Mockingbird Analysis Chapter 8 Using essential Questions.
a) With close reference to the change in setting and the use of language and imagery, discuss how Harper Lee creates tension in the given passage.
At the beginning of the passage, Harper Lee had emphasized on how "the thermometer registered sixteen, that it was the coldest night in his memory, and that our snowman outside was frozen cold". It was known that Maycomb did not have a snowfall "since 1885" and yet an unexpected snowfall had occurred. Harper Lee's purpose of emphasizing on the chilly and freezing cold at Maycomb is probably to drop us a hint that a series of bizarre events would be taking place in Maycomb soon. This elaboration of the unprecedented snowfall had indirectly created tension in the reader.
"Jem was standing beside Atticus, groggy and tousled." "He looked strangely overweight". Usually, Jem was conscious of his external appearance. However, now, for a change, Harper Lee made use of words like "groggy and tousled" and "strangely" to describe Jem's unusual ruffled appearance. This change in Jem had told the reader that something must have happened to allow this change to occur. .
In addition, Scout was awoken by Atticus at "a little after one" during the midnight and told to "hurry" put on her "shoes and socks". Atticus was a sensible parent and would not wake his children up in the middle of the night and instruct them to leave the house. Therefore, it is obvious that Atticus had awoken his children for an important and valid reason. This causes the reader to feel anxious and eager to read out to find out more. .
Scout concluded that "something was wrong and "there was trouble in our(her) street". At this part of the novel, Scout was still immature and insensitive to interpreting other's feelings. Hence, as compared to Jem, she was slow at detecting trouble that might be brewing around her. However, for a change, Scout could immediately detect that something peculiar and bad must have occurred.
