Wednesday, March 30, 2011

In Chapter 15 of To Kill a Mockingbird, why does the group at the jail disperse after Scout's conversation with Mr. Cunningham?What does this show...

The mob dispersed after Scout's conversation with Mr. Cunningham because it ceased to be just a mob.  It became a collection of individuals, each of whom was recognizable.


Mr. Cunningham's safety was in anonymity.   To the mob mentality, an action taken by a mob is less reprehensible than the same act taken by an individual.  Thus, when Scout treated Mr. Cunningham as an individual, she destroyed the mob.    No one person in it was then safe from being taken out of the mob and being made a unique person.


Mr. Cunningham was identified as a family man, a father.    This was quite different from what he was doing in connection with the mob.  Personal diginity and virtue can be more easily set aside within the anonymity of a mob.  These were brought back to Mr. Cunningham by Scout.

No comments:

Post a Comment

What is the main function of the fool in "King Lear"? What is the secondly function?

The fool as a character is confusing, but part of this is the difference between the 1600s and today, as well as the difference in place. If...