Gossip

This book is better than gossip! Lee takes half the book to develop the characters! And characters (even our own) are developed through actions. Mrs. Dubose (how do you pronounce that?) doesn't hate Atticus at all, she just hates what he is doing. Another thing about Lee's writing style which we tout to students in writing classes, vary your sentence length. She has some classic short one liners. And the first line of each chapter (so far) is italicized, notice that? (that could be the editor or even the printer though, huh?) But her descriptions, you are there. The entrance to Mrs. Dubose's home p. 121, the description of Mrs. Dubose on page 122, the way the children were treated at First Purchase (p. 135), description of Aunty on page 145 and many more. Scout's personality is cleverly revealed in her thoughts , her comments about Jem on page 131, and on page 132 "With him, life was routine; without him, life was unbearable. I stayed miserable for two days."(she was talking about Dill not coming for the summer). And I really like this one, "That Calpurnia led a modest double life never dawned on me. The idea that she had a separate existence outside our household was a novel one, to say nothing of her having command of two languages."and conversations with Atticus. And Atticus's principled pontifications (no examples, but they are carefully strewn throughout the book) when he is conversing with and teaching his children not only reveals his personality and values but serve as foreshadowing, a tool of good writers.
I do have a question though. At the end of Chapter 13, the last line. "I know now what he (Atticus) was trying to do, but Atticus was only a man. It takes a woman to do that kind of work."
Powerful was the conversation between Atticus, Aunty and Scout on pages 154 and 155. I knew what Scout was going to say before I read it. She said "I didn't ask you!" but Atticus "...pinned her to the wall with his good eye" and she was payin' attention. Atticus takes a strong stand for Cal and against Aunty on p. 155. I was thoroughly entertained when Scout called Jem a "damn morphodite and then proceeded to fight "her equal" until Atticus arrived. But even at the conclusion of the episode Atticus smiled and said "Let's leave it at this: you mind Jem whenever he can make you. Fair Enough?" I can't do that still. When the Jarman kids fight it breaks my heart. Eddie, on the other hand, lets it go on for awhile, thoroughly entertained, and then he urges them to stop. Watching your kids raise your grandkids is a killer.
Poor Jem. He's maturing and it's breaking his heart. And it's killing Scout too. When Dill had run away and was found at the Finches. Jem said "You oughta let your mother know where you are. You oughta let her know you're here..." Dill's eyes flickered at Jem, and Jem looked at the floor. Then he rose and broke the remaining code of our childhood. Jem of course tells Atticus that Dill is there. It made me think of the comment Scout made on page 63 "It was then, I suppose, that Jem and I first began to part company." So among the many themes of this book a "rite of passage" surfaces as well.
I can't put this book down. But I must because Book Club is next week, at my house, and I'm leading the discussion on Charms for the Easy Life by Kaye Gibbons. I'm going to the ASU game tonight with Margene Burk (Rick is out of town). I was going to "comment" on Cy's rude comment and then she apologized and ruined the whole thing. Tell me, please, how can anyone not love Cylynn? That's like somebody not liking Shy. Ok, well this is going someplace uncomfortable. POST YOU GUYS.