To Kill a Mockingbird Chapter 8
@ Harper Lee
Mrs. Radley died that winter, and although the children suspected Boo got her at last, Atticus assured them that she had died from natural causes, to their disappointment. The children were very curious if Atticus saw Mr. Arthur (Boo) when he visited the Radley residence, but he had not.
The next morning Scout had a shock when she looked out the window. "The world's ending", or so she thought. It was either that, or it was the first snowfall in Maycomb since 1885. School was canceled, and the children were ecstatic. Jem asked his father if he knew how to make a snowman, but Atticus did not. He also warned the children that there would likely not be enough snow to make even a snowball.
After breakfast, the Jem and Scout were finally able to go out and play in the "feeble layer of soggy snow". Jem fresh with ideas, suggested they go over to Ms. Maudie's to walk in her snow, so as not to melt theirs by walking in it. He had hopes of scraping up the snow to make a snowman, if they got a little more. On the way to Ms. Maudie's, Mr. Avery accosted them, blaming them for the snow. According to Mr. Avery, it was written on the *Rosetta Stone that "when children disobeyed, smoked cigarettes, and made war on each other, the seasons would change". That was quite a liberal interpretation on Mr. Avery's part, but Jem and Scout felt guilty for the unusually cold winter nonetheless. Maycomb County had two weeks of the coldest weather since 1885 (Appomattox). However, Scout decided "if the wages of sin was snow, there was something to be said for sin".
At Ms. Maudie's, they find her covering her plants to protect them from the freeze. She was more than happy to let the children scrape all the snow they could from her yard, and even offered them a basket to take it in. They returned home with their basket of snow, and Jem proceeds to fill a laundry hamper with earth. Once they had a five to two ratio of earth to snow, Jem says they would be ready to begin to build their snowman.
There isn't enough snow to build a real snowman, so they build a figure out of dirt, and cover it with snow. The make it look like Mr. Avery by molding a big stomach below the snowman's waistline. Jem crafts a cross looking face and adds a stick of stovewood to complete the picture. They can't wait for Atticus to see their creation, and he is very impressed. He soon recognizes the likeness of the snowman to their neighbor, and laughingly tells Jem that he's "perpetrated a near libel in their front yard" and that they need to "disguise the fellow". Jem has an idea and runs across the street to Ms. Maudie's yard and returns with her sunhat and hedge clippers to adorn the snowman. When Ms. Maudie sees it, she fusses a bit, but according to Atticus, she's really impressed by their accomplishments.
The temperature falls with the night, and it's the coldest night in Atticus' memory. With coal added Scout's fire, she goes to sleep. What seems like only moments later, Atticus rushes into her room and tells her to get up and to put on her robe and overcoat, socks and shoes. Jem is already dressed and waiting. It's a little after 1 am, and it finally registers with Scout that there's trouble on their street. Ms. Maudie's house is on fire! Atticus directs the children to stand in front of the Radley house and to stay put. Atticus tells them that Ms. Maudie's house is likely gone. The children watch helplessly from in front of Radley's gate as the house is devoured by the fire. The neighborhood men rush to save her furniture. Atticus carries Ms. Maudie's rocking chair to safety. They see Mr. Avery at the upstairs window shoving her mattress and furniture out the window. The men warn him that the stairs are going, and he has to get out of the house. Rather than risking the stairs, Mr. Avery climbs out the window and onto the porch to safety.
The wind is blowing, and there's fear that the nearby houses, including the Finch's, could catch on fire. The fire engine finally arrives and pumps water on the houses, so the fire doesn't spread. Neighbors use water hoses to help with houses without fire hydrants.
It's very cold, and Scout is freezing, so she begins to dance around so that she can feel her feet. Finally, at dawn, Atticus comes to get them and lead them home. In the confusion of the night, someone draped a brown woolen blanket around Scout, and when Atticus asks her about it, she has no idea who put it over her. Jem realizes Boo Radley put it on her, and reveals all their secrets including the knothole, the presents, and his mended pants. Atticus tells them to keep it to themselves. Scout nearly throws up when she realizes Boo was just behind her. Atticus cautions Jem to not let this "inspire him to future glory".
The next day, even after losing her house, Ms. Maudie is cheerful as ever. She takes a optimistic view of the fire, and tells Jem and Scout that she's always wanted a smaller house and a larger garden. Ms. Maudie is staying at Stephanie Crawford's house in the meantime. She tells the children that Mr. Avery will be in bed for a week, stove up and that she plans to bake him a **Lane Cake as soon as Ms. Crawford isn't looking. Atticus has told Ms. Maudie about Boo, Scout and the blanket, and she tells the children she wishes she had been there to see Boo, and that she would have sense enough to turn around.
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*The Rosetta Stone is a text written by a group of priests in Egypt to honour the Egyptian pharaoh. It lists all of the things that the pharaoh has done that are good for the priests and the people of Egypt.
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/writing/rosetta.html **Particularly popular throughout the South, this white or yellow cake is layered with a mixture of coconut, nuts and dried fruits and often covered with a fluffy white frosting. Lane cake is said to have originated in Clayton, Alabama, when its creator, Emma Rylander Lane, won a prize for it in the state fair.
http://www.dianasdesserts.com/index.cfm ... Recipe.cfm----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why does Atticus save Miss Maudie's oak rocking chair, and what does that tell you about Atticus?
Why do you think Boo took the risk of being seen by the children when he covered Scout with the blanket? Do you think secretly he wanted to be caught?
What does Atticus mean by telling Jem not to let his discovery “inspire ” him to “further glory”? Is there any reason why Jem might now do as Atticus says?
Do you think Harper Lee was sending the reader a message regarding racism and appearances with the snowman, and if so, what was the message?
