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What is the theme portrayed in chapter 6 of To Kill A Mockingbird ?

Chapter 6 of To Kill a Mockingbird is centered around the concept of fear.


Jem and Scout walk across the street in order to say good-bye to Dill, who will be returning home and starting a new school year. The boys talk for a short while, then Dill suggests to Jem that they go for a walk. When Scout seems troubled by this action which will take them closer to Boo Radley, Jem says "You don't have to come along, Angel Mary." Then, he tells his sister that they are not going to do anything.


However, the boys do put actions to work. They decide to look into the window of the Radley house. But as Jem tries to peer inside, he hears another sound on the porch and a shadow moves over him. Terrified, Jem jumps off the porch and opens the gate for Scout and Dill. But, just then they hear the roar of a shotgun. Terrified, the children hurry back across the street. Jem, then, tells the others his fears, "We better go down there. . . They'll think it's funny if we don't show up."


Shortly thereafter, Atticus asks Jem where his pants are, but Dill tells Atticus that he won them because they were playing strip poker by the fishpool. When Atticus asks if they were playing cards, Jem interrupts and declares that they were only playing with matches because he is afraid of what the consequences will be if he admits to playing cards and gambling. Atticus then scolds the children, and he orders Jem to retrieve his pants. Of course, retrieving these pants presents Jem with the dilemma of returning to the Radleys' property, and he is afraid.


During the night Jem decides that he will, indeed, retrieve his pants that are caught on the wires of the Radley fence because he is more afraid of Atticus's catching him in his lie than in risking his safety at the Radleys' house.


Chapter 6, then, reveals several fears: The fear of the Radleys by all the children, Jem's fear of Atticus's knowing that he has been to the Radleys' and peered inside, and his fear of Atticus's learning that he has lied to him.

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