It is important for characters to conceal the truth to maintain their social contracts because it would put them into a position that they wouldn’t want to be in.
An example is when Dill and Jem lied to Atticus about what they were really doing to save themselves but unknowingly saving Atticus as well.
They told Atticus that they were playing strip poker and that is why Jem did not have pants on when they were actually sneaking into the Radley garden. Their fictitious story saves them because playing strip poker with matches is less destructive to the judgement of the other people in Maycomb County. Furthermore, their lie would be less damaging to Atticus because the rest of society would think that he brought up his children in the wrong way and he would be embarrassed and disappointed.
January 30, 2015 at 2:24 pm
Hello Sky,
Your answer shows an understanding of the theme and an ability to apply this to instances in the text. You have shown clear insight to characters feelings and emotions.
Targets:
1) when you write a clause like this: ‘put them into a position that they wouldn’t want to be in.’ you must be more specific – what is your intended meaning? How will you communicate this?
2) use quotations from the text to support your ideas and begin to develop analysis.