The Ewell place is typically looked upon as a place of squalor, filth, and bluntness. The house is held up with spare parts of metal and tin, a "Negro cabin" (227), further explaining the situation that the Ewells are in, and how they live their lives. The information that can be pulled from this description is basically the fact that the Ewells do not care about themselves or anyone else, and are living by their own rules.
The geraniums in the yard are the most surprising to everyone of Maycomb. Here is this filthy shack made of salvaged tin and metal scraps, with trash and junk scattered around, and then there are these pots of bright geraniums on the corner of the yard. These are the only attractive things in the yard, bringing color and a warmth to it's surroundings. In a way, this represents Atticus, bringing knowledge and truth to Maycomb, while the filth that the Ewells live in represent Maycomb (like the lightbulb and the jail).
Questions for you to answer: How does Mr. Robert E. Lee Ewell's name play a part in who he is? Why do you think Atticus is repeating his questions?
Also, here is a trailer from the movie To Kill a Mockingbird. Note that this is an edited, not the original, trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ6_kA_KfP4
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I agree with you Benal, that the geraniums in the backyard symbolize the hope Atticus is trying to spread. The Ewell's backyard represents Maycomb, and other small southern towns, ridden with rumors and gossip. The shack stands for the courtroom, the epicenter of all the hatred and racial scars, eroded by years of unfair trials. This object has, for years, harbored every town's Ewells (literately and figuratively). The geraniums are in the yard because times are changing. People like Atticus are going out on a limb for colored people for the first time this deep in the south. The geraniums and the light both symbolize the hope creeping slowly into Maycomb. The light illuminates the darkness while the geraniums brighten the yard of junk.
ReplyDeleteAnother point that i would like to make, is that while the Ewell yard could represent Maycomb as a whole, it also accompanies many smaller symbolic meanings. First, if you believe that Mr. Ewell beat and raped his own daughter, you could see that the geraniums could symbolize her being the only clean, beautiful, respectful, and caring Ewell. It symbolizes her cry for help.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I like how you relate the geraniums to what we talked about in class today. I was thinking something similar, I thought that the flowers also epresented the glimmer of hope for the Ewell family, that at least one family member could be successful. Also Mr. Robert E. Lee Ewell realtes to the war general for the confederates. And as you may know the south was indeed in favor for slavery, this represents Mr. Ewell's outlook on other races and could predict why he might be framing Tom Robinson. I also think that atticus is repeatng his questions because he know that he has Mr. Ewell in a hole, right where he wants him. I think that Atticus, even though unlike hm, might be playing with his mind.
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