To Kill a Mockingbird: chapters 10 and 11. dD

Let's start by discussing Atticus's past with firearms! Around 30 years in the past, Atticus was well-known for exceptional aiming skills, however it seems Atticus himself hid that from his children because he didn't want something like physical strength or skill with firearms to color their interpretation of a courageous or responsible person, which demonstrates good parenting skills.

Another major point to discuss would be that mean old lady, Mrs. Dubose. After insulting Jem and Scout on their way home from school multiple times, Jem finally snaps and destroys some of her plants in a rage. To pay her back, he must read to her daily for the next month or so.

Normally, that'd seem like a fairly tame punishment for destruction of a garden, but she wasn't one of the nicest people.

At this point you'd come to strongly dislike her character for being so mean and semi-senile, right?

Plot twist, she was addicted to a prescription medicine, and the alarm clock that ended at the end of every reading session was what woke her up from her fits of convulsions and other unpleasant effects of overdosing on painkillers.

And now she has become a sympathetic character, because why not.
Such a twist can be quite jarring in many cases, and it definitely is here, but I can't help but feel it gets overused in some of the literature I read, keeping in mind that this was an early piece of literature which was probably one of the many basis for future generic plot twists and points.

Then again, the literature I read isn't exactly written by professionals or particularly imaginative people, so I'd suppose you'd eventually come to see really cliché plot points in those kinds of stories.

(just for anyone who wants elaboration on what I actually read, it's something called "fanfiction", a fiction about a work of fiction created by a fan (hence fanfiction) that expands upon the series, often writtin by fans who want more. Unfortunately, said fans are often young kids/teens with quite inept writing skills, so it doesn't usually come out in the best condition, but you can find a few jewels here or there. numero uno rule of reading fanfiction: you should try to find fanfiction that isn't about a series you've never seen; otherwise you'll just get extremely confused as characters and appearances along with personalities will not be explained unless the author of the fanfiction made a original character (which doesn't usually turn out all that great either; there's a whole wealth of knowledge on cliché original character types as well.).)

While she is strong for standing up for her beliefs (and being quite cynical; evidenced by giving Jem a plant he tried to destroy). I am actually a fan of how she was cynical even in death, because it displays a strong will.

Jem then burned the gift candy box. Even if the candy came from a person I generally disliked, I'd still atleast look at it or eat some of it, no use wasting perfectly good candy. Another question would be why they gave it to me, but that'd be a question fit for a specific situation.

After the whole ordeal, Jem seems quite changed, if a bit fed up with challenges life can give him.

All in all, quite interesting, and let me connect some ideas.

Thanks,
~B.E.
dD datadyne