Jean Louise accepts his explanation that these issues were all focused on preserving identity by means of the Southern way of life but is unable to make sense of his metaphors and cryptic clues as to how this relates to her own struggles with her family.Ī local man is killed in a drunk-driving collision, and the driver has a connection to the Finch family. Uncle Jack explains the rising racial tension in terms of sociopolitical changes and the conflict’s roots in the Civil War. Jean Louise laments her blindness and seeks psychological solace from the one respectable man in town who did not attend the meeting-her Uncle Jack. The only possible explanation is that they have always been racist and she had failed to notice. As she struggles to make sense of the current state of her family’s beliefs, she considers that there is no way that everyone she holds dear has changed so much in the year since her last visit. To her surprise, Jean Louise discovers the prim and proper Aunt Alexandra now uses racial slurs, a jarring turn of events. However, she cannot ignore or deny her family’s bigotry for long. Initially, she tries to deny the reality of what she has seen and what it must mean about the beliefs of her father and beau, retreating into nostalgia as a coping mechanism. Jean Louise becomes physically ill as she sees her father, the man she admires more than anyone, participate in a hate group, something she views as unforgiveable. However, her idyllic stay is ruined when she discovers that both her beau and her idolized father are a part of Maycomb’s citizens’ council, a group clearly designed to keep the African American population under the thumb of white America. The first few days go largely as planned, as she trespasses in order to have a late-night swim in the river and receives repeated marriage proposals from Hank.
She expects this visit to be like all the previous ones: She expects to scandalize the town with her modern ways, to be romanced by Henry “Hank” Clinton, to bicker with her Aunt Alexandra, to enjoy the wry humor of her Uncle Jack, and, most of all, to spend two weeks enjoying quality time with her elderly father, Atticus. Jean Louise Finch, a 26-year-old New York resident, returns to her hometown of Maycomb, Alabama, for her annual two-week visit.
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