What Impressions have we formed of Jem, Scout, Dill and the residents of Maycomb? Why Does Harper Lee devote so much of the opening chapter to the Radley family?

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Haneef Khan

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What Impressions have we formed of Jem, Scout, Dill and the residents of Maycomb? Why Does Harper Lee devote so much of the opening chapter to the Radley family?

To me, Jem is an uncomplicated ten year old, solely devoted to his own imagination. In the very first paragraph of the chapter, Scout explains that Jem “couldn’t have cared less so long as he could pass a punt”. This suggests that Jem is completely self-confident. Jem is someone who hasn’t the best intellectual ability, though still understands the ways of the world. He sees himself as a key part of Maycomb; Jem is self-important. When he and Scout first encounter young Dill, Jem leads in the seemingly customary examination of the stranger. The way of which they ultimately speak to Dill isn’t of a welcoming manner either. Jem is un-caring of the hurt Dill may feel when being told he looked “right puny for goin’ on seven.”

 

As much as Jem seems to be inconsiderate, he does appear to have an emotional disposition. “…sometimes in the middle of a game he would sigh at length, then go off and play by himself behind the car-house”. Jem clearly has a great love for his departed mother, and is un-able to discuss his sentiments with anyone; Scout proves not to remember her mother.

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Unlike Jem, Scout seems to be dispassionate when regarding her deceased mother. “I did not miss her…”, being my main reasoning. Scout has no motherly figure at this stage. We know her mother is dead, and that she rejects the only other feminine presence in her household, Calpurnia.  She, at one stage labels Cal as a “tyrannical presence”, and additionally separates her from their family, stating that Cal is merely her cook. We gain the impression that Scout is a tomboy, being heavily involved socially as well as domestically with her brother. Her lack of appreciated feminine influence being the ...

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