Term 3 Week 4 Homework

Jem:

Regret is a hard thing to bear. It isn’t a regret of much really, just of not knowing. Of what Atticus would call ‘judging a book by its cover’. Maybe if I had known she wouldn’t have been all that horrible in my mind. But I doubt it. I'm talking about Mrs Dubose that is.

Atticus said she was a great lady. To think, Mrs Dubose, a great lady? I guess you could say I personally didn’t see it. To me, the person who continually insulted me and said rude things about my family was anything but lady-like. But then again I didn’t know the whole story.

I was never more surprised than the day Atticus told me she died. It was a day I learned an important lesson: never to judge someone without knowing the reasons behind their actions. See I didn’t know Mrs Dubose was a morphine addict, nor how much pain she went through trying to break this habit. I guess she was strong in her own way, just like Atticus said. For sure she had her own views, and was quite set in her ways, but she had courage.

Maybe if I had know I’d have treated her differently, been more understanding and, I guess you could say, tolerant. Foe sure it wouldn’t have made reading to her any more pleasant with her horrible appearance and that stench, but maybe it would have been a bit more bearable knowing I was easing her pain. Atticus said she didn’t have to do it, you know, but she chose to anyway, even though the odds were against her. That’s what I would call admirable, and I guess that’s what made Mrs Dubose a lady: her true courage.

Term 3 Week 3 Homework

Events in this story in which the children have attempted to make Boo Radley come out:

1. Dill dares Jem to go up and touch the outside of the house and so, refusing to be called scared, he does.
2. Scout finds two pieces of chewing gum in a knot-hole of a large oak on the edge of the Radley lot, left there by Boo.
3. Jem pushed Scout in the tire down the road and she landed at the front steps of the Radley lot. When she realized this she got up and sprinted back to Jem, leaving the tire behind, because she hears laughing from inside the house.
4. Jem rushes back to grab the tire from inside the gate.
5. Scout, Jem and Dill play 'Boo Radley', acting out scenes that have occurred in the past.
6. Jem, Scout and Dill attempt to drop a note into the house to Boo Radley by poking a fishing rod through the window.
7. Dill and Jem sneak up to the back of the house, onto the porch to deliver the note. They see a large shadow before Mr Radley shoots at them, mistaking them for a crowler, and they run off. Jem gets his pants stuck in the wire fence and to escape takes them off and leave them there.
8. Jem returns to the fence in the night and finds his pants neatly folded and stitched up messily, waiting to be collected.
9. Jem and Scout continue to find small objects in the knot-hole of the large oak in the corner of the Radley lot over a period of a few weeks. These include pennies, … a pocket watch, carvings of them
10. They decided to write a letter to thank him for the gifts,
11. When Mrs Maudie’s house is on fire and Jem and Scout are standing in front of the Radley lot, Boo places a blanket around Scout’s shoulders without her noticing.

Atticus' Journal Entry
To say that today's events were interesting would be an understatement, to say the least. Never would I have thought that Arthur Radley was in fact participating in their games. So caught up in my concern for the man's privacy, in trying to prevent him from being subjected to the harassment of small children, I guess I failed to notice the signs until tonight. I know only too well how such naivety paired with curiosity can move from irritating to hurtful, and the poor man has already lead such a terrible life. Scout doesn't know any better, you see, but I'd like to think that Jem would know the potential harm of his actions, that he could at least feel some empathy towards Arthur. He is after all, just a good person injured by the evil of mankind - an intelligent kid emotionally damaged by his father. I guess I understand now, that there has in fact been some quite curious events occurring recently.

It all came out just this night you see. While I was so consumed in fighting the fire in Miss Maudie Atkinson's house, it seems Scout received a surprise visit from Arthur. I really couldn't help but chuckle at Jem's reaction; he blurted out the whole story. Pieces of gum, stitched up pants, soap carvings. It seems a certain someone has enjoyed entertaining the children's fantasies, and I'm glad. Jem, for one, understands the truth behind the myths about Mr Arthur - I couldn't be prouder of his insistance on not returning the blanket and protecting poor Arthur. Scout not so much, she's still quite terrified but one day she'll learn. They are growing up quite fast after all, and I fear that it will be very necessary in the coming months with Mr Robinson's trial.