Shoot all the bluejays you want
As referred to in my previous blogpost, the narrator, Scout, has grown on me and as the plot develops, the admiration doesn't change. She stands up for what she believes is right and will (literally) fight for it. However, her brother Jem is who I am tracking throughout the novel is a close second.
Going through puberty and growing into manhood has changed Jem's stature and attitude towards life. For example, after Atticus revealed his hidden "One-shot Finch" talents, Jem exclaims, "'Atticus is a gentleman, just like me'" (99.) This was an odd remark slightly out of place in the context but I infer this as a "cry out for help" from Jem himself. Atticus divulges his secret life and Jem says he's just like his father. This leads me to believe that Jem has a lot more going on than what's being shown.
The origin of the title is revealed in chapter 10 in which Atticus says, "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird'" (90.) Harper Lee uses this quote to take a stab at Jem's character. At the beginning of the book when he would try to mess with Boo Radley, it could be looked at as sinful. Boo Radley hasn't done anything to Jem and even sewed his pants back together for him along with leaving the knickknacks in the knothole of the tree. Atticus is using this metaphor to get Jem to leave Boo Radley alone.
Concluding our discussion this week, we ended up deciding on a large circle discussion for the entire period. Normally we do two smaller discussions with observers then break up into a larger one at the end of class. There are pros and cons about the large circle discussions. Its beneficial because there's no restriction on talking about certain topics; something that occurs within two separate discussions. However, it also limits the amount of participation and leads to an excessive amount of awkward silence. Overall I would give last weeks discussion a 7/10 because the content was there but not many people contributed.
Focus Questions: How does Boo Radley's presence affect the growth of Jem and Scout as people? and Atticus has always been honest with his children and tells them how it is. Why is this not the case in the trial going on right now?
