Chapter 26 takes place after Tom Robinson's unfair trial and subsequent death. Scout is back at school, and her teacher Miss Gates assigns the children a current events article to bring to class.
The first sign that Miss Gates is a hypocrite is when she tries to teach the children about democracy, which Scout says is "equal rights for all, special privileges for none." Her teacher agrees with the definition. However, earlier in the chapter, Scout notices the unfairness of Miss Gates' assignment, noting the discrepancies between the newspapers available to the town children and the "bus children." Scout states that this was another reason the "bus children" felt neglected, meaning that the town children had "special privileges" that they did not. If Miss Gates really did believe in democracy, she would do more to help the poor children have the same opportunities as the town children and would not look down on them. Furthermore, Miss Gates has no problem with the fact that Tom Robinson did not have rights equal to those of a white man. Therefore, she is a hypocrite.
Later, after a class discussion about Hitler's treatment of the Jews, she speaks to them at length about how wrong it is to persecute anyone, so Scout believes that Miss Gates hates Hitler and what he stands for. On the other hand, Scout recalls hearing her say that "it's time somebody taught (African Americans) a lesson, they were getting way above themselves, and the next thing they think they can do is marry (them)." Scout is utterly confused and asks Jem how Miss Gates can hate Hitler but be "ugly" about the African Americans of Maycomb. The fact that she disagrees with the persecution of the Jews by Hitler but agrees with the persecution of Tom Robinson by the Ewells and Maycomb society makes Miss Gates a hypocrite.
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