246

Page 246

From the text:
Dill said a crowd of black children were playing marbles in Tom's front yard.

Our interpretation of it:
Tom's character attracted the children to come to his house's front yard to play. It showed that he was caring and loving to children. He would never have done anything harmful towards them. Tom had a heart for children, thus, the children would want to come to play at his yard. The children love him and come to his yard because they see that he is a very kind man, through his actions and speech. The question is that, would a man who loves children, resort to raping Mayella Ewell?

From the text:
A little girl came to the cabin door and stood looking at Atticus. Dill said her hair was a wad of tiny stiff pigtails, each ending in a bright bow. She grinned from ear to ear and walked towards our father, but she was too small to navigate the steps. Dill said Atticus went to her...and offered her his finger. She grabbed it and he eased her down the steps.

Our interpretation of this:
From here, we can see that although Atticus is a White, the little black girl wasn't afraid of him. This is because Atticus fought for her father in the trial. Atticus fought for a black. He was well known by the Blacks for his kind heart and determination of defending TR. It shows that he doesn't care about the social status of the blacks and the whites. Atticus was willing to put down his White "superiority" to help a little black girl. This tells us that he is a very humble man, who is willing to put justice above his race. He didn't defend his White community in the trial. He defended a black.

From the text:
'Scout,' said Dill, 'she just fell down in dirt. Just fell down in the dirt, like a giant with a big foot just came along and stepped on her. Just ump---' Dill's fat foot hit the ground. ' Like you'd step on an ant.'

Our interpretation of this:
Again, Helen is referred to an ant. We think that the author is trying to imply that the shock, impact and grief of TR's death made her fall down, just like that. The 'giant with a big foot' refers to the Whites in Maycomb, who looked down on her. They don't care about her feelings at all. They just treated her like a tiny insect, so small that they would not even bother to care to notice or feel guilty towards if she died. Only people who had the heart for others would care about the black and help her. Atticus and Calpurnia are good examples of such people. They lifted "Helen to her feet and half carried, half walked her to the cabin". It shows that Atticus is a friend to the blacks. He holds justice above the law, unlike the rest of the Whites in Maycomb.

Character Study
Tom Robinson - caring and loving towards children as children came to his yard to play marbles. The black children around the county enjoyed to go to TR's front yard to play with his children. In contrast, none of the Whites in Maycomb lets their children play with the Ewell children. This means that Tom Robinson could never have done the "crime" he was said to have done. A man so loving and caring to children would definitely NOT hurt Mayella.
Atticus - caring and loving towards children too. He went to a little girl who was having trouble with the stairs and "offered her his finger". Not every White man in Maycomb would have done that, as they would think that it was a low-down thing to do.
- helpful. He helped Helen up after she fell down on the dirt. This also shows he is compassionate. He humbled himself, even though he was a in the major race in Maycomb, and lent a helping hand to a Black lady.
Dill - has the flair to be dramatic. He actioned his words - his foot hit the ground as he was talking about the giant with a big foot. All along, we know that Dill is very imaginative. He is also in a way like Jem, who relates or compares situations with other happenings.