Chapter+9

Summary:

A kid at school started giving Scout trouble and being mean to her because her father was defending a black man. Scout wasn't sure what he meant or why it was such a bad thing, because Atticus always taught her that a person’s skin color doesn’t make a difference. She was confused so before she beat him up she went home and asked Atticus why someone would say things like that. Atticus explained to her that he was defending Tom Robinson; a black man, in a trial. He said that he had to do it, although he knew he wasn't going to win but if he didn't take on this challenge, he couldn't expect Jem or Scout to ever treat and respect properly, and he couldn't represent their town in the state legislature. Scout still didn’t understand the situation and what Atticus was talking about, but Atticus asked her not to fight whenever someone made comments about him or this case. He wanted her to remember that although things could get quite ghastly; these people were still their friends and people. Maycomb County was still their home. So Scout did the unimaginable and walked away from a fight because she didn't want to let down Atticus, and she followed the agreement well…untill Christmas. During Christmas, Uncle Jack comes to visit as Atticus takes them all to visit the Finch Landing. Aunt Alexandra and her husband are living at the landing while Alexandra's grandson, Francis, is visiting at the time. However, the same problems confront Scout as Francis calles Atticus a "nigger lover" and offends her by calling Dill a runaway boy. However, things get nasty as a fight breaks out, but Scout sorts it out with Uncle Jack and makes him promise not to reveal Francis' words to Atticus. He keeps his promise and that really tells us a lot about his character.

Chapter 9: SETTING

Place: Maycomb, Alabama School Atticus’s house Finch’s Landing Time: Christmas Time Winter December

Atmosphere: Quite tense at some points where conflicts occur. (Esp. between Scout and Francis) Mostly calm

Themes: The main theme is the discrimination against black slaves and the lack of acceptance of their rights. Another theme could be the ways children seek attention. General gender roles society assigns.

Character Profiles in Chapter 9:

Francis is Jem and Scout’s relative. He is Aunt Alexandra’s grandson and he too is visiting at the Finch Landing. Francis is a year older to Scout; he has always been disliked by Scout for his annoying and irritating behavior. Francis isn’t shown at first to be malicious, but the true side of his character is revealed when he claims that Dill is a runaway and a runt. He also calls Atticus a nigger lover ,which is once again the prejudice and discrimination against colored folks. However, Francis isn’t to blame, but rather the division in the society in the 1930s. Francis is not really a dynamic character as much information isn’t revealed about him. Uncle Jack, as always comes to stay with the Finches for a week during Christmas. Uncle Jack has had great love for Jem and Scout and has respected them. Uncle Jack is quite different from Atticus. He is a doctor, but Scout mentions that he is one of the men on science she doesn’t fear, because he never behaved like a doctor. Also he is shown to be stricter than Atticus and feels that Scout should behave more like a woman. He was upset and didn’t like the idea of Scout cussing, whereas Atticus just took it very lightly. At the end of this chapter, Uncle Jack treats Scout unjustly for her actions, so Scout made him promise not to tell Atticus her side of the story. Uncle Jack kept his promise and that really showed a lot about his personality and how he is a trustworthy and honest man. Aunt Alexandra has always been loving and nice to Jem and Scout, but in this chapter, we learn some new features about her. We learn that Aunt Alexandra is a serious gossiper and creates very prejudiced opinions about people. She loves to sit around all day and spread and share rumors about people, including her own brother. Aunt Alexandra has been feeding Francis with her opinions about how Atticus is defending Tom Robinson. This is the reason why Francis has been calling Atticus a nigger lover and it creates a bad impression of Aunt Alexandra from this to the reader.
 * Francis:**
 * Uncle Jack Finch:**
 * Aunt Alexandra:**

Mimosa tree - [] Pg. 84 “Francis climbed the mimosa tree, came down, put his hands in his pockets and strolled around the yard.”



Finch’s Landings (Alabama) - []

 pg. 79 “Finch’s Landing consisted of three hundred and sixty-six steps down high buff and ending in a jetty…”



Rusty bell on a pole - []  Pg. 80 “in the back yard was a rusty bell on a pole, used to summon field hands or as a distress signal.”



Ringworm-http://www.nativeremedies.com/images/design/ailmentRingworm.jpg pg 75: “Miss Rachael’s cook’s son, who was afflicted with a tremendous ** ringworm **.”



General hood type of beard: http://s3.amazonaws.com/ep_albums/-985391818/41451/0m1vs.jpg “He wore a ** General Hood type of beard ** of which he was inordinately vain.”

Maycomb junction:http://www.inmaricopa.com/Portals/0/Site%20Pages/Maricopa%20RR%20Station_notice%20baggage%20carts%20%20REV.jpg “Every Christmas Eve day, we would meet Uncle Jack at the ** Maycomb Junction **, as he would spend a week with us.”



Tongs:http://teachertech.rice.edu/Participants/louviere/vms/science/beakertongs.jpg “…and explain the use of any ** tongs ** he employed.”

Hookah: http://v7web.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/hookah.jpg “..smoking a ** hookah..” **



Bales:http://celebratecanada.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/round-bales.jpg “…Finch negroes had loaded ** bales **…”

Widow’s walk:http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasGulfCoastTowns/BaysideTexas/BaysideTexasJohnHWoodHouseWidowsWalk507KRudine.jpg “A ** widow’s walk ** was on the roof-but no widows walked there.”

__**VOCABULARY:**__

// 1. //Gastric- of the stomach. // “….September had brought on sinking spells, dizziness, and mild ** gastric ** complaints. //

2. Afflicted-cause pain or suffering to. // “…who was ** afflicted ** by a tremendous ringworm.” //

3. Peculiar-strange or odd. // “It’s a ** peculiar **case-it won’t come on trial until the summer session.” //

// 4. //Legislature-the law making structure for states/countries. // “I couldn’t represent this county in the ** legislature **.” //

// 5. //Inordinately-unusually large. // “He wore a General Hood type of beard of which he was ** inordinately ** vain. //

// 6. //Rehash-put old ideas into a new form without significant change. // “…I would listen respectfully to Cousin Ike and Atticus ** rehash ** the war.” //

// 7. //Lineaments-distinctive characteristic. // “A flip of the coin revealed the uncompromising ** lineaments **of Aunt Alexandra and Francis.” //

// 8. //Deposited-put or set something/someone. // “Henry and his wife ** deposited ** Francis at his grandparents’….” //

// 9. //Induce-succeed in persuading. // “No amount of sighing could ** induce ** Atticus to let us spend Christmas day at home.” //

// 10. //Analogous-comparable in certain respects. // “Aunt Alexandra would have been ** analogous ** to Mount Everest. // 11. Relativity-dependence of various motion. // The medical method used by Jack Finch is ** relativity **. // 12. Innate-natural.// ” …aside from the ** innate ** attractiveness of such words…” //

// 13. //Provocation-action that makes someone annoyed and angry. // Uncle Jack doesn’t want Scout to cuss unless there is ** provocation ** connected with them. //

// 14. //Indicative-a sign or indication of something. // “The internal arrangements of the Finch house were ** indicative ** of Simon’s guilelessness. //

// 15. //Deportment- person’s behavior or manners. // “Aunt Alexandra’s vision of my ** deportment ** involved playing with small stoves, ….” //