Tuesday, November 22, 2016

To Kill A Mockingbird Setting Blog

(I apologize if the image doesn't render. Blogger seems to detest working on iPads today.)
The church in the image looks similar to the one described in To Kill A Mockingbird, at least in a more general sense. On page 6 of the book, it says, "Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather, the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square." If we apply this general setting and building style to a church, and then compare it to the attached image, we can see that what we're looking for is kind of an old, slightly sagging church. The church in the image is definitely not new, as evidenced by the damaged condition of the wood around it, and it certainly does seem to be resting heavily on its base, kind of being pulled down towards it. Also, the paint appears a bit more worn and/or imperfect around the edges.  If we excuse the black-and-white nature of the image, we can see that the church is painted a pale, dull color, which is probably a whitish-gray one regardless of the image's nature. Therefore, it fits the description and is a good stand-in for Maycomb's church.

It's definitely possible to see Atticus and Scout in the church, the preacher droning on about whatever,   Atticus focused intensely upon its meaning, and Scout, quietly plotting the Boo Radley play's minor details in her head. I imagine that Scout would be in charge of this because on page 51, it says, "Jem said, 'Scout, you can be Mrs. Radley--'" If you remember, the role of Mrs. Radley is not as massive a role as any of the others. Additionally, the boys are only thinking about half a step ahead (at least compared to Scout's extremely high intellect), which is why it makes sense for Scout to fill that role.
Additionally, I have a few questions about the book with regard to that church. The first one is, "Will we ever see Atticus and Scout in a church like this?" The other one is, "Did Harper Lee ever actually go to a similar church, or are my assumptions here way off the mark?" I wonder if any of my questions will be answered...

On that note, happy Thanksgiving break!!


intermediary roll film
Delano, Jack. Negro Church near Greensboro, Alabama. July 1941. Library of Congress, Greensboro, Alabama 

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Election Reflection Blog (Sigh...)

      First things first....why? There is no way this has actually happened. I can't believe it. Anyway...my thoughts on the results of this election? Well...I think I understand what we've just witnessed. As most of Trump's expected wins were in rural states, and he appealed to their platform, that makes sense. As for how he still won with that, I'll explain. Trump figured out the way to win unexpectedly: Win the electors of the 10 to 20 states (mostly rural) that have 20 percent of the population, but 80% of the vote (due to the Electoral College working that way), blindside every other living creature, and give me a nasty shock at 6:25 AM yesterday. To put it bluntly, I'm ticked off at...something....but I don't know who or what to blame at this point. The other 80% of the Republican party, I guess. You had one job, adults.
        This election was a mess on all fronts. Trump wasn't supposed to get this far. His only platform was [insert non-Trump here]-ist madness. However, that is perfect for the Internet, whose denizens live off this stuff. That spread Trump farther and farther and so on, but not far enough...until Hillary showed up. Democrats got furious at Republicans and Republicans got furious at Democrats, until enough sat out of voting to let Trump win. Did anyone plan this? No. However, Trump's against Common Core, which I view as a huge plus (in comparison to the 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 minuses...)
      I am quite excited to vote in the next election, as I feel that Trump will remove a few bad things and then a bunch of good things. After that, a light will shine down from the heavens, promising to reverse the bad and keep the good. That light will be the Democratic/Libertarian/whatever other party candidate. And I'll vote for them (unless this was a lot worse than I thought and...)
Okay, you know what? No more politics.