Monday, February 25, 2013

Why does Atticus start to get angry at the children after the fire in To Kill a Mockingbird? Chapter 8

There are several emotions that happen the night of the
fire, however, I do not think any of them could be described as "anger," especially not
from Atticus.


One unusual occurrence is that at the end of
the evening, Scout mysteriously has a blanket laid over her shoulders.  Atticus has a
moment of confusion as he tries to figure out how it got there.  He decides Boo Radley
must have done it.  There is a moment where fear flickers across Scout's face and Jem
seizes the opportunity to be a big brother and play into that
fear.


At this, Atticus says, "Don't let this inspire you to
further glory, Jeremy."  Likely, this is the closest Atticus comes to anger that night. 
But even this line isn't said out of anger.  I imagine Atticus speaks in that very
clear, authoritative voice that parents use when they want to speak the message, "This
subject is over and do not even think about carrying it on
further."  He uses Jem's full name, for one thing, and he is successful in ending the
subject.  Both the children knew that Atticus meant business with that
line.

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