boo if he'd like to say good night to Jem. Boo doesn't say anything, he just nods when she asks if he'd like to do so. Scout gently strokes Jems hair, and invites Boo to do so too. Then she feels that he wants to leave, so she leads him to the porch, where he asks her in a near-whisper, "Will you take me home?" She leads him home and he goes inside his house and shuts the door. After this Scout never saw Arthur again. Scout remembered the years that had went by and how Boo watched over them.

The children he calls his own, Scout and Jem. They had never imagined that someone behind all the scary stories could be so nice. Back home, Scout and Atticus are sitting together while Atticus begins to read her scary childrens book. Scout says she wasn'

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