Chapters 9, 10 and 11

Summary

Atticus has been asked to defend a black man called Tom Robinson who is accused of raping a white woman. It is a case, which he cannot hope to win, but he tells Scout that in order to uphold his sense of justice and duty, he must attempt to give Tom Robinson the best chance to win.

Scout gets involved in a fight with a classmate who calls her dad ‘a nigger lover’.

At Christmas Atticus takes Jem and Scout to Finch’s landing to spend the holidays with Uncle Jack and Aunt Alexandra, her husband and grandson Francis. Scout likes Uncle Jack and he takes her aside and warns her not to curse in his presence, as he likes her to be more ladylike. Francis taunts Scout about Atticus defending a black man and she curses and beats him up.  Uncle Jack spanks her without hearing her side of the story, suffering again another injustice.

Back home in Maycomb she tells Jack what Francis had said and Jack becomes furious. Scout is frightened that Jack will tell Atticus who has already told her not to fight with anyone over the Tom Robinson case.  Jack has promised not to tell Atticus.

Atticus is aged fifty and is older than most of the other fathers in Maycomb, which is sometimes a cause of embarrassment for his children. He wears glasses and reads a lot instead of hunting and fishing like the other men in the town, so his children think perhaps he is slightly feeble. 

However, one day the town pet-dog goes rabid and appears in the town wandering down the main street. Nobody appears to want to do anything about it. To the children’s amazement Atticus takes immediate action and from a considerable distance shoots the dog dead with one shot.  Later Miss Maudie tells Jem and Scout that Atticus was the best shot in the county and was know as ‘One-shot Finch’.

The Finch family receives more abuse from certain members of the community and Mrs. Dubose, a vindictive old lady, tells the children that Atticus is no better than the ‘niggers and trash he works for’.  Jem is furious at this and destroys all her camellia bushes.  When Atticus finds out, he sends him round to Mrs. Dubose’s house to apologize leaving the type of punishment up to the old lady. Atticus tells Jem that Mrs. Dubose is terminally ill and when she dies a month later, she leaves Jem a single white camellia in her Will.

For Christmas the children receive air rifles from Atticus to their great surprise.  Atticus admits ‘I merely bowed to the inevitable’ accepting that Scout and Jem will probably go out and kill birds. He draws the line at showing them how to shoot.

Interpretation

Lee is careful to emphasize that the children don’t mind Atticus defending a black man. It is the comments, which other people make about Atticus, which disturbs them.  It is clear from the dialogue that there is no chance that the case will be won, but Atticus sees this as an opportunity to bring to the forefront the injustices suffered by black people in general, and he is used to facing no-win situations. This is now a turning point in the book. The antics of the children start to take a back seat as the drama of the trial takes over the storyline.

The deep seated prejudices that so far have been lying submerged within the adult world of the town appear to be surfacing as a result of the trial. The first inkling of this was when Miss Stephanie Crawford said that nathan Radley was firing at a black man showing that she immediately jumped to the conclusion that if someone were trespassing they would be black. Even within the Finches' family racial prejudice surfaces and causes disharmony when Francis makes negative slurs against Atticus for defending a black man.

Many members of the town seem to turn against Atticus and his children, but he still maintains his clear-cut values and beliefs. He is indifferent to what others have to say or think about his actions and he is steadfast in his beliefs of equality and liberty. He attempts to instill these same values in Jem and Scout and hopes that they will grow up with an unprejudiced way of thinking.

It is interesting to note that even though the people of the town are critical of Atticus and his beliefs, they nevertheless turn to him for protection. Unfortunately it is far easier to protect the town by shooting the dog than it is to kill-off the prejudice within the community. Again the reader can see this, but through Scout's eyes she is only impressed with his marksmanship.

The events surrounding Miss Dubose give him a further opportunity to show Jem what he considers real courage to be. Although Miss Dubose is an ardent racist raining curses on the children and calling Atticus a nigger lover, Atticus still insists that Jem apologizes, as he does not wish their morals to only apply in certain cases and in relation to certain people

Sadly, it is far easier to shoot the dog than it is to kill-off the prejudice within the community. Again the reader can see this, but through Scout’s eyes she is only impressed with his marksmanship. The events surrounding Miss Dubose give him a further opportunity to show Jem what he considers real courage to be.  Although Miss Dubose is an ardent racist raining curses on the children and calling Atticus a nigger lover, Atticus still insists that Jem apologizes, as he does not wish their morals to only apply in certain cases and in relation to certain people.

He explains that real courage knows you’re ‘licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what’. This is precisely Atticus’ approach to the Tom Robinson case.

There is another interesting symbolism in that Scout is proven guilty regarding the fight with Francis before she has had the chance to tell her side of the story. Uncle Jack dishes out the punishment before the trial has even commenced.

We now get an explanation of the book’s title ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. When Atticus gives the air guns to Scout and Jem for their Christmas he warns them that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. This is a surprising statement to Scout, as he never says that things are sinful only wrong or evil.  It is Miss Maudie who explains this further by saying that mockingbirds only do one thing and that is to sing their hearts out for us.  Again the reader realizes the connection in that Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are the mockingbirds of this story. Scout does not realize this until the end of the novel. 

Again, another example of a child’s view with an adult’s interpretation.

As we approach the end of the first part of the book, Scout’s strong foundation is being slowly eroded by the ugly and hostile world around her.