Fighting Friends

[Alex Gandy]

In Ch. 9, Atticus explains to Scout that the reason this trial will be different from fighting the Civil War is that, “This time we aren’t fighting Yankees, we’re fighting our friends.”  He seems to insinuate that fighting friends is more difficult than fighting enemies.  This seems counterintuitive as it should be easier to talk to and work out differences with the people we are closest to.  What do you think of Atticus’s statement in general?

What do you think the effect of a fight like this will be on a town as close-knit as Maycomb?

[Shaye Murray]

I agree with Atticus. It is much harder to fight against your friends because you don't want to offend or anger anyone, nor do you want to ruin any friendships. In this case especially, where it is such a heavy topic and the trial is bound to get heated, fighting with a friend is difficult because of the emotion you put into your position to fight for your opinion. This fight has the potential to tear the town apart. If more people join Atticus's side then there will be a larger split in the values and morals of the town. Either way the trial goes, whoever wins, there will be an upset in the town. 

On May 6, 2013, at 3:02 PM, Alex Gandy <alexga...@gmail.com> wrote:

In Ch. 9, Atticus explains to Scout that the reason this trial will be different from fighting the Civil War is that, “This time we aren’t fighting Yankees, we’re fighting our friends.”  He seems to insinuate that fighting friends is more difficult than fighting enemies.  This seems counterintuitive as it should be easier to talk to and work out differences with the people we are closest to.  What do you think of Atticus’s statement in general?

What do you think the effect of a fight like this will be on a town as close-knit as Maycomb?

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[Alexandra Olazaran]

I agree that it will be harder to fight friends in Maycomb because it is such a tight community, but racism is something that every citizen feels very strongly about. In my family, it easy to reconcile when we argue about something silly, but when we fight about something that runs deep, it's hard to return to being a happy family. We generally are reunited when a situation calls for it, like a tragedy that we all meed to help in. Similarly, I think that Maycomb will be torn apart by this case, but like my family, will eventually make up because of a tragedy.

On May 6, 2013, at 3:02 PM, Alex Gandy <alexga...@gmail.com> wrote:

In Ch. 9, Atticus explains to Scout that the reason this trial will be different from fighting the Civil War is that, “This time we aren’t fighting Yankees, we’re fighting our friends.”  He seems to insinuate that fighting friends is more difficult than fighting enemies.  This seems counterintuitive as it should be easier to talk to and work out differences with the people we are closest to.  What do you think of Atticus’s statement in general?

What do you think the effect of a fight like this will be on a town as close-knit as Maycomb?

[Sarah Park]

It may seem easier to talk to and work out differences with the people we are closest to, however I think it will actually be even harder. As friends, it may be easy to work some things out, as in miscommunications and small fights, however, I feel like when it's a big deal, like as in a trial or case, it can be the hardest to workout. As friends, you are close and it's hard to fight on things that can not be worked out and adamant opinions on certain things. you also wouldn't want to hurt their feelings and break good, strong relationships. For instance, if you got in an accident, it's easier to attack a total stranger and enemy, however, if you got in a huge accident with a different family member, it's extremely difficult to work things out because you have stronger feelings and relations with that person. You wouldn't want them to stop talking to you or hurt them as a whole family in general, whether it's economically or personally. Because Atticus's case deals with something that is opposed, he is fighting against his own family.

On Mon, May 6, 2013 at 3:02 PM, Alex Gandy <alexga...@gmail.com> wrote:

In Ch. 9, Atticus explains to Scout that the reason this trial will be different from fighting the Civil War is that, “This time we aren’t fighting Yankees, we’re fighting our friends.”  He seems to insinuate that fighting friends is more difficult than fighting enemies.  This seems counterintuitive as it should be easier to talk to and work out differences with the people we are closest to.  What do you think of Atticus’s statement in general?

What do you think the effect of a fight like this will be on a town as close-knit as Maycomb?

[BLAKE GRABSKY]

     I agree that in general, it's harder to fight with your friends than with your enemies. Fighting with anyone can take a lot of energy out of a person, but there are things about fighting with friends that are more difficult. When two friends are fighting, there's more at stake to lose. It's harder to fight someone you like because you know that there's the risk of losing them as a friend. When two people that don't like each other are fighting, it's much easier to "give all you got" and fight your hardest.

     So, that's why we notice that Atticus is having a hard time defending Tom Robinson because he's metaphorically "fighting his friends" by supporting someone that they consider less-of-value. No matter how the trial ends, I still think that the people of Maycomb will stick to their racist views. If Atticus does pull off the miracle of winning the trial for Tom, I still couldn't image him being able to change Maycomb's general view on black people. 

[Ali Quarles]

I agree with Sarah. I mean for me, it is hardest when you are fighting with your loved ones. In my family, when my uncle comes to visit, we never talk about politics because it will cause a commotion. We know that he has strong views an fighting will do nothing. Sometimes you have to agree to disagree, which I think Atticus has done well in a very polite manner compared to his relatives who yell mean slurs at him.

Alison Marie Quarles

On May 6, 2013, at 3:02 PM, Alex Gandy <alexga...@gmail.com> wrote:

In Ch. 9, Atticus explains to Scout that the reason this trial will be different from fighting the Civil War is that, “This time we aren’t fighting Yankees, we’re fighting our friends.”  He seems to insinuate that fighting friends is more difficult than fighting enemies.  This seems counterintuitive as it should be easier to talk to and work out differences with the people we are closest to.  What do you think of Atticus’s statement in general?

What do you think the effect of a fight like this will be on a town as close-knit as Maycomb?

[reese.svetgoff]

I agree with Atticus that fighting friends is much more difficult than fighting enemies. Although, it is easier to talk to your friends, controversial topics can bring about heated arguments. These tend to further bring about insults and rude behavior that is unnecessary. Therefore, no one would want to insult their friend, therefore it is much more difficult for them to fight.  Where as when you are fighting your enemies, you are not as careful with your words, because you will not carry on a friendship afterwards. A case like this will cause great controversy, which I believe will split the county based on their morals and views of the case, which I believe may get out of hand. 

[Jacob Tanamachi]

I believe that Atticus is trying to convey to his daughter that sometimes it is harder to fight people who are closer to you rather than an enemy because your friendship can be put at stake. Anyone can pick up a rock and throw it at someone they resent, but it takes strength to throw that rock at someone we care about. Atticus knows good and well that by the time he is finished with the case, the people who he calls friends, neighbors, church companions, coworkers, all of them will desert him. This is where his true colors are shown-he doesn't want to lose his friends, but when measured against the loss of his values, there is little comparison. Unfortunately for the town of Maycomb, I believe this case will spiral into a conflict of opinions that surpasses the doors of the courthouse. The hatred of negroes and supporters alike will cause the whole town to descend into chaos, and leave neighbors fighting neighbors, families splitting in two, and lives torn apart.

Sent from my iPod

On May 6, 2013, at 3:02 PM, Alex Gandy <alexga...@gmail.com> wrote:

In Ch. 9, Atticus explains to Scout that the reason this trial will be different from fighting the Civil War is that, “This time we aren’t fighting Yankees, we’re fighting our friends.”  He seems to insinuate that fighting friends is more difficult than fighting enemies.  This seems counterintuitive as it should be easier to talk to and work out differences with the people we are closest to.  What do you think of Atticus’s statement in general?

What do you think the effect of a fight like this will be on a town as close-knit as Maycomb?

[Jacob Tanamachi]

I completely agree, Reese. It is harder to fight someone who you have no real business fighting with, than to fight someone you don't care for. There are many more emotional ties that can be severed, and there is little that hurts more than knowing someone you thought cared about you, turns out to have it in for you. I know for a fact that I would rather be called out by someone I resent rather than by a friend. 

Sent from my iPod

[zulrich]

I agree with Atticus, mainly because arguing with friends is tough. I personally am not a good arguer, especially with friends. You want to treat them like you would want them to treat them. So if you go and bash them for every little detail or flaw about them, they wont be your friend for very much longer. I think the battle between this close town could potentially destroy the relationships between the Finches and the general community because most everyone in Maycomb is anti-black people. Which is unfortunate, because Atticus has the right idea for the future of black people, its just no one agrees with him yet.

On Monday, May 6, 2013 3:02:46 PM UTC-5, Alex Gandy wrote:

[Igor Do Nascimento]

I completely agree with Atticus and everybody else's opinion that fighting friends is one of the hardest things you can do, but as i keep reading the book i feel that Atticus sees everybody as friends at Maycomb while some of the people does not see Atticus the same way, and more and more people seems to resent him for his decision on defending Tom Robinson. So my opinion is this, it is really hard to fight your friends when there is nothing happening that could trigger an argument or hut one another. but when there is a stronger force behind it, as it seems to me there is a way stronger force behind Maycomb's usual hatred for African Americans and the not so developed malevolence towards Atticus, it may not seem as difficult. just to give you an example lets suppose one of your friends starts to spread rumors about you at school, just as the people of Maycomb is doing to Atticus, you try to persuade them that they are wrong but they don't seem to get it. There is just two options left to you at this point, either you accept the rumors as true and keep your Supposedly friend, or you fight them to try to make them see the mistake they are making and hopefully he/she will regret it and apologize, or just unfriend them witch to me seems like the best option.

[Wil Kahlich]

Atticus is absolutely correct. The ramifications of fighting an enemy is that you stay what you are- enemies. Fighting a friend, however, is much more difficult. You go from a happy relationship of trust, to one of distrust and feelings of betrayal on both sides. When you fight your enemies, you have a predisposition to disliking them. You already have judged them as being wrong and stupid. Anything they have to say, you disagree with. On the other hand, its a common misconception that all friends agree with each other. This is far from the truth. Friendships aren't based on shared opinions on trivial things. They're based on a bond formed through trial and error, and investment over time. But eventually, you might disagree on something you find to be a big deal, and accusations fly in all directions. How could they betray me like this? What are they thinking? They're thinking for themselves, which is the best thing they can do. Suddenly a friendship is lost over a petty argument, all because you thought they should agree with you. What a waste.

--
-Wil

[Sarah Park]

I agree with Wil when he talks about the feelings of betrayal on both sides. In an argument with an enemy or stranger, it's easy to accuse them of wrong doings and accusations, but once it comes to your friends, it's hard to pin them down. Whoever the first person it is to accuse, the other side becomes hurt and has a feeling of betrayal. They think, how can you do this? I thought we were friends? If you truly were my friend, you wouldn't do this. These things can lead to second guesses on what you were once adamant about. Fighting against your friends can lead you to fight against what you think is right. Eventually, you'll have to fight your friends to stand for what you believe in, which can be extremely difficult. In life, you lose people and you gain people, but whatever you do, you need to stand strong about what you believe because in the end, you will always be yourself.

[Caleb Smith-Shaw]

Although Atticus defending Tom Robinson may change the way some of the citizens of Maycomb view him, there are still people who remain the same. Atticus tries to be as respectful as he can to everyone and some people, such as Miss Maudie, will not change her views of him. Also I think that by defending Tom Robinson will break down many barriers set by Maycomb's ancestors. For example, in the book many of  Maycomb's african american citizens have a new found respect Atticus

[Amy Schmitt]

I completely agree with you Sarah. I find it harder to fight friends and family for the same reasons. I find that people tend to take things on a more personal level if the relationship between the two sides is strong. Taking everything someone is saying in order to be proven correct personally can be tough. If someone that you don't know very well says something, acts a certain way, or looks at you weirdly it is typically easy to discard that and in turn have a response. But, if you know who you are dealing with on a personal level it could affect you a whole lot more. I also love how you mentioned that it would typically be harder to handle during a big fight, because it usually is easy to get over something with someone I'm close to quickly if it doesn't matter as much to us!

[Kennedy Curley]

I'm with Wil on this one. Fighting with friends is harder than fighting with enemies because your friends can become enemies depending on the intensity of the argument. In this case, there's an immense argument that causes bitterness and hatred from the whole town to be directed at the Finch family. Should friends be lost over arguments? Most of the time they shouldn't, but I would lose friends over something that exposes their ignorant morals, just like Jem, Scout and Atticus are losing their friends. However, if it was a normal argument about something small and meaningless, it would be asinine for friends to break apart just because they don't agree with each other.

[Jansen Rees]

I do agree with Atticus. It is easier to fight against an enemy because you do not know them like you do a friend. If you hurt the enemy's feelings, it won't matter as much, but if you end up hurting a friend, you can lose that friendship. When fighting an enemy, you don't really have anything to lose, you don't know them and weren't friends with them so it doesn't really matter. When fighting against a friend, you can lose not just them, but other friends in the process. Fighting against friends can and most likely will cause problems and end in serious consequences. 

I think this fight will cause serious problems in Maycomb because it is so small. It says in the book that The Finch's are big people/ influences in the town so it may cause the people in the town to turn against each other. 

Sent from my iPhone

On May 6, 2013, at 3:02 PM, Alex Gandy <alexga...@gmail.com> wrote:

In Ch. 9, Atticus explains to Scout that the reason this trial will be different from fighting the Civil War is that, “This time we aren’t fighting Yankees, we’re fighting our friends.”  He seems to insinuate that fighting friends is more difficult than fighting enemies.  This seems counterintuitive as it should be easier to talk to and work out differences with the people we are closest to.  What do you think of Atticus’s statement in general?

What do you think the effect of a fight like this will be on a town as close-knit as Maycomb?

[Caroline McCoy]

Normally it is easier to work out things with your friends but in this case, with something as big as racism, people can have very different views and take their sides to the extreme, even when acting against their friends. If they all were to get into a huge fight it could easily be considered tearing apart a family and picking sides. With a cause that is as big as this one, people are very opinionated and if they were to have to say that their friends and family are wrong along with having to convince others of their viewpoint while throwing in personal feelings towards everyone, too many factors are involved, allowing too many things to be at risk.

[zulrich]

I agree with Caleb. But I think you were thinking of Mrs. Dubose. Anyways, yes, Atticus will try to be as respectful as possible to his fellow citizens of Maycomb. He reminds me of that one old guy who doesn't really do much until he actually does something, then everyone is like "Woah he did something and it was really awesome!" because he did something that no one expected him to do in the first place. Like the one shot Finch thing.

[Emma Preston]

I agree with what Atticus is saying. If you are fighting with an enemy, you will not be surprised when they disagree with you and you will not be offended when they are mean to you-enemies disagree with each other, and are mean to each other. But when you argue with a friend, someone who you support and someone whose presence you enjoy, it will most likely be awkward and disconcerting when you argue, and your feelings will probably be damaged more than if you were arguing with an enemy. After arguing with a friend, there may be a stage where you feel uncomfortable around them, whereas after arguing with an enemy nothing will have changed and you will still feel the same annoyance you felt towards them before. 

On Mon, May 6, 2013 at 3:02 PM, Alex Gandy <alexga...@gmail.com> wrote:

In Ch. 9, Atticus explains to Scout that the reason this trial will be different from fighting the Civil War is that, “This time we aren’t fighting Yankees, we’re fighting our friends.”  He seems to insinuate that fighting friends is more difficult than fighting enemies.  This seems counterintuitive as it should be easier to talk to and work out differences with the people we are closest to.  What do you think of Atticus’s statement in general?

What do you think the effect of a fight like this will be on a town as close-knit as Maycomb?

[Charlie Tapken]

I agree that it is harder to fight friends because with friends you're fighting people you know and care about. You also care about their feelings and don't want to do anything to hurt them or anything they disagree with. I think that this case will separate the people of Maycomb but then people will begin to realize that there is no reason to discriminate and a chain reaction will occur. One will follow another and another after that bring them all closer together again. 

Sent from my iPhone

On May 6, 2013, at 3:02 PM, Alex Gandy <alexga...@gmail.com> wrote:

In Ch. 9, Atticus explains to Scout that the reason this trial will be different from fighting the Civil War is that, “This time we aren’t fighting Yankees, we’re fighting our friends.”  He seems to insinuate that fighting friends is more difficult than fighting enemies.  This seems counterintuitive as it should be easier to talk to and work out differences with the people we are closest to.  What do you think of Atticus’s statement in general?

What do you think the effect of a fight like this will be on a town as close-knit as Maycomb?

[Emma Preston]

Amy, I agree with what you said about friends taking it more personally. I think that is the whole reason why fighting with friends affects you more than fighting with someone you barely know. If a stranger and I disagree on a certain topic I will probably forget that it ever happened almost immediately, but if a close friend of mine disagrees with me it will stay on my mind. I also try harder to see things from the other person's point of view when I am arguing with a close friend, because I want to be able to understand where they are coming from, and possibly find a sort of middle ground that we can agree on, so as not to leave things on a bad note.

On Fri, May 10, 2013 at 4:49 PM, Amy Schmitt <amycoo...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Gissel Glez]

Igor you a good point and I agree with what you are saying, because of Atticus seeing everyone as a friend in Maycomb and he defending Tom Robinson made a lot of people in the street to feel different about Atticus. As you said "it is really hard to fight your friends when there is nothing happening that could trigger an argument or hut one another. But when there is a stronger force behind it...it may not seem as difficult." This shows that most friends don’t have a big reason to fight to it is really hard for them even when they are mad at each other but when you have a bigger reason then you can actually have stronger force to fight.

---

Date: Fri, 10 May 2013 12:24:58 -0500
Subject: Re: Fighting Friends
From: donascimento....@gmail.com
To: fg...@googlegroups.com

[dali...@gmail.com]

Shay,

I agree with you, it is harder to fight against your friends and whatever happens there will be someone upset in the town. But just maybe the town might get together for this cause, for they might learn about humanity. There is of course the possibility that the town will split apart, like in the Civil War. But no matter what happens Maycomb will still be their home and they will fight for whats right. The sad thing is going to be watching how a town like Maycomb dives by a simple yet complicated subject that can be cause so much destruction: racism. I just hope that at the end they learn to live equally with no differences.

~GABY

-----Original Message-----
Date: Monday, May 06, 2013 4:05:01 pm
To: "fg...@googlegroups.com" <fg...@googlegroups.com>
From: "Shaye Murray" <murray...@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Fighting Friends

I agree with Atticus. It is much harder to fight against your friends because you don't want to offend or anger anyone, nor do you want to ruin any friendships. In this case especially, where it is such a heavy topic and the trial is bound to get heated, fighting with a friend is difficult because of the emotion you put into your position to fight for your opinion. This fight has the potential to tear the town apart. If more people join Atticus's side then there will be a larger split in the values and morals of the town. Either way the trial goes, whoever wins, there will be an upset in the town.

On May 6, 2013, at 3:02 PM, Alex Gandy <alexga...@gmail.com> wrote:

> In Ch. 9, Atticus explains to Scout that the reason this trial will be different from fighting the Civil War is that, ?This time we aren?t fighting Yankees, we?re fighting our friends.? He seems to insinuate that fighting friends is more difficult than fighting enemies. This seems counterintuitive as it should be easier to talk to and work out differences with the people we are closest to. What do you think of Atticus?s statement in general?

[Katharine Jovicich]

I completly agree with Attic us. Fighting within a household/town/ friend group/ family is hard. Either way who "wins" its always awkward because the circle group of friends still remains the same. Maycomb is close and when one goes against all the other ones beliefs its hard on the town. I think the town will split or shun Atticus for a while in the long run.