To elaborate on ideas already suggested, Miss Maudie, in
Chapter 22 of To Kill a Mockingbird, speaks, not about those who
purport to be Christians, but about those who are truly Christian. For, one of Harper
Lee's motifs is the hypocrisy of "the footwashers" and the other
holier-than-thou's.
After the trial when Jem
remarks,
It's
all right to talk like that--can't any Christian judges an' lawyers make up for heathen
juries
Miss Maudie
replies,
readability="5">
That's something you'll have to take up with your
father.
Miss Maudie refrains
from commenting because she has faith in humanity. Just as Judge Taylor displayed his
Christianity by hiring Atticus as the defender of Tom Robinson, and just as Heck Tate
showed fortitude in giving objective testimony, there may appear a juror who breaks from
the conventional wisdom of the others. After all, Mr. Cunningham held up the verdict
for a while with his doubt. Miss Maudie believes in the heroic struggle, which is
always the struggle of a true Christian.
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