The Impact of Chapter 12 on "To Kill A Mockingbird"ÃÂ Of all the chapters in "To Kill A Mockingbird"ÃÂ we have read thus far, Chapter 12 has had the greatest impact overall. It reveals many points that are integral to the plot and it helps to clear up many things. If this chapter were not in the book, then we would be in the dark on many things, such as why Jem has been acting like he has or how important Jem and Scout actually are to Calpurnia. We also learn a great deal of things that are not essential to the plot, but are very interesting to read and learn about.
One of the more important occurrences in Chapter 12 is Calpurnia's first vocal admission that Jem and Scout are her children. She says this while she is getting Jem and Scout ready for church and they are complaining about how clean Cal is making them get.
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Cal SMC a 014This also shows how much pride she has in what she does and how she doesn't want the other people in town to think that she doesn't take care of Jem and Scout. The main importance of this though is that it shows just how important Jem and Scout are to her. She has been with them for so long that she has come to think of them as her own children more than she thinks that they are just the kids she takes care of.
Something that helps to clear up a lot of things is when it hints at the fact that Jem is going through puberty. This helps to explain his increasing cloud of arrogance and his Rasmussen 2 outbursts at Cal and Scout. This also explains how he is mature enough to handle the taunting from kids at school about Atticus defending Tom Robinson. This also shows that he is old enough to handle the role of being the man of the house since Atticus has been gone working in Montgomery and on Tom's case.
When Jem and Scout go to the African Methodist Episcopal church with Cal, they learn a lot about how the blacks in Maycomb conduct their church services and they also learn some things about Cal. The moment they enter the church they notice something strange about it, it has no organ, hymnals, or any of the other things that they are accustomed to seeing in their church. When it comes time for the congregation to sing, Jem and Scout learn about how they sing in the A.M.E. church. They accomplish this task by lining the song. The kids encounter a few strange things whilst the collection is being taken up. The blacks do not pass around a collection plate; instead, the people get up and deposit their money in a can in the front of the church. Also, Cal refuses at first to let Jem and Scout deposit the coins that Atticus left them into the collection plate. This is another sign from Calpurnia that she considers Jem and Scout her children, as it shows that she gives them money as if she were their mother. Perhaps the strangest thing that Jem and Scout encounter occurs after the collection is taken up. Reverend Sykes counts all the money and then tells the congregation that they do not have enough money to give to Helen Robinson. He has someone lock the doors and not let anyone out until they get ten dollars. One of the less important things that happen while they are with Calpurnia occurs on the way home. Calpurnia is talking to the kids about how she learned to read from Miss Maudie's aunt and Jem asks her if she is really that old and she says that she is Rasmussen 3 older than Atticus is. This amazes the kids as they have believed her to be much younger.
All though this chapter does not go into detail about it, the fact that Aunt Alexandria is waiting for them when they get home is foreshadowing to several things. First and foremost, it suggests that Alexandria thinks that there is a problem that she needs to fix. It also suggests that she or Atticus thinks that just having Calpurnia staying with Jem and Scout is not enough and that they need more supervision. It also suggests that Aunt Alexandria thinks Scout does not act like a proper young girl and that she needs to fix that.
All in all, Chapter 12 is the most important chapter in the book. It reveals many things to us and explains many things to us. If not for this chapter then the book would have a gaping hole in it where many facts and much information is lost.
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English: 1918 African Methodist Episcopal Church, ...
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