To Kill a Mockingbird Chapters 12-15
Mrs. Radley dies, leaving only Nathan and Boo at the Radley Place.
Winter arrives, with record-breaking cold. Snow falls, a first for most residents, including Scout and Jem. They make a snowman, but it looks so much like their neighbor Mr. Avery, (who boards at Miss Maudie’s house) that Atticus demands that they change its appearance, so as not to upset Mr. Avery.
Miss Maudie’s house catches fire, and burns to the ground. Nobody is hurt, and most of the town turns out to assist in recovering items before they burn. Miss Maudie expresses no worry, claiming that she never liked that house. She is glad to have the opportunity to build a nicer house now.
The night time spectacle held Scout and Jem transfixed, in spite of the cold. As the activity drew to a close, Scout is discovered to have a blanket around her. She never noticed where it came from, or who provided it.
The suspicion is that one of the Radleys may have anonymously placed the blanket on Scout’s shoulders, a notion that prompts Jem to compulsively volunteer all of the recent exploits the children had been involved in regarding Boo, to include the lost pants and the knot-hole gifts.
Atticus suggests that they keep the blanket incident a secret, but that perhaps an opportunity to thank Boo might present itself someday.
The children offer to help Miss Maudie rebuild her house.
Schoolmate Cecil Jacobs makes Scout angry, when he taunts her with the claim her father is a “n*****-lover.” Scout fights him, in spite of her father’s instruction not to. That night, when questioned, Atticus explains to Scout what the term means. He explains that the term references his job in defending a black man, Tom Robinson, who has been charged with raping a white woman. Atticus explains that defending him is the moral thing to do. He also explains that using the word “n******” is not appropriate.
The following day, Cecil attempts to goad Scout into another fight by repeating his taunt, but this time Scout honors her father’s request to walk away, and not engage those who hurl insults. She is then labeled a coward.
For three weeks, she avoids fighting. Then Christmastime arrives, and the family goes to Finch’s Landing to spend time with family. This includes Uncle Jack (a doctor who Scout likes), Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Alexandra, and their grandson Francis.
Francis is not a favorite of Scout’s, and among his unlikable traits is his habit of insulting Scout. Finally, his insults are too much for her to bear. He is a year older than Scout, but when he assails her by saying that her father is a n******-lover, Scout is unable to resist punching the boy. Adults intervene, but the boy lies, and says that Scout had called him names. Scout gets in trouble, receiving a spanking and a scolding from Uncle Jack. Later, though, he comes to discuss the matter with Scout, and learns that the instigator had been Francis. Scout tells Uncle Jack that he’s just not good with children, and does not understand them. She asks Uncle Jack not to discuss that matter with Atticus, as she does not want to burden Atticus with the notion that she was defending his honor.
Aunt Alexandra believes that Scout must learn to be more ladylike, much to Scout’s disgust.
One of her crusades is to get Scout to wear dresses, instead of her “boyish” pants. Atticus later offers Scout some explanation and consolation, telling Scout that Aunt Alexandra has never had a girl, so she has a hard time understanding Scout. However, in spite of her annoying behaviors, Aunt Alexandra’s presence is tolerated, due to her exceptional culinary skills.
Uncle Jack had brought two parcels when he arrived by train. These turn out to be air rifles for Scout and Jem, Christmas gifts from Atticus, but delivered by Uncle Jack.
Scout tries using curse words in her normal, at-home dialogue. Her hope is that Atticus will draw the conclusion that she’s learned these words because of being in school, and will then allow her to stop going to school. The plan fails, and Scout is scolded by Uncle Jack.
That night, Scout wakes up and, quietly eavesdropping from the hallway, overhears Atticus and Uncle Jack discussing the difficulties of raising children. She is surprised that Uncle Jack honors her request to keep the reason for the fight with Francis a secret. Scout also overhears the discussion about why Atticus has taken the job of defending a black man in a highly prejudiced town. He explains that while he was assigned the case by his superior, he also knows that it’s the right thing to do, especially in order to set an example for his own children. He wants to be an example that will prevent Scout and Jem from learning the racism that most others seem to harbor.
Then, Scout’s presence is detected, and she is sent away to bed.
We learn of cousin Ike Finch, Maycomb County’s sole surviving Confederate veteran.
Atticus seems ancient to the kids, being nearly 50 years old. The kids feel ashamed, believing that Atticus has no great skills, and see him as a boring old man. Calpurnia, as well as others, insist that Atticus is skilled at certain things, but the children remain skeptical.
We learn that the children may shoot many things, with their new air rifles, such as tin cans, and even blue jays, but that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. Atticus tells them that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, something that Miss Maudie explains to them later. She says that a mockingbird does no harm, and exists only to provide beautiful music to our ears. A mockingbird is innocent, and does not deserve to be shot.
One day, a mad dog is seen approaching the neighborhood. All of the neighbors are alerted, and children and pets are secured. Sheriff Heck Tate is summoned, and upon arrival, he immediately enlists Atticus for his sharpshooter skills. He dispatches the dog with a single shot, heroically saving the town from the animal. Scout and Jem are surprised and delighted to learn that their father has a long-standing reputation as the most skilled marksman in the area.
Mrs. Dubose is a mean-spirited elderly woman with dementia, who frequently hurls abusive language towards the kids when they walk past her house. One day, she invokes Jem’s ire by telling them that Atticus is a n******-lover.
Later that day, Jem snatches a baton from Scout’s hands. He had purchased it as a gift for Scout earlier that day, but now uses it as a device to smash and chop all of Mrs. Dubose’s camellias to the ground, before snapping the baton in half and throwing it on the ground.
He is disciplined for this outburst, and Atticus compels Jem to immediately apologize to Mrs. Dubose. Scout goes to accompany her brother, but Atticus says that she must stay. He and Scout then discuss the matter. Atticus explains that she is elderly, ill, and confused. It was wrong for Jem to have reacted to her taunting, even if her words were not kind. He also explains that she’ll eventually encounter far greater offenses, but that learning compassion is very important.
When Jem returns from the task, he explains that he has been given terms of restitution, to include reading stories out loud to Mrs. Dubose every day for the next month. Atticus tells him that he must comply.
Scout accompanies Jem on his daily task, a task both children dread. The old woman remains as verbally abusive as ever, and has disgusting physical characteristics as well. When the month-long obligation has finally been fulfilled, she demands one more week of reading, which again, Atticus agrees must be complied with.
A few weeks later, Atticus is summoned to Mrs. Dubose’s house, where she is on her deathbed. Before passing, she speaks with Atticus. He learns that she had been addicted to prescription morphine for a long time. However, she had vowed to break herself of it before she passed, and she had succeeded. This was one of the reasons that she had been so cantankerous and unpleasant. Then, just before her passing, she instructs her housemaid Jessie to ensure that Jem receives a candy box containing one of her prized flowers inside, a Snow-on-the-Mountain camellia.
Jem is at first horrified and angry, seeing the flower as an insult and a message that she has not forgotten his sin. However, Atticus explains her condition and her desire to make things right with all before her passing, and Jem understands a little more about forgiveness, compassion, and understanding.
Analysis: The children, particularly Scout, begin to see that not all adults are as understood or predictable as they’d previously believed. They discover friendships with certain adults, and learn that some can be trusted. They discover that their own father, who they’d considered lacking in skills or abilities, is full of surprises, like that of being a master sharpshooter.
Other adults are incorrigibly filled with certain hatred. Mrs. Dubose is unpleasant, mean, racist, and unfair. Yet, because of Jem’s ability to complete his compensatory reading time, even she is able to find a tiny sliver of love within her.
