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Chapter 19

Development of the Plot

Within these two chapters there is a significant amount of plot developments. The two chapters are focused mainly on the trial of Tom Robinson, and this trial is showing Maycomb's true disease: racism and prejudice. Within this these two chapters we are shown two types of characters: those who are racist, and those who are not. This trial not only shows the reader the extreme level of racism, but it also exposes the evils of racism and stereotypes to Scout, Dill, and Jem. The trial portion within the book is a crucial part in the novel, through the trial Harper Lee illustrated the large amount of racism in Maycomb. These two chapters are also two significant portions in terms of the growth of Scout, Dill, and Jem as people, as this trial exposes them to the real world racism and prejudices. Dill for example was brought to tears while watching this trial take place because he is just disgusted by the way they treat him. Now that Dill was exposed to this kind of racism he loses his innocence and now knows about the real world. Although there are many racist people in the town of Maycomb, Harper Lee shows to us that there are still a few that have some moral values, such as Link Deas and Mr.Dolphous Raymond. Link Deas had actually made a court outburst, in support of Tom and told the Jury that he was a good man. Mr.Dolphous, showed that he wasn't a racist by consoling Dill when he crying and telling him that this trial made him sick since it was full of racism and prejudice.

This chapter also plays a key role in which there is a significant amount of plot development in the scene of the trial. The chapter begins with Atticus calling Tom up to the witness stand and begins to ask him questions about his past. He does this inorder to show the Jury that Tom has nothing to hide and is open with his life. They did that by even telling the Jury that Tom had one offense before and that is was for disorderly conduct. As the questioning moved along Atticus had began to ask Tom about him on the Ewell's property before this incident; Tom testified that he was only ever on the property of the Ewell's if there was only a specific invitation for him. Then Tom begins to testify about the night of the alleged rape, he said he had entered the house to fix Mayella's dresser. While he was in the room Tom had said that Mayella tried to seduce him, until he had saw Mr.Ewell in the window yelling that he would kill his daughter and called Mayella a whore (Chapter 19 Page 260), and then Tom had ran. Link Deas, the boss of Tom, had jumped up in court and told everyone that Tom was a good man and that he had never gotten in trouble at work. When it was now Mr.Gilmer's turn to ask Tom his questions, he first begun with asking him about his disorderly conduct charge and asked who was the one that lost the fight. This was merely to show the Jury that even though Tom has a bad hand, he was strong enough to beat someone up. When Mr.Gilmer asks Tom why he had accepted to fix the dresser, he said it was because he felt sorry for her Chapter 19, Page 264 and this raised many eyebrows in the courtroom, because it was unusual for the people of Maycomb to hear that a black man has some humane emotion and shows compassion for a white person. The chapter then moves scene from the courtroom to Dill, Dill is now crying uncontrollably because of the atrocities he has just witnessed, he has witnessed the true disease of Maycomb that is racism and prejudice. Link Deas tries to console Dill, and tried to tell him that all lawyers go after the person that they are suing in the way that Mr.Gilmer is. The chapter finished off with the appearance of the character Mr.Dolphous Raymond, and he says to Dill " 'You aren't thin headed, it just makes you sick doesn't it' " Chapter 19 Page 266. He's trying to say that Dill isn't oblivious to all the racism that isn't taking place and that he notices it to.

Chapter 18

Literary Terms/Devices

Personification

Chapter 18 Questions

Why does Mayella think that Atticus is mocking her on the stand?

Mayella thinks Atticus is mocking her because Mayella has never been really treated well and is very anti-social.

She has no friends and doesn’t really know how to keep a conversation. So when Atticus refers to her as “Ma’am” or “Miss,”

she mistakes it for sarcasm because she has never been called that by anyone.

What does this tell us about her treatment throughout her life?

It tells us that Mayella has always been second guessed by her family and she was always feeling mocked in her family.

Mayella was always second guessed and not important. She might’ve have lso been bullied because she was so quiet and never had any friends.

Identify two or three contradictions made by Mayella in her testimony?

Bob states that he saw Tom Robinson and Mayella have sex and “Rutten.”

When Atticus asks Mayella about this incident, Mayella says she doesn’t recall about anything about having sex with Tom.

Bob Ewell also proclaims that Mayella was bruised and beaten with black eyes.

When Atticus asks Mayella if Tom hit her, she says she doesn’t recall him doing that, then immediately changing her mind and saying yes he did.

Indicate why Mayella begins to feel hatred towards Atticus?

Mayella is getting upset and starts feeling hatred towards Atticus because he is treating her with respect in the court,

so she thinks Atticus is mocking her because she has never been treated with respect so she thinks it’s sarcasm.

Is she justified in her feelings? Explain your answer.

Mayella is justified in her feelings because she has never been treated with respect, she has no friends,

she is antisocial and just has never been treated with respect. So since she has always been treated badly,

it’s proper for Mayella to act in this manner because she doesn’t know better.

Personification is shown during Atticus's summation, Scout described her father's "gold collar button and the tips of his pencil winking in the light" Chapter 19. The word winking, is given to to the button, pen, and pencil as a characteristic, but winking is something that only a human can do.

Cliffhanger

A cliffhanger is a technique that the author uses to keep the reader intrigued and wanting them to keep reading, cliffhangers can be at the end of chapter and the end of books. A cliffhanger is shown at the end of Chapter 18, when Atticus reveals that he has only one witness. The witness is then revealed in the next chapter, and this keeps the reader guessing, then forcing them to read the next chapter to find out who the one witness is.

Chapter 18 is a very important part of the novel as it helps the novel advance in terms of the storyline and plot. In this chapter the trial of Tom Robinson continues. The chapter begins with nineteen year old Mayella Violet Ewell, the girl that Tom Robinson allegedly raped, is being called to the witness stand. Mr.Gilmer the prosecutor, asks Mayella to tell the jury what happened the night in which she was allegedly raped. As she is beginning to testify, Mayella bursts into tears and tells the Judge that she is afraid of Atticus, because she assumes that he will try and intimidate her. She gave her testimony, and said that Tom had forced himself upon her when she asked him to fix her dresser. She also claimed that Tom had choked her, and hat hit her repeatedly. Once it was Atticus' turn to question her, she took lots of offense and came to think that Atticus was mocking her, since he was speaking in a respectful tone, rather than the disrespect that she is used to getting.. Atticus had strategically asked her questions that would cause Mayella to contradict her testimony so the Jury can see some reasonable doubt. Atticus had asked questions in relation to the case, also in relation to Mayella's father and how he treated her. The chapter ends with the court in a recess, and

Judge Taylor asking if Atticus had any witnesses, and he replied

saying that he only has one.

Alliteration

The literary device alliteration, is the usage of similar sounds at the beginning of words in a series. Mayella does in fact give part of her testimony in the form of an alliteration, when she was addressing the Jury very angrily. "your ma'amin' and Miss Mayellerin' don't come to nothin', Mr.Finch.." Chapter 19. The use of the letter "M" gives of the same same for these words, so it causes there to be an alliteration.

Chapter 19 Questions

Summarize Tom Robinson’s testimony.

Tom robinson testifies that he regularly did chores and activities to help the Ewell’s household.

On the day that Mayella accuses him of raping her, he actually was passing by and Mayella asked if he could come in and move a dresser. Mayella then tells him that he gave all the kids money to go off and get ice cream so she could be alone. when Tom was on the chair, Mayella grabbed his ankles to make him fall, then she started to hug his waist and seduce him into having sex with her. Mayella’s father came to the window and Tom fled while her father was calling her a “whore.”

What does Mr. Link Deas say in defence of Tom Robinson?

Mr. Link deas says that Tom has never gave him any problems and that he is really good guy to work with and he has never had any problems with Tom. Deas then gets kicked out for interrupting.

Indicate evidence in the novel which suggests that, in spite of her accusations, Tom Robinson has pity for Mayella Ewell.

Tom Robinson turns down money that Mayela is offering for the job. This shows respect that he has because even though he is poor,

he turns down the money. The reason for this is because he thinks Mayella works harder than the rest f the family so she deserves the extra money and felt sorry for her. This also gets Tom in trouble because it wasn’t allowed for a black to feel sorry for white back then.

Why does Dill start to cry in the courtroom?

Dill started to cry because he was frightened by the racial disgrace that Mr. Gilmer had towards Tom. Dill gets upset by the way Mr. Gilmer is treating Tom Robinson and eventually breaks into tears.

Themes/Symbols

Tom Robinson The Mockingbird

Characterization

These two chapters are the main portrayals of Tom being the mockingbird and Mayella killing the mockingbird. "Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird," this is one of the earlier quotes in the novel that encompasses a few of the key characters in this novel. Tom in this trial symbolizes that mockingbird, and he is being killed by this trial. Tom who has done nothing wrong to anyone and had no intention of hurting anyone is now being charged for rape. Tom was only trying to do something nice and felt bad for Mayella, but as a result of that he is being falsely accused of rape. "Tom Robinson was probably the only person that was ever decent to her...she looked at him as if he were dirt beneath her feet" Chapter 19 Page 257

Mayella Violet Ewell

Race and Prejudice

In these two chapters we learn quite about the personality about Violet, her living conditions and home and just overall how she was treated while growing up as a child. When she is called up to the witness stand it is seen that she is nervous and not prepared. She begins to cry showing how easily she is riled up only by the presence of Atticus. Mayella was the oldest child in her family and is taking on a lot of responsibility, since her mother is dead, her father is man that spends his time drunk and she has to take care of seven kids. Mayella's role in this trial is mainly to play the poor old white woman, who was raped by a big black man and was to be saved the glorious white man, this shows the deep level of prejudice in Maycomb as they took no account for Tom's life if they do find him guilty for a crime that he did not commit. "I got somethin' to say an' then I ain't gonna say no more. That nigger yonder took advantage of me an' if you fine fancy gentlemen don't wanta do nothin' about it then you're all yellow stinkin' cowards, stinkin' cowards, the lot of you. Your fancy airs don't come to nothin'—your ma'amin' and Miss Mayellerin' don't come to nothin', Mr. Finch-" Chapter 18 Page 251. This quote explains the ideology of Mayella, this shows that Mayella is suggesting that men have to be big heroes that protect the weak and helpless female. She then claims that they have to take Mayella's word over Tom's because she was "taken advantage of" and says that if they don't they are all cowards and not real men. Along with this when Atticus addresses Mayella with a term of respect, she takes it all as offense this is because she has never been talked to like this she is adapted to just taking disrespect and has gotten used to it. She again tries to look like the victim by constantly crying, and saying that Atticus scares her or is mocking her when in reality he isn't.

Racism and Prejudice is a theme that is not only evident in these two specific chapters but is shown throughout the entire novel. One of the major acts of racism and Prejudice is shown in these two chapters, and this is through the trial of Tom Robinson. Before the trial even begun it was decided that Tom would receive the verdict of guilty no matter how much evidence is brought forth. Atticus made this clear in Chapter 9 page 101: " ' Atticus, are we going to win it?' 'No, Honey' ". This shows that he is aware of the bias that he is going to face and know that just because Tom is black he is going to be called guilty. Also the constant use of the N-Word throughout the trial to refer to Tom, shows that there is no respect for Tom in the courtroom. "That *n-word* yonder took advantage of me..." Chapter 9 Page 251, here again does Mayella use the N-Word to refer to Tom rather than his real name, and uses it in a way that alludes to the fact that black people are the ones that always rape the white girls. Another instance in when there is prejudice shown is when Tom says that he feels bad for Mayella Chapter 19 Page 164. When he said that he felt sorry for her it raised many eyebrows in the courtroom, because with their way of thinking the black people are bad guys and they could never feel bad for a white person. This shows how deep this prejudice runs with the people of Maycomb, tis to the point where they think a black man cannot feel any humane emotions towards someone white.

Atticus Finch

Injustices

In these two chapters we continue to see the calm and very sophisticated side of Atticus finch. We also the courageous side of him, he is tackling a case in which there is so much prejudice and racism in which it will be almost impossible for him to win regardless of the amazing evidence he is putting up. We also see how strategic Atticus is in this chapter from seeing how he is asking his questions and why he is asking them. "Jem said that Atticus was showing the jury that Tom had nothing to hide" Chapter 19, Page 255. Atticus could have taken an aggressive approach to this case and could have began to ask questions directly related to the case, but he realized that the odds were against him and so he wanted to set the tone and show that Tom is an honest man. Another way in which we see Atticus's true colors is the actual fact that he took this case, when previously he had vowed to never take part in criminal law, and he had a strong distaste for it. "an occasion that was probably the beginning of my father's profound distaste for the practice of criminal law" Chapter 1 Page 5. Throughout this trial Atticus had kept his composure, hows just how mentally strong Atticus is.

In To Kill a Mockingbird the theme of Justice and Judgement is very rare. If you weren't lucky enough to be born white, then you are out of luck. This is evident in the trial of Tom Robinson as there is an injustice being taken place because the is enough evidence to prove that Tom is innocent but this is where the racism kicks in and causes an injustice. Since Tom is black he had no actual rights in the courtroom, his life is being tossed aside like it is nothing only because he has darker skin.

Morality

Tom Robinson

In the two chapters we are presented with two ideas of the character of Tom Robinson, we are first presented with the violent and scary black man that is presented by Mayella's testimony. Then we are presented with a completely new personality of Tom, a caring, genuine, willing to help human being. After being shown as a bad man from Mayella's questioning she gave the jury the story that they were expecting: a violent black guy rapes a innocent white girl. When Tom is called to stand he shows a completly different story to the jury, that Tom was a nice guy and only wanted to help Mayella out. During his questioning Tom said he had felt sorry for Mayella and only wanted to help her out and that was very something that the jury and audience did not expect. ""Yes, suh. I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more'n the rest of 'em-" "You felt sorry for her, you felt sorry for her?" Mr. Gilmer seemed ready to rise to the ceiling. The witness realized his mistake and shifted uncomfortably in the chair. But the damage was done. Below us, nobody liked Tom Robinson's answer. Mr. Gilmer paused a long time to let it sink in." Chapter 19 Page 264. What Tom said was completely absurd to the jury and the audience, since they were just presented with the idea of someone that is black feeling bad for someone that is white. Whatever Tom said throughout the case wouldn't help regardless since he was a black man living in a white man's world and was bound for failure.

In To Kill a Mockingbird the theme of Justice and Judgement is very rare. If you weren't lucky enough to be born white, then you are out of luck. This is evident in the trial of Tom Robinson as there is an injustice being taken place because the is enough evidence to prove that Tom is innocent but this is where the racism kicks in and causes an injustice. Since Tom is black he had no actual rights in the courtroom, his life is being tossed aside like it is nothing only because he has darker skin.

Dill/Scout

Near the end of Chapter 19 we see a different side of Dill and Scout. Dill and Scout who were both watching the trial from the balcony were closely examining what was happening at the trial. Dill had burst into tears, and these tears were a result of the prejudice that he was witnessing, Scout and Dill's feelings were very different, Scout show much emotion and claimed "he's just a Negro" Chapter 19 Page 266

Link Deas

Link Deas although he isn't a character that has a major impact throughout the novel, he said something that shows his beliefs and true personality. Link is one of the select few adults that haven't been plagued by the disease of Maycomb which is racism and prejudice. This is shown in Chapter 19 Page 261 when he makes a interruption in court that gets him kicked out: " 'That boy's worked for me eight years an' I ain't had a speck of trouble out of him!' ". This small quote, although it seems insignificant actually reveals that Link is a man that judges someone based on their actions not by their skin color or how they look.

To Kill A Mockingbird: Seminar Chapters 18 and 19

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