Chapters 6/7: Explain Jem's statement: "When I went back they were folded across the fence… like they were expectin' me."
After Scout, Dill and Jem's encounter with Mr. Radley Jem goes back to retrieve his pants and finds them folded up on the fence. Harper Lee used this instance to show that there is someone aware of Jem and Scout and that they have been sneaking around the Radley residence constantly. After Jem, Dill and Scout narrowly escape the gunshot of Mr. Radley Jem realizes that he had lost his pants and has to get them back. He finds his pants neatly folded across the fence. Jem informs Scout about the night and how he found his pants, "They'd been sewed up… Its almost like" - "Somebody knew you were coming back for them."(Lee 78) Harper Lee is using this quote to show the reader that someone is aware of Jem and Scout. Weather it Mr. Radley or not it shows that someone knows what they've been up to. This could possibly be foreshadowing later encounters with someone that knows of them. Jem needs to be more careful creeping around the Radley residence because it is now clear that someone knows that they're there and is looking for them.
I was wondering whether Nathan Radley is possibly repaying a favor for Atticus, as he clearly knows that the pants are Jem's. Mr. Radley fills up their knothole with cement, which leads the reader to believe that he doesn't think very highly of Jem and Scout. The fact that he went along with Dill's story of strip poker, even though he knew that they were in his yard.
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DeleteJem does need to be more careful in the future when he trespasses onto the Radley's property. However, do you think that Jem has been scared too seriously to continue his spying? I agree that someone knows that it is Jem and Scout doing the creeping, but why do you think they didn't punish them in any way?
DeleteImmediately after Jem and Scout put the letter in the tree, Mr. Radley fills it up with cement using the excuse that the tree (which is very much alive) is dying. "Tree's dying. You plug 'em with cement when they're sick" (Lee, 83). This lead me to believe that maybe he thought that the people who took the little gifts left in the tree were not in fact the Finches. Maybe he thought that they were people who were more deserving of these gifts. Once he finds out that the "takers" are Jem and Scout, he stops being generous and leaving the gifts because he doesn't want them to be the ones to receive them.
I do not believe that is was Nathan Radley that sewed up Jem's pants and left them for him. I believe that it was Boo Radley. I also think that it was Boo who has been leaving trinkets for Scout and Jem in the tree hole. When Mr. Radley found out about this, he was obviously mad because he then filled it up with cement and lied to Jem saying "Tree's dying..." (Lee page 83). Jem asks Atticus and Atticus says the tree is as healthy as can be. If Mr. Radley was mad about the tree hole, he probably wouldn't care enough to cover for Jem. The real question now is why was Mr. Radley so mad about the tree hole, and why did Boo leave the trinkets and fix Jems pants?
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