In this quote on page 117, of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus is telling his brother, Jack, that he hopes Jem and Scout won't "catch" Maycomb's disease. He goes on to say, "Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a negro comes up, is something I don't pretend to understand...I just hope that Jem and Scout come to me for their answers instead of listening to the town." From this, I can infer that Atticus is regarding Maycomb's racism when he talked about the 'disease'. I think Atticus is comparing racism to a disease because it's something that you may not have had before, but can slowly develop. If you're constantly surrounded by racism, then it'll eventually find it's way into your thoughts, and you may become racism without realizing it. An example of this in the book is Cecil Jacobs, who goes to the same school as Scout. A dilemma arises when he announced that "Scout Finch's daddy defended niggers," in the schoolyard. Clearly, Cecil said this as a pejorative, trying to insult Scout. People aren't born racist; they listen to what's being discussed around them. Cecil's parents were probably racists, so he would've heard them gossiping about Atticus' Tom Robinson case, explaining why he affronted Scout in the schoolyard.
I can personally relate to Atticus' concerns about Scout and Jem's future. As an older sister, I naturally feel protective over my little brother. Sometimes, I worry about who he becomes friends with, what video games he plays, what he watches on the television, what he looks at on the internet, and more. All of these factors contribute to a person's ambiance, which will eventually influence the actual person. At times, I wish that my brother would be a little more selective with his friend circle, who definitely impact his attitude. Just like Cecil and his parents, my brother will occasionally repeat what his friends say, which can be negative.
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