Chapters 7 and 8

Chapter 7
 Summary 

A few days after school began, while Jem persisted to be sulky and irritable, and Scout realised that the second grade is just as mundane as the first, Jem tells Scout that when he returned to the Radley house, he found his breeches miraculously fixed and folded neatly across the fence, eerily as if someone was expecting him to return. When they come home from school that day they discover another present hidden in the knothole of the tree outside the Radley's house, and this time a ball of grey twine was left for them. Though they decided not to take the twine, after a few days, when no one had claimed it, they took it for themselves.

Scout seemed, on the whole, unsatisfied by the second grade, but her brother, Jem, assured her that school gets more interesting the farther up you go. Later on that Autumn, Jem and Scout found another present left in the knot hole for them- two figures (a boy and a girl) carved in soap resembling both Jem and Scout. The figurines were followed by presents in the form of chewing gum, a spelling-bee medal and a pocket watch.

Jem and Scout decided to leave a note for the mysterious person leaving them gifts, thanking them for their kindness. However, to their disbelief, when they ran past the tree the next day, they discover that the knot hole has been filled with cement. Furthermore, when Jem questions Mr Radley as to why he plugged the tree he simply replies that the tree's dying.

 Key Quotations& Analysis 

'We appreciate the -no, we appreciate everything which you have put into the tree for us. Yours very truly, Jeremy Atticus Finch'

-The polite manner of this letter and the use of the word 'appreciate' perhaps suggests that Scout and Jem are begin to appreciate Boo as a human. This perhaps highlights the maturation and development of both characters.

'Someone filled our knot-hole with cement'

-The ambiguity of 'someone' is very gothic-like and perhaps presents the Radleys as villians again. However, the possessive use of 'our' highlights the importance of the knot-hole to them as they shared it with Boo, and thus this is their connection.

The tree is used as a symbol for the character of Boo.

The way in which Mr Radley 'filled' the knot-hole up with cement and cuts off the connection between Boo and the children could be a symbol for the way in which by keeping Boo locked up inside the house he is denying Boo the chance of making relationships with others and reaching out to people.

'That tree's as healthy as you are Jem.'

-As the tree is a symbol for Boo, Atticus defies neighborhood gossip by telling Jem that Boo is not sick and strange, he's actually just as healthy as everyone else.

'Well maybe it is. I'm sure Mr Radley knows more about his trees than we do.'

-This dismissive attitude adopted by Atticus is shocking as he doesn't help Boo at all. This highlights not only the importance of gossip in Maycomb county but also the power opinions had over others, as they would rather go along with what someone else has said than help someone out.

'He stood there until nightfall, and I waited for him. When we went in the house I saw he had been crying; his face was dirty in the right places, but I thought it odd that I had not heard him.'

-The upset that the break in connection between the children and Boo has caused Jem perhaps highlights Jem's maturation as a character. However the way in which Scout had 'not heard him' cry perhaps suggests that Jem's ashamed of the upset all this has caused him.

 Key issues surrounding context 

The way in which Jem matures a lot more quickly than Scout, as he is a lot more upset about the filling of the knot-hole ('He had been crying') perhaps highlights the roles of men and women, and how women were seen as inferior to men, men were the ones who had developed in society most, but also perhaps this emphasizes the desire for equality and for women to mature in society as well as men.

Chapter 8
 Summary 

That year Maycomb experienced its first real winter in years. While Mr Avery managed to convince Scout that it was the wrongdoings of children against their parents that caused the seasons to change, Mrs Radley's death caused little disruption to Maycomb's ways. Though Atticus announced that she died of natural causes, Jem and Scout came to their own conclusions that it was Boo who had caused her death.

The winter that year was so cold it snowed, such a rare event, which caused school to close. So Jem and Scout decided they'd take all the snow from Miss Maudie's garden in order to try to make a snow man, which ended up being a small figure made of dirt and covered in snow, supposed to be Mr Avery. Atticus is disgusted when he sees the figure's likeness to Mr Avery and so tells them to disguise it. So Jem decides to stick Miss Maudie's sunhat on the snowman's head and jam her hedge-clippers into the crook of his arm, which outrages Miss Maudie.

That night, Scout awoke to Atticus shaking her and telling her to hurry out the house. To her disbelief, when she got outside she could just about make out Miss Maudie's house on fire. Though the fire truck made it on time to stop the fire spreading to other houses, it could not prevent Miss Maudie's house burning to the ground. Scout, unaware of it at the time, is draped with a blanket, and when questioned about it afterwards she has no idea how it got there. Jem realises that it was in actual fact Boo Radley who put the blanket round her, and so tells Atticus everything, from the knothole, to the presents and the mended pants. And Scout almosts throws up from the sudden realisation that Boo was right behind her.

After loosing her house Miss Maudie was in a suprisingly good mood the next day She told Jem and Scout how she disliked her home anyway and how she is already planning on building a smaller house with a bigger garden, and that she'd wished she'd been there to catch Boo in the act of putting the blanket on Scout.

 Key Quotations& Analysis 

We begin to question to what degree Jem and Scout have actually matured in Chapter 8, as Chapter 7 seems to show their characters as developed because they are able to appreciate Boo as human.

'My stomach turned to water'

-Contrasts to Chapter 7 as we begin to wonder how much the children have grown up. Yet, this is the first physical contact almost between Boo and Scout.

'Someday maybe Scout can thank him'

-This quotation from Atticus lets us realise that Scout and Jem will always be in debt to Boo for his actions.

'You were so busy looking at the fire you didn't know it when he put the blanket round you'

-The 'fire' is almost reflective of the rumours as everyone is so busy gossiping about Boo Radley, they are unaware of all the good deeds he is doing.

 Key issues surrounding context 

The way in which Atticus asks 'Calpurnia if she wanted to stay with us for the night' emphasizes the distinctions between classes, as she did so much in their house, but was not allowed to stay with them because she just took care of them.

Furthermore, the fact that Atticus 'drove her home' highlights the superiority of men and the fact that women were still very much unable to take care/ look after themselves.

The representation of 'fire' as the rumours highlights the importance of gossip in Maycomb and that people were willing to believe everything they heard.