Chapters 7+8 TKAM

The encounter with Author Radley is reminiscent of a similar event in my life. In the novel, when Jem was finally telling Scout why he had been quiet, “When I went back, they were folded across the fence… Like they were expecting me” (58).  This quote connects to my life by bringing back a memory of a level 3 sex offender living on my street when I was younger.   My mother and father had put the fear of God in us to stay away from him and indeed question the motives of any stranger.  We were very afraid to walk or ride bikes past his house and because of this we couldn’t get to my cousin’s house.  One day, I saw him walking past our house and ominously he stopped and starred at our windows for what seemed like an eternity.  My situation and Jem’s closely resembled one another and the terror possibly identical. Encounters like these can change peoples lives by the realization that people can cause you harm and you start to question your security.   I feel empathy for Jem, as I have been in a similar situation and it still haunts me.