When Heck Tate says “Let the dead bury the dead this time,” (Lee 276), Bob Ewell, who was on the opposite side of the court case as Tom Robinson, has just died and Jem is unconscious. Atticus is insistent that Bob Ewell’s death will reflect badly on Jem, but he doesn’t want anyone “hushing this up” (Lee 273). Heck Tate responds that it is clear that Bob Ewell fell on his own knife and caused his own death. Atticus is very resistent to believe that Bob casued his own death, and he understands, as a laywer, how much trouble murder can cause. Eventually, Heck persuades Atticus that Jem didn’t kill Ewell. He shows Atticus how, because they were under a tree, Ewell tripped and fell on his knife. Heck says that because Tom Robinson is dead, and so is Bob Ewell, Atticus should just “let the dead bury the dead this time” (Lee 276). Heck means that since both people involved in the case are dead, the case is over. Heck is telling Atticus to let go.
I totally agree, what Heck Tate is trying to say “let the dead bury the dead this time” (Lee
ReplyDelete317) is that Tom is already dead and he doesn’t want to bring Jem into it when Mr. Ewell just killed himself. Atticus is staying stubborn in this scene because he doesn’t fully believe Tate and he is not one to cover something up. Atticus says “but nobody is hushing this up. I don’t live that way” (Lee 313). He wants to believe Tate that Jem didn’t kill Mr. Ewell but with his court mindset he belives what scout says. Eventually, Atticus believes Tate and is relieved that the dead buried the dead and won’t have to go back to court.
I think that when Heck says to "Let the dead bury the dead this time," (Lee 317) he means that by Bob Ewell dying, Tom's case finally has been put to rest. If Atticus tries to say that Jem killed Bob, then the case would still live on, because they would have to go through the whole court process again, as a vague result of Tom's case. When Mr. Tate says "I never heard tell that it's against the law for a citizen to do his utmost to prevent a crime from being committed," he's saying that Atticus could just say that Bob fell on the knife and not have to deal with the legal process.
ReplyDeleteI agree, when Heck says, " Let the dead bury the dead this time," (Lee 317) he means that the case shouldn't be talked about anymore. The people involved with this are gone and the problems should go with them (and be "rested"). Also, Boo Radley was probably the one who killed him. First of all, he never goes out so why would he be under a tree next to where Bob was killed, secondly, he thinks good of the kids so if Mr. Ewell was causing problems with them and his family, then he would want to do something about it. Harper Lee includes this part of the story to show Scouts character development and how she now sees Boo as a regular person in contrary to her old perspectives.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Katherine on what she says about the quote, "Let the dead bury the dead this time." (Lee, 369) Since both people involved in the case had died, Heck Tate didn't want to bring Jem into the mess and create more drama. Additionally, the evidence pointed towards the fact that it was Boo Radley who had killed Bob Ewell. Atticus realizes this, and lets the case rest.
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