To Kill a Mockingbird
Chapter 21
Kids in Trouble
Calpurnia finds out the kids
have been sitting in the
balcony all day
Atticus tells them to go home
Jem want to stay to hear the
verdict
– He believes Atticus is going
to win
Atticus makes them go home
for dinner
Aunt Alexandra is upset
Awaiting the Verdict
They return after they eat;
Reverend Sykes has saved
their seats
Jem tells Reverend Sykes
that he believes Atticus will
win based on the evidence
that was presented
Reverend Sykes tells Jem
The Verdict
It takes three hours to reach a
verdict (this is unusually long for Maycomb)
The Verdict: guilty
Jem can’t believe the verdict
– He is sickened over it
The Negroes in the balcony
Chapter 22
Jem’s Belief
Jem cries over the
outcome of the trial;
He tells Atticus, “ it ain’t
right.”
Jem does not
understand how the jury
could convict Tom
Weighing the Evidence
Atticus said he didn’t
know but they did;
they’ve done it before
and they’ll do it again
Atticus will now appeal
Miss Maudie’s Rationale
Miss Maudie tells the children that
Atticus was born to do the
unpleasant jobs for the rest of us.
Jem asked her "Who helped
Tom?"
She replies: the Negro
community, Judge Taylor, Atticus, and people like Scout, Jem, Dill, and Miss Maudie
We find out the case should have
gone to Maxwell Green the court appointed attorney (p. 215)
Judge Taylor specifically asked
Threat from Bob Ewell
Bob Ewell spits in
Atticus’s face in front of
a crowd downtown
This is a threat and a
challenge
Atticus does not take
him seriously
Chapter 23
Fearful for Atticus
Atticus’s reaction to Bob spitting
at him was “I wish Bob Ewell wouldn’t chew tobacco.”
Miss Stephanie has a version of
what happened (see p. 217)
The children are now fearful for
their father
– Scout believe Atticus needs a
gun
This goes against Atticus’s
Bob’s Viewpoint
Atticus does not think Bob
will do anything
– He is too trusting
Atticus tells Jem to look at
the situation from Bob
Ewell’s shoes (point of view)
– Atticus destroyed Bob’s
credibility in court
– Bob needs to get back at
someone
– Atticus said he’d rather it be
What’s Next for Tom?
Tom has been moved to Enfield
Prison, seventy miles away
What happens if Atticus loses
the appeal?
– Tom goes to the electric chair
or the governor could commute the sentence
Rape is a capital offense in
Alabama
The jury sentenced him to
death;
Explaining the Verdict
Was his sentence given
because of the color of his
skin? (black versus white)
Atticus is upset over
sentencing based on
circumstantial evidence
Atticus explains the jury’s
decision (p 220)
– In a case like this, the
verdict is usually returned quickly
Jem’s Realization
Jem says he
understands why
Boo has stayed
shut up in his
house for all
these years;
Chapter 24
Missionary Ladies Tea
Aunt Alexandra’s Missionary
Tea Party
Members present:
– Mrs. Grace Merriweather – Miss Stephanie Crawford – Mrs. Gertrude Farrow – Miss Rachel Haverford – Mrs. Perkins
– Miss Maudie Atkinson
Aunt Alexandra treats Calpurnia
like a servant/slave
Hypocrites
They discuss the situation of
the Mrunas in Africa (p 230)
They are all hypocritical
– except Maudie
They are willing to send
money to help convert the
natives in Africa to
Christianity
They are unwilling to give
Tragic News
Atticus comes home and talks
to Calpurnia
He tells her that he needs her to
go with him to tell Helen that Tom is dead
Tom tried to escape
– He was shot 17 times as he
was going over the fence
Atticus is very upset
– He had told Tom they stood a
good chance at the appeal
According to Miss Maudie,
Chapter 25
Telling Tom’s Family
Dill and Jem get to go
with Atticus (he picks
them up as they are
walking home)
Helen faints at the news
The town is interested in
Mr. Underwood’s Opinion
Mr. Underwood writes an
editorial
– He believes it was a sin to
kill a cripple
According to Mr. Underwood,
Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case (p 241)
“Tom was a dead man from the
minute Mayella opened her mouth and screamed”
Atticus still does not think that
