Chapters 13+14 TKAM

Several things confused me in chapters 13 and 14 of “To Kill a Mockingbird”. The most confusing to me was why Atticus allowed Aunt Alexandra into their home to stay for such a long time. What made him say yes?  Will she ever leave?  What will happen next?  Will Scout become more girlish with the help of Aunt Alexandra?  Why is Atticus so fidgety when he tells Jem and Scout about what happened? Why did she move in so abruptly?

Most of my questions arise in chapter 13, when Aunt Alexandra unexpectedly arrives at the Finch home. For instance, when she shows up she says, “Well your father and I decided it was time I came to stay with you for a while “(127). This makes me question if it really was Atticus’ decision and why he would ask her, and in whose best interest it was, for Scout? Atticus has raised his kids to believe that they can be whatever they choose to be, so if Scout wants to be and act like a boy then let her, and having Aunt Alexandra here is hurting Scout. Scout and Jem see Aunt Alexandra as an obstacle and since she objects to Atticus’ parenting style they will have to thwart her influence, and find a way to make her leave.

Another thing that confused me about the Aunt Alexandra situation was when Atticus sat the children down in their rooms and had a discussion about what was going to happen.  During this talk, Scout was rubbing the comb on the dresser she thought, “ This is not my father. My father never thought these thoughts. My father never spoke so. Aunt Alexandra had put him up to this”(134). This quote describes my view of this situation, I believe that having Alexandra at the Finches house will disrupt Atticus’s parenting style and will turn the kids into people like her. Overall, the situation with Aunt Alexandra still confuses me, because Aunt Alexandra is certainly not feeling empathy towards Atticus and Scout when she comes in and tries to “fix” the Finch family”.  Hopefully, the reason for allowing her in will become more evident later in then novel.