In chapter 24, Scout is pretty much forced out of her comfort zone and into the company of Maycomb's social elite; this group has gathered for a "lesson" led by Mrs. Merriweather, who claims she wants to bring home a message she's heard about the poor Mruna tribe in Africa. She tells Scout and the other women who have gathered that the members of this tribe are living in poverty and darkness and that she needs to help the missionary J. Grimes Everett spread his message. By contrast, she tells Scout that she is fortunate that she lives in a "Christian home with Christian folks in a Christian town."
Her statement stands in sharp conflict with her next statements about Tom Robinson's wife. Just sentences later, she tells the group that they need to go to Tom's wife and tell her that "we've forgiven it" and goes on to comment that "there's nothing more distracting than a sulky darky." In fact, she's had to chastise "her" Sophy for not being a "Christian" following the trial, as she was full of too much complaining.
In reality, Mrs. Merriweather thinks Scout is fortunate because she is white, and she is afforded a higher social status in their town than the African Americans who live there. She blankets many of her racist comments with the language of being Christian, but her ideas and comments aren't Christian at all. She also wants to extend the "fortunate" situation she and Scout are afforded in Maycomb to a tribe in remote Africa but isn't willing to extend grace and compassion to Tom's wife, who is living in their own town. Mrs. Merriweather serves as a symbol of racial prejudice.
In chapter 24, Scout attends her aunt's missionary circle and listens as the prejudiced local ladies briefly discuss J. Grimes Everett's missionary work in Africa. Mrs. Merriweather takes center stage during the gathering and reveals her ignorance and prejudice by criticizing the Mrunas tribe and their unfamiliar culture. Mrs. Merriweather laments about the horrific conditions in Africa by emphasizing the immorality, poverty, and darkness present in the African bush. Mrs. Merriweather proceeds to depict J. Grimes Everett as a white savior and tells Scout:
Jean Louise . . . you are a fortunate girl. You live in a Christian home with Christian folks in a Christian town. Out there in J. Grimes Everett's land there’s nothing but sin and squalor. (Lee 235)
Mrs. Merriweather's comments illustrate her bias and prejudice against foreign cultures and religions. She clearly values Christianity over other religions and is completely ignorant about life outside of Maycomb's community.
Mrs. Merriweather continues to depict her ignorance and prejudice by using racial slurs and criticizing the black community. Scout is quickly maturing (through the events of the novel) and takes note of Mrs. Merriweather's ignorance and hypocrisy. Mrs. Merriweather does not reflect true Christian values and is depicted as an intolerant, prejudiced woman.
In chapter 24, we're at the Finch residence, where Mrs. Merriweather, the most devout woman in town, is attending a meeting of Aunt Alexandra's missionary circle. She gives the group a little talk on the lives of the Mrunas, a remote African tribe among whom J. Grimes Everett has been conducting missionary work. As well as living in extreme squalor, the Mrunas are ignorant of the Christian religion and supposedly steeped in sin, hence the need for Everett's evangelizing. Though apparently sympathetic to the Mrunas' desperate plight, Mrs. Merriweather, as with other members of the missionary circle, makes derogatory remarks about African Americans.
Turning to Scout, Mrs. Merriweather contrasts the little girl's life with that of those poor, benighted souls out in Africa:
"Jean Louise," she said, "you are a fortunate girl. You live in a Christian home with Christian folks in a Christian town. Out there in J. Grimes Everett’s land there’s nothing but sin and squalor."
Mrs. Merriweather's remarks are ironic indeed. This is the very day on which Tom Robinson has been shot dead by prison guards, trying to escape after being falsely convicted of raping a white woman. The previous chapters of To Kill A Mockingbird provide us with ample evidence of sin and squalor in Maycomb. Unfortunately, the likes of Mrs. Merriweather are unable or unwilling to see this.
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