To Kill a Mockingbird: Chapters 16-21
Episode 14
This week Professor Pipes is discussing the trial of Tom Robinson in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Get your stenographer’s pen out because she’s talking testimony!
Transcript
Introduction:
Hello and welcome to Piper’s Paraphrases. I’m Professor Pipes, and today I’m discussing Chapters 16 through 21 of Harper Lee’s classic, To Kill a Mockingbird. These chapters cover the trial of Tom Robinson, and there’s a lot to cover, so I’d better hurry up and get to it!
Summary:
In Chapter 16, residents from all over the county travel to Maycomb to watch the trial. Jem points out several notable figures, including the town drunk, Dolphus Raymond, a wealthy white man who married a Black woman. When the kids decide to go into town to watch the trial, Scout notices that the white residents seem happy, gross, while the African American community gathered seems sad and somber, which is much more appropriate when a man’s life is on the line! The kids sneak into the courthouse, but there are no seats left downstairs, so Reverend Sykes offers them seats in the segregated balcony.
In Chapter 17, we hear the testimony of Heck Tate, the sheriff, and Bob Ewell, the father of the supposed victim. First, Heck says that he was called to the Ewell house and found that Mayella appeared very beaten and bruised, and she told him that Tom Robinson raped her. He reveals that Mayella was mostly beaten on her right side, and she had evidence that she had been choked all around her neck. Spoiler alert: this is going to be SUPER important later. Bob Ewell was, honestly, really unlikable on the stand. He kept making inappropriate jokes. Dude, it’s your daughter’s rape case! Not the time. He claims that he heard yelling when he was heading home and when he got to the window, he saw Tom Robinson raping Mayella, but then Tom ran away. He says that he never called a doctor because there was no need to. Umm… right. Atticus also has Bob write his name, and it turns out that he’s left handed! Oh, you didn’t get why that’s important? No worries, I’ve got you. But for this, I’ll need some help from my good friend Pikachu. You see, a right handed person would mostly hit someone on their left, but a left handed person would mostly hit someone on their right, much like Mayella’s injuries. Thanks, Pikachu.
In Chapter 18 we hear the testimony of Mayella Ewell. She claims that she offered Tom a nickel to chop up a dresser for her, but he attacked and raped her when he got inside. When Atticus cross-examines, her, though, we learn a lot of important information about her life. She is one of eight kids, and she is the only one who tries to keep clean. She has almost no education and no friends at all. In fact, when Atticus calls her Miss and M’am, she thinks he’s making fun of her. So sad! It’s also clear that her father is a drunk who beats her and her siblings. Atticus then asks her about the supposed attack, asking why she didn’t fight him off, where her siblings were, and HOW Tom was able to hold her down and choke her and beat her and rape her, all with only one working hand. Yep, that’s right. Tom’s left arm is short and useless from a childhood injury, so he can only use his right hand. Is that important, Cooper? Why yes it is. Mayella yells that the jurors are cowards, and that she won’t answer any more questions and then she bursts into tears.
In Chapter 19, we finally hear from Tom Robinson himself, and he is so honest and so nice even though the prosecutor is extremely rude and keeps calling him “boy.” Even his boss, Link Deas, interrupts court to say how great he is! Tom says that Mayella invited him inside to fix a door, but when he got inside he realized that there was no broken door and Mayella revealed that she had sent her siblings away. Before he left, she asked if he could get something off the top of a wardrobe, and when he was standing on a chair, she grabbed him. He was startled and jumped down and Mayella grabbed him around the waist and tried to kiss him. Just then, Bob Ewell appeared at the window, called Mayella a whore, and threatened to kill her.. Tom was able to get out of her grasp and run away. When the prosecutor starts to belittle Tom, Dill gets really upset, so he and Scout leave. Woah, that’s right! With so much court stuff, I almost forgot about the kids.
In Chapter 20, Scout and Dill meet Dolphus Raymond, who offers Dill a drink, uh oh… and as it turns out, he’s not a drunk! He just pretends to be one because people can’t understand why else he would want to marry a Black woman. He explains that he revealed his secret because he could tell that Dill understood that what was going on was completely wrong. Dill and Scout head back in JUST in time to hear Atticus’ closing statement, and man is it Something. He talks about the facts of the case, such as the fact that Mayella never saw a doctor who could confirm that she had even been raped, the location of her injuries, and the fact that Tom could physically not have caused them. He also implies that Bob Ewell beat his daughter because she dared to break a social code in their world: “she kissed a Black man.” Then he talks about the fact that, of all places, a courtroom is where all people should be treated equally. Where all men should get a square deal. He closes by telling the jury not to be persuaded by their emotions and instead to do their duty and send Tom home. And just as he finishes, Calpurnia enters the courtroom.
In Chapter 21 we find out why Calpurnia is there: she’s looking for the kids. Mr. Underwood, the newspaper editor, points them out and they are sent home. After supper, they head back to wait for the verdict and end up waiting for several hours. But it ends with the verdict that anyone with a brain or a conscience knows is wrong: guilty. As Atticus leaves the courtroom, defeated, the African Americans in the balcony stand to show their respect.
Characterization:
Lots of new folks in these chapters, so let’s start with a brief look at most of them.
First of all, Bob Ewell is a real piece of… Poop. Excuse my language. But he is! He spends all his money on alcohol and not only doesn’t care about his children’s education or well being, but outright beats them and sexually assaults his daughter. I just... I really can’t with him.
Mayella Ewell is clearly stuck between a rock and a hard place. ? It seems likely that the reason she’s willing to testify against Tom is because she’s scared of what her father will do to her. That doesn’t justify it, of course, but it does make her actions more understandable. She is also symbolized by the geraniums she has planted. Trying to blossom in a literal dump. And it’s broken her. As Atticus says, “I have nothing but pity in my heart for the chief witness of the state, but my pity does not extend so far as to her putting a man’s life at stake, which she has done.”
Dolphus Raymond is an… interesting guy. He’s kind of like two steps forward and one step backwards. One the one hand, his wife is Black, ok, not technically his wife because that was literally illegal back then (man, we were horrible), so he isn’t racist, and he also talks to the kids about treating everyone fairly. However, he’s also not willing to just stand up to people and say that he loves his wife, so he’s really not advancing the cause.
Tom Robinson deserves so much more than he got and so much more time than I have. He is honest about his past actions, patient with the racist and condescending attitude of the prosecutor, kind and compassionate towards Mayella, and just plain scared for his life. There is really nothing bad that you can say about him. Unfortunately, there’s not much at all we can say about him, since we don’t really get to know him as a person, which actually brings me to the last person I want to talk about…
Now Atticus is undoubtedly a good, moral man. He stands up for Tom at a time when many, if not most, people would not. He is a role model who can encourage people to fight for what they believe in. All of that is great! And as a person, so is he. However, as a character, he is problematic when viewed through a literary lens. Essentially, he is considered by many to be a “white savior.” A white savior narrative is one in which a white character saves a non-white character from something bad. That sounds great and all, since, historically, oftentimes white individuals had more power to bring about change, so using that power to help others is great. However, in a white savior narrative, there are two problems. First, the praise of the savior comes at the expense of the ones he saves. Usually, their stories are hardly told, they aren’t really fleshed out as characters or people, and they are portrayed as weak and unable to stand up for themselves, all of which is problematic and, frankly, kind of defeating for a reader who may identify more with the person of color, rather than the white savior. Second, a white savior narrative is also inherently self-serving. Now I wouldn’t say that Atticus is self-serving. He seems genuinely selfless. However, the story itself is self-serving, making the author and any readers who identify with the white savior characters feel comfortable and good, without actually having to do the active work of helping others. If you like Atticus and think he’s great, that’s enough. But, really, it’s not. You have to practice what you preach. Just as the town has Atticus to do what is right for them, so do we.
Analysis:
Let’s start off our themes by talking about Compassion. We of course see this in the character of Atticus, who cares for Tom and fights for him compassionately. However, we see it even more in Tom Robinson. He explains that he would help Mayella out with little chores every single day because he knew she needed the help, showing just how kind she is. In fact, his compassion and sympathy even got him in trouble with the audience and the prosecutor who were highly offended when Tom, a Black man, said he felt sorry for Mayella, a white woman.
Thinking for Yourself is shown through the characters of Atticus and Dolphus Raymond. Dolphus mentions that the rest of the town could “never, never understand that I live like I do because that’s the way I want to live” showing that he is willing to live the way he wants, rather than the way society thinks he should. However, like I said before, while he does think for himself, he doesn’t really encourage others to do the same, unless he sees a bit of himself in them, like he does with Dill. Dolphus also mentions that Atticus is not “a run-of-the-mill man” and we can see that for ourselves. He clearly fights for what he believes in, despite the fact that he knows other people disagree with him. And he encourages the jury to do the same
The absolute most obvious theme in these chapters is Social Inequality — specifically racism — and, sadly, we see it in so many ways. It starts out in Chapter 16, when Jem talks about Dolphus Raymond’s children, who are not accepted because they have a white father and a Black mother. Jem even says that it doesn’t even matter how a person looks because, “around here once you have a drop of Negro blood, that makes you all black.” Tom’s treatment during the case also demonstrates racism, as he is called the n word by Bob and Mayella and called “boy” by the prosecutor, Mr. Gilmer. And then, obviously, and tragically, the testimony and the entire case itself are also evidence of racism. It is wildly clear that Tom Robinson is innocent. He physically could not have choked Mayella or beaten her on her right side, there is no evidence of rape since she never saw a doctor, and there’s no evidence beyond the highly questionable testimonies of Mayella and Bob, and yet he’s found guilty. All of this shows that racism ALONE was the deciding factor. As Atticus says, “this case is as simple as black and white” and yet the jury decided to go along with the “assumption -- the evil assumption -- that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted” and they found him guilty. Sadly, sometimes it seems like times haven’t changed.
Food for Thought:
Before I finish up, I’d like to leave you with some Food for Thought questions to consider.
First, what types of rhetoric does Atticus use in his closing statement?
Second, what are your thoughts on the complicated Dolphus Raymond?
Third, during the trial, Scout, Jem, and Dill sit in the segregated balcony. What does this show about them as characters and about their upbringing?
Fourth, do you think Harper Lee does enough to flesh out Tom Robinson as a character? Why or why not?
And finally, given the plot up until this point, was the trial’s verdict surprising or predictable? Why?
Thanks for watching this episode of Piper’s Paraphrases, but sorry it was such a sad one. Well, go forth, read a bunch, and be good people.
