TKAM chapters 22 & 23 journal response

In the book To Kill A MockingBird by Harper Lee chapters 22 and 23 there was a statement that I found very intriguing.  When Bob Ewell spits in Atticus's face I found it very odd that Atticus was not very upset by Mr.Ewell's gesture. Later when Atticus is talking about the incident with Jem he says, "Jem see if you can stand in Bob Ewell's shoes a minute. I destroyed his last shred of credibility at that that trial ... So if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that's something I'll gladly take. He had to take it out on somebody and I'd rater it be me than that houseful of children out there"(218). Before the statement Atticus made I had a hard time having empathy for Mr. Ewell. I couldn't imagine why he could have done that to Atticus other than the fact that he wanted to be mean and feel better about himself. When Atticus infers that Mr. Ewell takes his anger out on his children, I never took that into account when thinking of how Mr. Ewell reacted after he got back from the trial that day. Mr. Ewell is a very angry man and probably is more complicated that what he seems. People see him as a man who is always angry and drunk and acts poorly towards his children. However if one looks deeper into Mr.Ewell's character, he might have had a bad childhood and was raised by someone who was abusive to him and didn't show him love. Mr. Ewell could also be coping with traumatic experiences in his past and might not know how to deal with his emotions and is the reason why he takes his anger out on his kids. Knowing the reasons to Mr. Ewell's actions does not excuse them from being wrong but helps one better understand him.

Jem growing up into adulthood in the book is a major event that's been seen throughout the book but although Jem already sees himself as an adult it is clear to the readers that he still has ways to go. when Jem is talking to Atticus about the injustice Tom had at his trial he blames the jury and says. "Then it all goes back to the jury ,then. We oughta do away with juries"(220). Jem believes no juries would be more fair than having juries at court. From the readers point of view one can see that Jem does not see the importance of a jury. Juries can make the case fair since it involves many people's opinions as oppose to one person's. By having many opinions in a situation one can hear points made by both sides in the case making people see the situation more clearly and making a more rational an just decision. Although this isn't always the case, one could argue that having a jury would be more just than without a jury. Jem believing that the answer to a problem is to get rid of it shows that Jem is not in adulthood yet. The answer to Jem situation is more complicate than what Jem makes it out to be and there were getting rid of a jury wouldn't solve Tom Robinson's injustice on his case. when Atticus comments on Jem's adulthood he says " You've many more miles to go son"(222).