5H GSAW Chapter 17

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GSAW Chapter 17

Summary

Hank leaves Atticus alone with Jean Louise. Atticus says he heard from Jack that she is upset about the citizens’ council. His reasons for being there, he says, are his concern for states’ rights and his dislike of the NAACP. Atticus proves that his views and Jean Louise’s are not as different as she thinks when he asks her how she felt about the recent Supreme Court decision: She objected to the Supreme Court’s decision to overrule state authority even though she didn’t object to the ruling itself. Like her father, she cares a great deal about states’ rights.

As they continue talking, they realize that their difference lies in their perception of blacks. Jean Louise wants them to be granted the full rights of citizenship whereas Atticus worries that doing this too quickly will devastate the existing social order. Clearly he feels threatened by the possibility of a world in which blacks and whites are fully integrated and considers the NAACP’s efforts an attack on his way of life.

For Jean Louise, the realization that her father has adopted some of the racist attitudes of his community is intolerable. She lashes out at him, comparing him to Hitler because he treats blacks as subhuman. She tells him she despises him, and he responds that he loves her.

Short questions

"Men tend to carry their honesty in pigeonholes." (Atticus) What does this mean?

Atticus calls the Negro population ' backward'. What does that mean?

However, Atticus used to say: "Equal rights for al; special priviliges for none". Why is Atticus changed? Why is he scared about what is going on in Abbitt County?

Atticus prefers a live-and-let-live economy. What kind of voter does he call himself?

1. An Eisenhower Democrat.
2. An NAACP Democrat.
3. A Jeffersonian Democrat
4. A Jeffersonian Republican.

According to Atticus, what would happen if all the Negroes in the South were suddenly given full civil rights?

According to Atticus, what do the NAACP lawyers care about?

1. The black man's land
2. The black man's vote
3. The black man's bussiness
4. The black man's individuality

"We've agreed that they're backward, illiterate, dirty and comical and shiftless an nog good... You deny that they're human!" How does Atticus deny the black people are human?

Questions to discuss

. Why does Jean Louise ask to move into Atticus’s office rather than remain outside? What do you think each location represents?

Atticus and Jean Louise agree about the issue of states’ rights, but they disagree about the Brown v. Board of Education decision. Explain how and why their opinions differ.

What do you think the purpose of Atticus’s argument is? Is he trying to get Jean Louise to change her position? Is he pushing her to clarify her position?

By the end of their conversation, Jean Louise is ready to walk away from Maycomb and her father. How does Atticus respond
to her anger?