Skip to main content

In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, what happens to Miss Maudie? How does she feel about it?

Miss Maudie's house burns down in Chapter Eight of To Kill A Mockingbird.  

It was an unusually cold winter in Maycomb County, and many people lit fires in their fireplaces when most years they didn't need to.  Miss Maudie's house fire may have been caused by "the flue in the kitchen. [She] kept a fire in there last night for [her] potted plants."  


Miss Maudie's entire house burns down.  The Maycomb fire truck won't start in the unusual cold and has to be pushed to her house.  Then, when it does arrive, the fire hose bursts.  Some of Miss Maudie's furniture is saved by the men of the town, but her house and her beloved yard are completely destroyed. 


Presumably Miss Maudie feels grief and loss, but she does not show it.  A true Southern lady, she steadfastly looks on the bright side.  



"Always wanted a smaller house, Jem Finch.  Gives me more yard.  Just think, I'll have more room for my azaleas now!  ... Grieving, child?  Why, I hated that old cow barn.  Thought of settin' fire to it a hundred times myself, except they'd lock me up."  



Miss Maudie's insistence that she "hated" the old house, and actually welcomes this turn of events, perhaps shades into pride.  But it is probably also an effort to spare other people, especially the children, the burden of seeing her grieve.  Even in her crisis, she is still selfless.  



Miss Maudie puzzled me.  With most of her possessions gone and her beloved yard a shambles, she still took a lively and cordial interest in Jem's and my affairs.  


"Only thing I worried about last night was all the danger and commotion it caused.  This whole neighborhood could have gone up." 



Though perhaps erring a bit too much on the side of keeping up a brave face, Miss Maudie is nevertheless a great example for the children of strength in adversity. 

Labels

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

In chapter one of The Great Gatsby, what advice does Nick's father give him? How does this make him a good person to tell this story?

Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches... Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches into a discussion of how pe...
Post a Comment
Read more

How did the United States become an imperial power?

"Imperial power" is a bit of a vague label. It tends to mean several things at once, so let's unpack it. In the sense of "this country was built on conquest by force," the "imperial power" part of America actually predates the United States proper. The territories that would become the United States were imperial colonies, established by the great European empires of the 17th and 18th centuries. Much of the US Constitution and American governance generally goes back to England, history's largest and most successful imperial power, but vital aspects of American culture come from other imperial powers, such as France and Spain. Much of American culture comes from sources other than the old empires, but they were key influences on what the United States became. In the sense of "this country treats conquest by force as a fundamental component of its culture, economy and politics," the United States has always been an imperial power. Even earl...
Post a Comment
Read more

How and why does James Gatz become Jay Gatsby? Describe the young Gatsby/Gatz.

James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune,... James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune, whereas they arose from well-to-do families. Gatz became Gatsby through determination and discipline. At the end of the novel, the narr...
Post a Comment
Read more