Skip to main content

In Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, after they find soap dolls, what does Jem realize that Scout does not yet understand?

When Jem and Scout find the two soap dolls in the Radley's tree, Scout's first reaction is fear. She believes they are "hoo-doo" (voodoo) dolls, screams, and throws them. Jem retrieves the dolls and begins looking between the female soap doll and Scout's hair, noticing that both have bangs. Jem realizes before Scout does that the dolls are miniature representations of the two of them, and his reaction causes Scout to realize the same.

Boo Radley left the soap dolls in the tree as a gift to the children, and it serves as evidence that he had been closely observing them, enough to perfectly reproduce their haircuts and clothing. Jem is the first to realize that the soap dolls represent him and his sister, and this realization proves to the two that the gifts in the tree are actually intended for them.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is 'efficate' a word in English?

I routinely hear the word "efficate" being used. For example, "The most powerful way to efficate a change in the system is to participate." I do not find entries for this word in common English dictionaries, but I do not have an unabridged dictionary. I have checked the OED (I'm not sure if it is considered unabridged), and it has no entry for "efficate". It does have an entry for "efficiate", which is used in the same way. Wordnik has an entry for "efficate" with over 1800 hits, thus providing some evidence for the frequency of use. I personally like the word and find the meaning very clear and obvious when others use it. If it's not currently an "officially documented" word, perhaps its continued use will result in it being better documented.
Post a Comment
Read more