Responding: To Kill a Mockingbird, Twenty-two through Thirty-one

Personal Response

The ending of the novel surprised me. If I were the author, I would have ended the story differently. This is because I could never have thought of using Boo Radley at the end again to show that he was humane and that the thoughts of the Maycomb County people that he was a monster was false.

Analyzing Literature
Recall and Interpret

1. The children are afraid that Bob Ewell would hurt either themselves or their father, Atticus. Atticus however feels that Bob Ewell would only threaten them, but not harm them.

2. On their way home from the school pageant, Bob Ewell follows them in the night and attacks them, and fortunately, Boo Radley was nearby and saved them by killing Bob Ewell. This incident reveals that Boo Radley is a humane person as he had saved Scout and Jem.

3. Scout treats Boo in a friendly manner after the incident. She had thought that Boo was a monster at the start due to the comments on Boo by other people, and she no longer felt that Boo was a monster after the incident, but a curious and shy person, and was just like any other normal person.

Analyzing Literature
Evaluate and Connect

4. I believe they made the best decision about how to report Bob Ewell's death. This is because this decision would prevent Boo Radley from being placed on trial and to prevent him from receiving public attention, which would hurt him.

5. I think the cause of justice is best advanced through such "baby steps". This is because these "baby steps" would slowly allow the Whites to reflect on their prejudications against the Blacks, and their racism would slowly disappear, which causes their community to have more justice in judging cases like that of Tom Robinson.