I am going to continue on the topic of racism, as seems to be the trend in the more recent posts. Early on in the book there are some subtle hints at the racism that is to come that foreshadows the events of the rest of the book. During the portion where Jem and Scout are describing how far they are able to go in either direction. They said they are able to go two houses to the north, but three to the south. While this might simply be a coincidence we can construe that this might be a jab at the war between the North and the South over slavery.
Again after "Boo" Radely is to be taken in after his mother runs through the streets. instead of being sent to jail as he should have been he was locked in the courthouse's basement. The only explanation that is given for this is that the sheriff does not want to lock him up with the colored people in the jail.
These are two early examples of racism in the story. From these I was able to infere that racism was going to play a big part later on.
While it is safe to comment that colored inmates and white inmates were not mixed, any connections between the North and South and the conflicting views on slavery is not relevant to the story.
ReplyDeleteSimply, this is a story of culture that is overtly racist but handles it in a subtle and often covert manner.
While I appreciate exploration and use of literary terms, don't dig too far below the surface as the best answers are often right in front of you. Avoid symbol hunting, we are not looking for artifacts, just trying to find meaning and purpose in a story.