Saturday, September 21, 2013
Chapter 6/7: Explain Jem's Statement: "When I went back they were folded across the fence... like they were expectin' me."
After Jem finds his pants mended and folded over the Radley yard gate, he knows that someone was expecting him to come and retrieve them. Jem, Scout and Dill had gone to the Radley house to see if they could get a look at Boo Radley. Then they saw a shadow, so they ran away. Jem got caught on the gate though, and had to kick of his pants to get loose. He didn't want Atticus to find out that he had gone to the Radley house, so he went to get back his pants and found them mended and folded over the gate. A week later, Jem and Scout are talking about the incident on the way back from school an Scout says "somebody knew you were comin' back for 'em (Lee 78)." Jem says "When I went back they were folded across the fence... like they were expectin' me (Lee 78)." Jem means that someone expected him to come back and get them, and this creeps Jem out a little. He wonders how the person knew he was going to come back, and who the person was. Someone saw Jem's pants and knew Jem was coming back for them.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Jem is aware that someone knows he was wondering in the Radley's yard. I agree that he is frightened that someone knows about what he's been doing because that means in a way they have "blackmail" on him. My theory is that he has a group of "suspects" of which he thinks know about who was watching him. I think that in the next chapter he will discover who was aware of him sneking around the Radley's house.
ReplyDeleteJem is aware that someone knows he was wondering in the Radley's yard. I agree that he is frightened that someone knows about what he's been doing because that means in a way they have "blackmail" on him. My theory is that he has a group of "suspects" of which he thinks know about who was watching him. I think that in the next chapter he will discover who was aware of him sneking around the Radley's house.
ReplyDeleteUp until this moment when Jem found his pants folded, the gang thought that they were anonymous. They even lied to explain why Jem’s pants were missing, “We were playin’ strip poker up yonder by the fish pool (Lee 73).” This lie only works when no one else sees them exploring the Radley house, but when Jem found his pants, sown and folded, it was clear that someone had seen them and knew him well enough to know that he was going to come back for the pants.
ReplyDeleteWhen the kids find out that the stranger knows they are taking the objects from the tree trunk, they are very scared, mostly by the fact that it is most likely one of the Radleys. It is mentioned several times in the beginning of the book that the Radleys are the only ones (instead of the children) that actually go anywhere near the house. The fact that it was sewn roughly, shows that it was someone with a rough and shaky hand, so someone not accustomed to sewing, or perhaps sick. It is most likely Boo Radley, considering that Nathan Radley never usually talks to Jem or Scout or anyone else in Maycomb. So, perhaps it is Boo sending the items to the children, although it is odd he has these items with him. But it could be his form of communicating.
ReplyDelete