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Prey tell tell tom or protect tom1/20/2024 ![]() The blacks in the community accept their lot. If Scout believed that blacks were truly lesser, then her character would have no reason for telling this story - the story she'd tell, if she told one at all, would be markedly different. It is fair to assume, however, that the adult Scout who is actually telling the story has come to understand the error of thinking that any human being is lesser than another based solely on skin color. In fact, Scout shows her lack of intentional prejudice by admitting "If he had been whole, he would have been a fine specimen of a man." In Scout's world, some things just are, and the fact that blacks are "just Negroes" is one of them. Even Scout, who probably can't yet define the term "prejudice," tells Dill, "'Well, Dill, after all, he's just a Negro.'" Scout's community has so reinforced the low station of blacks that she innocently accepts and helps maintain that station. In Maycomb during the time of Tom Robinson's trial, African Americans reside at the bottom of the totem pole as far as power in the community. Consequently, the resentment against blacks on the part of the "white trash" runs deep.Īgainst this backdrop of a trial where a "white-trash" female is accusing a black man of a violent crime, Lee expertly explores several of the novel's major themes while focusing on the questions of prejudice and class or social station. The fact is that most in the African American community live cleaner, more honest, and more productive lives than the Ewells. Just beyond their home is a "Negro settlement." Atticus had once taken Scout and Jem out to the dump to discard their Christmas tree, and Scout noticed that the black people's houses were modest but neat and appeared to be clean with aromatic smells rising from their kitchens - quite a contrast to the Ewells' surroundings. No truant officers could keep their numerous offspring in school no public health officer could free them from congenital defects, various worms, and the diseases indigenous to filthy surroundings." The Ewells forage for food, furnishings, and water at the town dump, which is very close to their shack. The Ewells are what people today would call "white trash." Scout sums the Ewells up when she says "people like the Ewells lived as guests of the county in prosperity as well as in the depths of depression. Prejudice certainly does come to play in the court proceedings, but Lee explores much deeper human emotions and societal ideals than the straightforward mistreatment of a person based on skin color. Just as Atticus finishes, Calpurnia walks into the courtroom and heads toward Atticus.Īt this point in the story, readers may be tempted to think that Tom Robinson's trial is basically about white prejudice against African Americans. Scout and Dill return to the courtroom in time to hear the last half of Atticus' impassioned speech to the jury. Scout follows Dill outside, where they talk with Dolphus Raymond, who reveals the secret behind his brown bag and his drinking. Gilmer's questioning and leaves the courtroom in tears. Dill has a very emotional response to Mr. However, Tom makes a fatal error when he admits under cross-examination that he, a black man, felt sorry for Mayella Ewell. Tom tells the true story, being careful all the while not to come right out and say that Mayella is lying. The state rests its case.Ītticus calls only one witness - Tom Robinson. Atticus asks Tom to stand up so that Mayella may identify him as he does, Scout notices that Tom's left arm is withered and useless - he could not have committed the crime in the way it was described. Her testimony soon proves that Mayella is unused to gentility and common courtesy. Even though Atticus believes that she's lying, he treats her with courtesy and respect Mayella thinks that he's making fun of her. Ewell is not shaken from his story, but Atticus carefully plants the seed that Mr. ![]() Bob Ewell takes the stand next and causes a stir in the courtroom with his bad attitude and foul language. Under cross-examination, he admits that a doctor was never called to the scene to examine Mayella Ewell. Full Glossary for To Kill a Mockingbird.Famous Quotes from To Kill a Mockingbird. ![]() ![]() Comparing To Kill a Mockingbird to Its Movie Version.Racial Relations in the Southern United States.Aunt Alexandra and Miss Maudie Atkinson. ![]()
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