As I continue To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, new characters was introduced and the story gets more interesting. As chapter ten begins, Scout feels slightly ashamed of her father, because it seems like he doesn’t do anything remarkable. Atticus warns Scout and Jem that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . . but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. ” One day, a mad dog appears, wandering around the neighborhood; Heck Tate gives Atticus a rifle and tells him to shoot the dog.
To Jem and Scout’s amazement, Atticus hit the dog in one shot, Miss. Maudie tells them that Atticus as a young man was the best shot in the county. Scout was eager to brag about it at school, but Jem tells her to keep it a secret, because if Atticus wanted them to know, he would have told them. Mrs. Dubose is a very mean, sick and old lady, she always yells at Jem and Scout as they pass by her house. Atticus warns them to be nice to her, but one day Jem loses his temper and destroys all of her camellia bushes. As punishment, Jem has to read to her everyday for a month. Mrs. Dubose was addicted to morphine, and Jem’s reading sessions helped her fight this addiction, but she dies a little while after Jem’s punishment ends. Atticus gives Jem a box that Mrs. Dubose left for Jem, and in it lays a single white camellia. When Jem reaches the age of twelve he has matured and he wants Scout to do so too. Scout gets upset and looks forward to Dill’s arrival in the summer, but to her disappointment, he does not come to Maycomb this year. Dill’s mother has remarried and he has to stay with his family in Meridian. The state legislature is called into session, forcing Atticus to travel to the state capital for two weeks.
Calpurnia takes the children to a “colored” church, later she was being criticized for bringing white children to church. After church, Scout learns that Tom Robinson was accused by Bob Ewell and she does not understand why people would believe Ewell’s words. Aunt Alexandra comes to Maycomb to take care of the children; she believes that her visit will give them a “feminine influence. ” Aunt Alexandra tells Atticus to lecture them on the subject of their ancestry, which made Scout cry. Scout asks Atticus what rape is, and when Aunt Alexandra finds out that the children goes to Calpurnia’s she does not allow them to go next Sunday.
That night, Jem and Scout finds Dill hiding under Scout’s bed, Dill ran away from home because his mother and new father does not pay enough attention to him. New characters were introduced in these chapters; Mrs. Dubose, Miss. Maudie and Aunt Alexandra. Mrs. Dubose is an elderly, mean, racist, sick woman who lives neat the Finches. Although Jem dislikes her, Atticus believes that she is very courageous to fight her morphine addiction. Miss. Maudie is a widow who is the Finches’ neighbor; she is one of the only adults Jem and Scout respects. Aunt Alexandra is a strong-willed woman who is very devoted to her family.
Characters start to mature and we see their views towards people changes. In chapters ten to fifteen of this novel, one significant literary element introduced was the symbols; Dill, mockingbird, mad dog, camellia flower, and Tom Robinson were a few symbols used in these chapters. Dill symbolizes a child perspective, childhood and summer, when they found out that he wouldn’t be coming in the summer leads Jem to realize the problems in Maycomb, therefore he starts to mature. The mockingbird represents innocence, it is a sin to kill a mockingbird because they do not do one thing but make music for people to enjoy.
Mad dog is a symbol of racism in the town of Maycomb, when it wanders on the streets of the neighborhood, all the people of Maycomb hide away in their houses, this shows they way the people of Maycomb are ignorant of their racist and prejudice ways. Atticus is the only one that makes a stand to racism, and it was represents by the fact that he was the one who shoots the dog and kills it. Tom Robinson symbolizes mockingbird and innocence, what they are accusing him of and the punishment that could follow is morally wrong, which is considered a sin; a sin to kill a mockingbird.
An irony which was introduced in these chapters were the fact that Scout believes Atticus is the bravest man because he talks to Mrs. Dubose politely, and thinks he is very courageous for doing that. However, Atticus believes that Mrs. Dubose is the bravest person because she had the courage to fight and overcome her morphine addiction. I believe that as the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird progresses, the story captures your attention more, because the characters starts to mature and leave their child perspective behind; they see many things in different oint of views and it makes you wonder what will happen next. One thing I really liked in these chapters was the part where they find Dill under Scout’s bed. It is like a twist, it makes you wonder why he would be hiding under her bed; you make different assumptions drawing you into the book, keep you captures and wanting more. At the beginning of the chapters, I knew it would keep me reading, but I didn’t expect some of the events that happened. I was very surprised when I started reading, which made me wonder why she did that. As a result, it kept me very interested and making me want to continue the novel.
