TKAM Chaptre 15

Summary:
In the beginning of chapter 15 of To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, it describes how the Finch household is more hectic with trial calls for Atticus, Dill’s arrival, and Aunt Alexandra’s demands, and plots to get Boo Radley to come out of his house, “’Dill had hit upon a foolproof plan to make Boo Radley come out at no cost to our selves, ’Place a trail of lemon drops from the back door to the front yard and he’d follow it, like an ant” (Lee 193). Then later next day some men, Mr. Underwood, Mr. Tate, Dr. Reynolds, and Mr. Avery, meet Atticus outside to talk about the Tom Robinson trial. Meanwhile, Jem, Scout, and Dill are eavesdropping on their conversation. After Atticus and them are done with their conversation, Jem asks Atticus about the men, asking if they were a gang or part of the Ku Klux Klan. Atticus tries to push a smile and tells Jem that they weren’t a gang and to not worry. On the next day, Sunday, Atticus meets with Mr. Heck Tate and Mr. Underwood, the sole owner, editor, and printer of The Maycomb Tribune, to get details on Tom Robinson’s moving to the Maycomb jail. That night Atticus drives out to ‘the office’, but actually sits outside the jail. When Aunt Alexandra goes to bed Jem, Scout, and Dill sneak out to go find Atticus. They find him at the jail reading the newspaper, but then four dirty old rustic cars pull up to the jail and more men form a semi-circle around Atticus. Scout, who was hiding with Jem and Dill across the street in the shadows, runs out to Atticus thinking she knows the men, but they are complete strangers. The men demand Atticus to send Scout, Jem, and Dill home, but when Atticus tells the children to leave they resist his orders. So then one of the men try to force Jem to leave, so Scout kicks the man in the place men don’t want to be kicked, ever, to let go of Jem. Then Scout realizes that one of the men is Walter Cunningham Sr. Scout then tries to ease things by making conversation with him. Mr. Cunningham Sr. is trying to be unaffected by her, but as Scout goes on about his son and entailments, he breaks and tells Scout that he’ll say hi to his son for her and tells the men to leave. After the men and Mr. Cunningham Sr. drive off, Tom Robinson asks Atticus from inside the jail if everything is all right. Lastly, Mr. Underwood and his double-barreled shot gun appear from the second floor of The Maycomb Tribune building saying if things got messy he would clean it up with his gun.

Major Changes and Developments:
In this chapter the external conflict that is introduced is how some people want to kill or at least beat Tom Robinson. This conflict is resolved when Scout makes Mr. Cunningham break and leave. Also there is a new conflict is that outside of the trial is starting to get dangerous for the people in it.

Significant Quotations:
One significant quote in this chapter was, “You’re damn tootin’ they won’t. Had you covered all the time, Atticus”-Mr. Underwood (Lee 206). This quote is important because it shows how Atticus isn’t alone in this trial, and has people to rely on for safety. Another important quote is, “’Don’t you touch him!’ I kicked the man swiftly. Barefooted, I was surprised to see him fall back in real pain. I intended to kick his shin, but aimed too high”-Scout (Lee 204). This quote is also important because it shows how far she’ll go to keep her brother safe, and it shows how outgoing she is.

Literary Elements:
One literary element that is described in this chapter is imagery. The imagery is when Scout describes the men and their cars, “…four dusty cars came in from the Meridian highway, moving slowly in a line…and stopped in front of the jail…there was a smell of stale whiskey and pigpen…most of them, in overalls and denim shirts buttoned up to the collars…some wore hats pulled firmly down over their ears”-Scout (Lee 201-204).

Critical Thinking:
1. Why did Jem resist Atticus when he was told to go home?
2. Can you guess Jem’s ‘feeling’ about Atticus when they left to go find him?
3. Why does Atticus take the car?