Chapter 26: Erin Burke

Chapter 26: Erin Burke
Plot Summary:
School has begun again, Jem is now in the seventh grade, and Scout is in the third grade. Jem has gone out for the football team but he is too small so he carries the water buckets for the team. Since Jem is staying at the school later with the football team, the two children walk home at separate times. Scout explains how she feels bad for trying to make Mr. Arthur Radley (Boo) come out. Every time Scout walks by the Radley’s house, she looks for Boo, hoping he will be sitting on the swing and they will chat and then go on their ways as though it was a regular occurrence. By this time, most of the people in Maycomb forgot about the case. They even re-elected Atticus as state legislator. Each week in Scouts classroom, there is a current events period where they have to get an item from the newspaper and talk about it to the class. Cecil Jacobs brings in an item about Hitler, talking about what he is doing to the Jewish people. Miss Gates, Scout’s teacher, explains in further detail how it is wrong what Hitler is doing. She tells the class that Germany does not have a democracy like us, they are a dictatorship. Miss Gates expressed her hatred for Hitler. Later that day, Scout went home, and she had posed a question for Atticus, this question being is it alright to hate Hitler? He told her it is not okay to hate anyone. She was going to ask Atticus another question, but she just could not word it right, so she went to ask Jem. Jem was in his room eating a large amount of food. He told Scout it was the only way for him to gain twenty-five pounds to get on the football team next year. She tells Jem how Miss Gates hates Hitler and how she said it is not right to persecute anyone. But then Scout asks how Miss Gates could say this when that day in the courthouse when they were leaving Scout overheard Miss Gates saying something to Miss Stephanie Crawford. She heard her saying, “it’s time somebody taught ’em a lesson, they were getting’ way above themselves, an’ the next thing they think they can do is marry us.” Then Scout wonders and asks Jem how she can hate Hitler for persecuting the Jewish people but then she can say that about people in her home, Maycomb. Jem became furious, he told her to get out and to never speak of the courthouse again. Scout stayed calm and did not cry, she just went down to Atticus who heard the incident. He told her not to worry; Jem was just trying to forget something until he would be able to think about it without getting upset.
Major Changes and Developments:
In chapter 26, we learn many things about the characters. The reader now realizes that Jem really has been affected by the case just by the way he reacted to Scout’s simple question. We also learn that Scout is growing up because she notices that Boo does not want to be bothered and she feels bad about pestering him. She just wants to see him one time in her life, and she is not afraid of Boo anymore. Also we learn that Scout understands it is not okay to persecute and she notices some people react to Hitler’s persecuting as being bad even though they are persecuting others as well.
Significant Quotations:
1. “I heard her say it’s time somebody taught ‘em a lesson, they were getting’ way above themselves, an’ the next thing they think they can do is marry us. Jem, how can you hate Hitler so bad an’ then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home-.”
- This was said by Scout 331.
2. “Atticus said that Jem was trying hard to forget something, but what he was really doing was storing it away for a while, until enough time passed. Then he would be able to think about it and sort things out. When he was able to think about it, Jem would be himself again.”
- This was said by Scout on page 331.
Literary Elements:
One literary element used in Chapter 26 is foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is shown on page 324 and 325, when Scout is expressing her thoughts of Boo Radley. She says she wishes she could get one good look at him, and maybe one day he will just be sitting on a swing when she passes. I believe this is implying that Scout has started to think about Boo again and she will probably meet him soon.
Vocabulary:
Compelled (page 326) - to force or drive, esp. to a course of action (verb)
Mused (page 329) - to think or meditate in silence, as on some subject (verb)
Critical Thinking:
1. Do you think Scout’s fantasy about Boo Radley is implying something that will happen later in the novel? Do you think that this new change in her ideas of Boo will cause her to forget about him or cause her to keep pestering him?
2. Do you think that Scout has begun to grow up based on her ideas about Miss Gates, the trial and Hitler?