Dear Diary:
Today has been long and hard. It has given me much to think about. I have been confused all day. I can’t figure out what’s wrong. Maybe rape shouldn’t be a capital offense. I mean before a man as sentenced to death for murder, there should be one or two eye witness who saw it happening. Someone should be able to say “yes, I was there and saw the enemy pull the trigger.” I feel crest fallen because the jury is exhausted admits that he had expected the guilty verdict, but he feels optimistic about their chances at an appeal. I am encouraged as Atticus speaks out of long experience. I am confused as to why people like us never sit on juries. You never see anybody from Maycomb on a jury-they all come from out in the woods. Miss Maudie can’t serve in a jury because she is a woman.
Late last night, I overhead Aunt Alexandra in another talk with Scout forbit her from inviting a poor, white school mate who’s father may had held the jury for so long. I saw Scout running to her room in tears, devastated by the racial prejudice, that rule her world. I tried to comfort Scout by explaining the difficulties there are among people of various racial backgrounds. I explained to her that there are four kinds of folks in the world. There is the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there is the kind like the Cunninghams at in the woods, the kind like Ewells down the dump, and the Negroes. I told her that our kind of folks don’t like Cunninghams, the Cunninghams don’t like the Ewells and the Ewells despite the colored folks. I was disturbed when I was trying to explain to Scout that all people are not alike, but vary according to their backgrounds. Scout tried to tell me that we have only one kind of folks. However that really bothered me because if there is only one kind, how come people in Maycomb can’t get along.
Now I begin to understand why Boo Radley stayed shut up in the house all this time because he realized there are four kinds of people who can’t get along and he wanted solitude. I was beginning to realize the reason for his desire to be alone. Boo Radley in shutting himself off was limiting any form of socialization. Such life is very inhibiting.
Dear Diary:
With the beginning of school, our daily trips passed the Radley place began. Somehow the Radley place no longer terrified me. Mr. Nathan Radley walked to town and back each day. We knew Boo was inside because no one had seem him carried out. As children we had tormented him by peeping through the windows delivering greetings at the end of the fishing pole. Jem thought he would never seen him but there was always a chance. No body would tell Mr. Radley that his boy was in with the wrong crowd. Mr. Radley’s boy was not seen again for fifteen years. Boo was locked in the basement. Jem thought Mr. Radley kept him chained to the bed most of the time. The Radley place was inhabited by an unknown entity. The mere description was enough to make us behave for days on end. At night Boo Radley was set to com out no near than the light pole on the corner, a swept yard that was never swept. Inside lived a malevolent phantom. He went out at night when the moon was down. He committed Stealthy crimes, unwilling to discard initial suspicious. A Negro wouldn’t pass at night. He would cut across to the opposite side and whistle as he pass. The house shutters and the doors of the Radley house were closed to the outside world.
In December 1916 Lloid George the new British prime minister formed the imperial war cabinet to coordinate the war effort through out the British Empire. As Borden had desired Canada now had a voice in the conduct of the war. On Borden’s return to Canada he found himself with the biggest crisis of the war. Recruitment was not going well. Borden introduced the military service act. It was bitterly resented by French Canadian but there were many loopholes and many could avoid the draft. Borden’s new union government was an overwhelming victory. He said “when I form a government, I would hope to include representative of business, labour and agriculture.
I want to form a government that is representative of every part of Canada. Laurier’s prestige was sufficient to keep Quebec loyal. As a leader, it is my duty to all the friends of political freedom to organize at once.
In the war effort to defeat Germany, the people of Canada had to stand firm. As a leader of Canada, I would offer a strong resolve to defeat Germany. Germany had a well equipped army, a great supply f ammunition, officers were detailed training and a nation to hate everything British. Germany was fully aware that we weren’t prepared for war.
