Friday, April 20, 2012

How does Scout describe the Maycomb courthouse in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Scout's description of the Maycomb County Courthouse begins on page 164:



The Maycomb County courthouse was faintly reminiscent of Arlington in one respect: the concrete pillars supporting its south roof were too heavy for their light burden. The pillars were all that remained standing when the original courthouse burned in 1856. Another courthouse was built around them. It is better to say, built in spite of them. But for the south porch, the Maycomb County courthouse was early Victorian, presenting an unoffensive vista when seen from the north. From the other side, however, Greek revival columns clashed with a big nineteenth-century clock tower housing a rusty unreliable instrument, a view indicating a people determined to preserve every physical scrap of the past.



The first thing Scout mentions is the concrete pillars on the south side. Referring to them as "too heavy for their light burden" could be a symbolic reference to the kinds of cases that are usually tried in the building. Perhaps people in Maycomb County take their light cases too seriously.


Scout mentions that the original courthouse burnt down in 1856 and the current courthouse is build up around, or in spite of, the original columns. She doesn't say why the courthouse burnt down, but this begins to produce a visual effect of an eclectic building.


The eclectic effect is continued with the addition of a Victorian façade, Greek revival columns, and a nineteenth-century clock tower. The image of the building with assorted styles and eras indicates that the people it serves are also varied. The Maycomb Courthouse is meant to serve townspeople and farmers, white folk and black. However, it does not serve the people of the county equally.


Scout describes the clock tower as unreliable, which might symbolize the unreliability of the court system that favors white over black and wealthy over poor, although it is meant to be an unbiased machine like a clock. Finally, Scout mentions that the designers tried to hold on to every scrap from the past. This could indicate that the people of Maycomb County tend to be traditional and old-fashioned. They ignore civil rights and equality, and hang on to bigotry, treating black people as if they are still slaves and second-class citizens.

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