Most Memorable Moment Journal

"Most Memorable Moment Journal"

By: Kylie

Although my section did not have interesting information, I was able to however find a selection that was relatable and caught my attention. This scene is relevant to my life and is something that many adults are not aware of. When a story or piece of writing is relatable to the reader, the story becomes more interesting and gives the readers a reason to read on. 

            "When I surveyed the damage there were only seven or eight red marks, and I was reflecting upon relativity when someone knocked on the door" (Lee 113) This scene had occurred not to long after uncle Jack gave Scout her punishment for causing a fight with Francis that led to physical violence. Uncle Jack, a man who has never had first hand experience with kids, was taught by Scout the many tricks and ways to deal with children. Jack only took into consideration of how Francis felt and did not give Scout a chance to explain the story in her perspective. This is memorable to me because this is an accurate representation of my life when it comes to situations of bias. Usually the story of the other person is heard while I am being disregarded, but at times the side of my story is heard by the third person. These situations are usually the hardest to deal with because if both stories are contradicting each other, it is hard to distinguish which one is true. Aside from my personal experience, the fact that someone of younger age was able to teach someone of a much older age is just an amazing event to hear. It’s a harsh feeling when adults have the need to correct younger children in a way in which they feel vulnerable and unknowledgeable. Uncle Jack’s response to me was surprising because in most cases, if a child were to give advice to an adult, the adult would feel ashamed and embarrassed and would tell the child that they’re not right and that a kid should not be teaching an older person. To many elders, older people are much more knowledgeable and but that usually is not the right answer. 

               "I shall never marry, Atticus... I might have children." (Lee 115) These exact words had once fallen out of my uncles mouth. But little did he know that sometimes in life you have to deal with situations you may not like and learn from the mistakes you made. Like myself, i am not a risk taker and I usually separate myself from experiences and tasks that I know I cannot complete. But I have been told multiple times that if I never try and never learn, I will never know. Following along with this scene, Jack comes to a realization that Scout has given him new insight and faith that maybe things might not be so bad with children. She taught him that when listening and analyzing a story always remember that there is more than one perspective. You must take into consideration of the other views found within the story. In regards to my topic, what I mean to say is that you will never know how it feels to accomplish something you fear, if you don't take a shot at it. But if you surround yourself with positive and motivational individuals you may someday find the courage to conquer your fears.

           Like mentioned before, having a scene in which is relatable draws the reader into wanting to read further ahead, which my case was a successful plan! I too was able to learn from the teachings Scout taught her uncle and maybe in the near future I can use her tactics. As the story moves along, I hope to discover information that has not already been expressed. 


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STUDENT RESPONSE TO KYLIE’S ‘MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT’ JOURNAL
BY: MICHAEL

Hi Kylie,

Wow! I greatly enjoyed reading your most memorable moment journal.  The information that you have provided in your summary has refreshed my memory of that specific moment from the novel and displayed specific and relevant details that I didn’t recognize while reading the novel. You offered new insight that helped me to personally develop my own understanding of the novel as a whole, especially in regards to the major lessons presented in the novel by the characters. Based on your description of the event, your explanation of your personal connection to the event, and your justification for your choice of selecting this moment has helped me to recognize the true significance of this occurrence within your selection.  

This was definitely a memorable moment within your section of the novel. A lot was revealed about Jack’s character within this section alone. You thoroughly described the moment in which Jack’s somewhat ambitious character was revealed as he resorted to punishing Scout without even hearing the claims from Scout’s perspective which is something that was very significant. Too add on to this claim, Jack was also revealed through this moment that although he shares many similarities with his brother Atticus, he has proven to not always be fair-minded, but is able to regain his moral-self after becoming acquainted and taking responsibility for his false accusations and actions towards Scout. This was demonstrated as he finally allowed Scout to describe the event from her perspective. She mentioned how Francis referred to Atticus as “a nigger-lover.” (Lee 114), and that is the reasoning behind why Scout became furious and did what she did to Francis. To add on to your claims, although Jack is quick to make untruthful assertions, he has proven to be a character that is able to admit when he committed unjust actions, proves to be loyal towards children regardless of their behaviour and young age, and demonstrates though this moment of truth how he treats children with dignity just as Atticus does.

Your connections made towards the event have clearly demonstrated your thorough understanding of the event and its significance. Just like you, I also have felt that my opinions towards particular events in life are disregarded before conclusions are drawn if I am the individual who appears to be at fault. I agree that these situations are hard to deal with as not all members of the situation give us the opportunity to explain our stories from our point of view. The fact that Scout was able to educate a grown adult about how to view situations such as this one has proven the idea that ignorance in adults can hinder the ability for those adults to be exposed to the true intelligence, moral nature, and wise character that many children such as Scout possess.

I like the connection you made in regards to perspectives as you mentioned how “when listening and analyzing a story always remember that there is more than one perspective.”(Chiu) This is a truly valuable idea that I will take with me in my life after completing this response to you, and with that, I am glad that you were able to draw this conclusion based on your understanding of Jack as a person. To further add on to this idea, failing to recognize that there is more than one perspective in many situations can result in individuals in the situation to feel superior to others and claim others to be ignorant, just like Jack did.

Your journal is very well written, however, I would recommend possibly having someone else in the group read over your journal before submission as peer-editing can provide new points of view about the situation. Regardless of this minor constructive comment, I am overall impressed in how thoroughly you explained the ideas and connections you have thoughtfully generated. This journal was not tedious for me to read at all, I didn’t regret selecting it to post a comment on, and this journal has overall made an insightful component to be displayed on our blog.  Keep on working hard!  

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Most Memorable Moment – Giselle Credo 

         The most memorable moment from my section (chapters 22-31), I believe is in chapter 23 when Atticus explains to Scout and Jem about the judicial system and the people in Maycomb. In this chapter alone, Atticus discusses a lot of major themes in the book such as racism, gender equality, and morality. The kids, Jem and Scout learn that the ideology of the judicial system is prejudice and the people in the community are ignorant. They get a glimpse of the adult world and realize that it is more complex than they thought.

          Jem is upset with the jury and their verdict of Tom Robinson being guilty of raping Mayella Ewell because he was clearly innocent and the evidence from the trial proves that. Jem believes Tom doesn’t deserve to be executed for rape because he didn’t hurt/kill anyone. Atticus agrees with him that he should not be killed on “circumstantial evidence” because “in the absence of eyewitnesses there’s always a doubt,” (Lee 223) that he could be innocent. He then explains to him that “there’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads—they couldn’t be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life.” (Lee 224) This demonstrates how racist the community of Maycomb is and how it affects the justice served in the community. The people have been ignorant for so long that Atticus refers to a black man loosing to a white man as a “fact of life” and “the white man always wins”. They’ve been so used to treating black people unfairly that they are unable to change their negative mentality about them because it is all they know and assume.

         When Jem asks why Miss Maudie never sits on juries, he is told that she cannot serve on a jury because she is a woman. Atticus’ reasoning being, “I guess it’s to protect our frail ladies from sordid cases like Tom’s.” (Lee 225). This indicates that the people at that time considered women to be too weak and powerless as Atticus refers to women as being “frail” and feels the need to “protect” them from “sordid” cases. Scout is indignantly shocked about this because she, being a fierce, aggressive, tomboyish female character herself, doesn’t understand why this would be a reason and why people, especially men, think like this.

         Atticus describes the actions of the jury and Bob Ewell to be subjective. As Atticus was leaving the post office, Bob Ewell approached him, cursed him, spat on him, and threatened to kill him. Atticus just stood there and took his nasty comments. Jem is worried about his fathers’ safety, but Atticus assures him that if it “saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something [he’ll] gladly take. He had to take it out on somebody and [he’d] rather it be [him] than that houseful of children out there.” (Lee 222) He encourages Jem to think in Bob Ewell’s perspective whom he “destroyed his last shred of credibility at [the] trial,” (Lee 222). Jem is still so young that “so far nothing in [his] life has interfered with [his] reasoning process,” (Lee 224) like the men on the jury that carry their resentments in the courtroom; this may influence their decisions and outlook on the trial. Atticus’ understanding of people’s actions helps him to teach his children about compassion, empathy, and why people do the things they do.

         Jem and Scout have a difficult time understanding the mentality of adults and the judicial system because they are still so young, innocent, and naïve. Things don’t seem to be black and white anymore; there are areas of grey. This is a memorable moment in the book because it explains and introduces a lot of social issues to young innocent children who are still learning about the world. It also indicates how Atticus values good morals and how it affects his parenting style. The children are being exposed to the reality of life and must grow and mature from the wisdom that is being passed onto them.

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT: MICHAEL D'AMBROSI

            The most memorable moment by far between chapters 15-21 in this gripping novel was Tom Robinson’s trial, but more explicitly, the moment when Tom was falsely convicted of committing rape towards Mayella despite his truthful recollection of what truly occurred on November 21^st. This is such a memorable moment as it reveals the type of injustice that people who are black such as Tom have to experience in their discriminatory, inequitable community.

The witness’ against Tom Robinson, including Mr. Tate, Mr. Robert Ewell, and Mayella each deliver their testimonies. They all share the idea that Tom Robinson raped Mayella while he was inside her house when he simply agreed that he would assist her to complete tasks that she was incapable of completing, such as fixing her chifforobe. Following their recollections of the event, Tom Robinson delivers his testimony, stating what truthfully occurred on November 21^st. He stated how Mayella was the one who hauled Tom towards her and "reached up an' kissed 'side of th' face. She says she never kissed a grown man before an' she might as well kiss a nigger. She says, 'kiss me back, nigger." (Lee 260), and he then ran away from her house in fear. "Mr. Finch, I was runnin' so fast I didn't know what happened". (Lee 260) Atticus later on makes the concluding annotations. Through his dictation, he stated how Mayella generated a sense of lust towards Tom and expressed it through kissing him, and she cloaked her disgrace of lusting over a black man by condemning Tom of rape. He specified that the physical characteristics of Bob Ewell, the father of Mayella, propose that he must have abused Mayella since he was left handed, which makes sense considering the location of the bruises on Mayella’s body. He mentioned how it was anomalous how there was a lack of medical assistance when the “rape” took place, demonstrating how senseless and unrealistic the testimonies against Tom were, and also mentions that the testimonies came from witness’ who are untrustworthy as Bob and Mayella isolate themselves from the rest of society as they live next to a dump. Atticus tries to demonstrate through these words to the jury composed of white traditional individuals that black people aren’t always guilty, just like white people aren’t always guilty either,  and he wants the jury to “restore the defendant to his family.” (Lee 275) Regardless of the accurate information provided by Attiucs, a jury composed of white individuals will never vote in favour of a black man, and so Tom Robinson is deceitfully accused as being guilty. The judge reveals the unanimous vote in favor of the plaintiff, and Atticus leaves the court room. 

VIDEO CLIP: YOUR FATHER'S PASSING

I chose this moment to discuss as it demonstrates racial prejudice, discrimination, and good and evil within humans at its fullest and utmost point in the novel, and thereby showing readers how innocence can easily withdraw from a person’s life with interactions with evil. This is what happened to Scout after the votes were revealed against Tom. The jurors did not make the morally correct decision as they voted based on racial norms, allowing Scout and Jem to witness evil in their community and tests their abilities to cope with accepting evil as a human characteristic. A lot is revealed through this very moment of bewilderment. Scout becomes aware that good and evil can coexist with one another, and racial prejudice can result in our values regarding humanity being influenced by societies which are based on discrimination in Maycomb. This resulted in me finding this moment in the novel of great importance and tremendously memorable as well.

This moment stood out to me from the other events that took place in chapters 15-21 as it was deplorable for me to realize how Tom was declared guilty as a result of the jury being ignorant and dismissing Atticus’ strong arguments since he’s a white man defending a black man. It was an important event for me as it personally demonstrated to me how moral strength is dependent on whether we follow along with social norms or are able to use our own consciences to avoid becoming arrogant. Such acts of oppression still exist in our world today, and it troubles me to recognize that many are based on racial prejudice. However, if I stay in a state of ignorance about such issues, I will fail, just like Scout, to recognize the evil that exists on a global context, just like Scout failed to recognize the evil that existed within her community. This is a thought that has been stuck in my mind for days as it demonstrates the true nature of humanity that I have never acknowledged before.

This moment is also memorable for me personally as I can relate to this moment as people in my own life experience racial prejudice. They are generalized by society’s values as a person with particular characteristics which most likely do not conform to who they are in reality. If both Scout and I depend on our consciences when faced with evil, we will both avoid living our lives into a state of ignorance and arrogance.

Tiffany Kuo - Most Memorable Moment 

The most memorable moment for me would have to be in the beginning of the book when they were daring Jim to touch the Radley’s house. It is most memorable for me because its the beginning of the book so it is showing us the characters personalities. In the beginning of the book it is telling us how the characters are hot they react to certain situations. For me the first part of the book is the most important because that is the part where you are going to remember the most from it. “ let’s try to get him to come out” (Lee 14) when Dill says this he is trying to test Jim limits to see how far he could push him and I think that says a lot about a person because the person is always going to try to push someone's boundaries.