In the acclaimed movie Doubt, there is a scene in which a priest gives a very powerful sermon on gossip. He preaches to the congregation a story about a woman who has gossiped, and then goes to church, to ask the parish priest if her gossiping was a sin. The priest says yes, her gossiping was indeed a sin, for she had bore false witness against her neighbor, and should be “heartily ashamed”. When the woman asks for forgiveness, the priest orders her to return to her house, stand on her roof, and cut open a pillow with a knife. The woman does just this and soon after returns to the priest, who asks her what was the result. “Feathers”, she replies, “feathers everywhere, Father”. The priest then instructs her to go back home, and pick up each and every feather that had flown away in the wind. Knowing it is an impossible task, the woman says she cannot, with the Father’s reply, “And that is gossip”.
This meaningful scene depicts gossip perfectly: once it is loose, it can never be stopped, as it will go down in history for years and years to come. Gossip is seen playing a crucial role in To Kill A Mockingbird, appearing as a major theme in the novel. In the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, everybody knows each other. All of the townspeople know the history, who’s who, what’s what, and so on. Therefore, certain fallacies can easily be transmitted throughout the tight-knit community. A notorious character Harper Lee presents early on in the book is Boo Radley. Living a life so solitude in a house with his parents, Boo is never seen out and about. Different rumors that have circulated about Maycomb of Boo are: that he stabbed his father with a pair of scissors; he eats squirrels, he comes out at night and peeks through people’s windows; he is actually dead and stuffed up the chimney. With all of this gossip pertaining to Boo Radley, actual truths are difficult to differentiate from, as so many lies have been attached to his name.
Gossip is presented in To Kill A Mockingbird yet again when author Harper Lee introduces the Cunningham and Ewell families. The Cunningham’s are brought up with the son, Walter, who attends school with Scout. Through Scout’s little anecdote of the Cunningham’s, it is determined that it is not your typical Maycomb family. The Cunningham’s work in different ways than most in the town, and everyone in the county knows their story. Thus so, they are grouped apart from the majority of Maycomb. Another family, the Ewell’s are described to the reader as a filthy, for no good people, and this is understood throughout the town like the back of their hands. The two families are seen as outcasts to the townsfolk of Maycomb, due largely in part to Harper Lee’s excellent use of gossip in To Kill A Mockingbird.
I totally agree with everything that you have said. I found the scene from the movie to be very ingesting and I have never thought of gossip like that. I think that the connections that you made are excellent and they go well with the movie clip. I can't wait to find out what happens with all the gossip and how Boo Radley acts when he does go into the public.
ReplyDeleteI thought you did a very good job in describing the sermon in Doubt and how it connected to several characters in the book. The most sterling example of the devastating power of gossip, Boo Radley, is handled very well, and you drew very good comparisons. However, I think the example of the Cunningham's and the Ewell's was less powerful. I think much of the talk about these families is less false gossip then more a representation of their pitiful situation. Good job overall.
ReplyDeleteI think you did a really good job on your post. I liked how you started with the scene from doubt then talked about To Kill a Mockingbird. I also liked how you related the scene in doubt to two examples in the book. Your connections were very clear. Good job.
ReplyDeleteDoubt had a powerful message. It made the congregation realize the implications of telling rumors, and it showed the wide-scaled effects of these actions. I believe that Maycomb is infested with rumors, and has in fact brought a fair amount of problems to the town. It has caused unrest about the Finches, and made children fear Boo Radley.
ReplyDeleteBennett, this post greatly showed gossip and the negative effects it can have on numerous people. I really liked your point on gossip how you pointed out how once it was let loose, it cannot stop. I found it very interesting how the people in Maycomb could believe such ridiculous rumors without even thinking of the consequences. Your post hit all the major points in both the Doubt clip and TKAM about gossip and the baggage that comes along with it. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteI had not thought of what was said about the Cunningham and Ewell families as gossip. That is an interesting observation because it is portrayed as fact in the novel. Boo Radley is definitely the quintessential example of gossip at its worst, having made him a social outcast, held within his house, who could be severely punished for any open communication with the outside world. Another good example of gossip is what came out of racism in the south.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job describing the meaning of the feathers and how they represented gossip. You also did a great job explaining exactly what you were trying to express when writing this blog. I had not thoguht about what you said about the Cunningham's. Good job on this blog post.
ReplyDeleteYour title is very captivating. Most other people simply made their title "connection to doubt" including myself. However, your title really emphasizes the theme of your post. I like how you used multiple examples of the victims of gossip in Harper Lee's novel. I only used Boo Radley as an example, but you really got the point across with the different characters.
ReplyDelete