To Kill a Mocking Bird

SETTING -19,20

chapter summary- These two chapters consist of the trial of Tom Robinson. Atticus, Tom's lawyer, calls only one witness, which is Tom himself. Tom states his case, which is as follows. He always passed the Ewell house on his way home from work, and Mayella often called him in to do chores for her, such as to break up 'chiffarobes' or dressers. On that specific evening, he was called inside to fix a door, but all the doors were fine when he checked them. Tom noticed that there were none of the other children, and when he asked Mayella about it she said that she had sent them to go buy ice cream and she had saved up all her money to buy it for them. Tom said it was nice of her. She then asked him to climb on a chair and get something from atop a cupboard, and she then hugged him around the waist, and asked him to kiss her, saying that she had never kissed a man before and it might as well be a black man. When her father, Mr. Bob Ewell appeared at the door and called her a whore-lady, Tom fled.

Tom's employer, Mr. Link Deas, stands up for Tom halfway through thr trial. He does this by getting up from his seat and shouting that Tom had been under his employment for eight years and he had never been any trouble. Judge Taylor sends Mr.Deas out of the room for this. The prosecutor, Mr. Gilmer, cross-examines Tom and points out that Tom had a criminal record and he even makes Tom say with his own words that he was strong enough to hold a woman down and rape her, even though he had but one hand. Mr. Gilmer continues to harass Tom on why he helped Mayella with her chores, until Tom admits that he felt sorry for Mayella. When Tom realized his mistake (That he was a black man and black people, in Maycomb's society, did not feel sorry for the white people. It was usually the other way round.), he 'shifted uncomfortably ' in his seat. Mr. Gilmer then accuses Tom of lying about everything he said, comparing it with Mayella's testimony. This is when Dill begins to cry and Scout and Dill go outside the courtroom.

setting-

Chapter 19 takes place in the courtroom. the atmosphere in the courtroom is tense and quiet, other than the trial itself. Since it takes place in a courtroom, it is quite solemn and focuses on the actual trial rather than the reactions of the spectators. The spectators are paying close attention to every move of the people in front of them, as stated in the line "Judge Taylor instinctively reached for his gavel, but let it fall. The murmur below us died without his help." This is quite unusual for the people of Maycomb, as Maycomb was quite a lazy and carefree town. Thus, the setting of the courtroom is parallel to the setting of the town outside the courtroom. This is stated in the line, " there was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb county." on page 11.

The setting was also rather harsh, as the way Mr. Gilmer questions Tom is quite accusing and stabbing. In fact, it was accusing to such a large extent that it made Dill cry. It was also sympathetic, as in page 198; it states that the Ewells were poor, as "Maycomb gave those Christmas baskets, welfare money, and the back of its hand."

On page 203, where Tom Robinson