Coexistence of Good and Evil

  "He did not begin to calm down until he had cut the tops off every camellia bush Mrs. Dubose owned" (Page 137).

          In this chapter, Jem gets frustrated because Mrs. Dubose constantly scolds Jem and Scout. Jem finally loses it and when Jem was walking home, he cut tops off of Mrs. Dubose's camellias. Jem later realizes this was not the right thing to do; however, when Atticus tells Jem he has to read to Mrs Dubose as a punishment, Jem agrees to the task.

           Here, Harper Lee shows an example of someone making a mistake and then fixing it. Everyone makes mistakes; it is part of everyday life. The lesson here is that as long as people fix the mistakes they make, then they won't feel as guilty.
        

A camellia Jem destroyed. 

" 'Bob Ewell fell on his knife.' "

           In this chapter, Boo Radley save Jem's and Scout's lives. At the beginning of the book, Boo Radley is known as the weird and crazy kid who eats squirrels and stabs people. By the end of this book, Harper Lee shows the real, gentle side to Boo Radley, which contrasts not the evil side everyone assumes is there.  Because Boo did not do anything wrong, Atticus does not want to cause trouble for him, and therefore said that Bob Ewell fell on his knife (instead of saying Boo Radley killed him to save the lives of Jem and Scout). 

           Harper Lee is trying to teach people that there are many sides to a person and that people can behave unexpectedly. The people of Maycomb thought that Boo was evil because he is different; however, Boo saved lives and now they know the real side of him.