Throughout the next five chapters, we only see the trial from Scout's point of view, just like the rest of the book. Luckily, Scout is in the courtroom for most of the time.
We start with Mr. Gilmer (the prosecutor) asking questions to Mr. Heck Tate. He says that Mayella Ewell's father encouraged him to come to his house. Once Gilmer got there, he says that Mr. Ewell said that Tom Robinson raped his daughter. Gilmer talks about the bruises he saw on Miss Ewell. The only thing Atticus asks in rebuttal is: "Why the Heck (no pun intended) didn't you call the cops?" They claimed that it would have cost too much, and it would have been useless. The jury also learns for the first time that Mr. Robinson only has one functioning hand: his left one. Miss Mayella had bruises on the left side of her face. If they were facing each other when the kerfuffle happened, wouldn't her bruises be on the right side, if Tom really was the one to hurt her? Hmm...
Chapter 18
Next up is Miss Mayella's side of the story. She says that she saw Tom Robinson near her house and invited him onto her property to do a favor. Tom Robinson is a nice man, so he tried his best to help her out. She then claims that Tom raped her. According to Mayella, to describe what Mr. Robinson did as browbeating would be an understatement. Atticus asks the girl why she didn't scream louder, and why none of her family came to help. Atticus also asks her to just admit that it was her father who beat her. The plot thickens!
Chapter 19
Finally, it's Tom's turn to tell his side. He explains that he didn't do anything brash. He also says that he frequently passes the Ewell's house and did favors for Miss Mayella. He says that on the day Miss Mayella accused him of raping her, that she invited him into her home to fix a door. There was nothing wrong with the door. Tom says that she then asked him to pick up something from a high shelf and scared him half top death when she wrapped her arms around his waist. With a dogged attitude, Tom says that she begged him to kiss her, and might as well have invited him into bed. Tom says that he fought back, but didn't want to hurt her. He eventually got out of there when Mr. Ewell witnessed the events and called his own daughter a w****. After seemingly everyone disagrees with Tom's story, Dill starts crying, and Scout takes him out of the courtroom. The two run into Dolphus Raymond, the man with half-black children.
Chapter 20
Raymond gives Dill some of his booze to comfort him. Scout warns him not to drink too much. Dill quickly learns that the liquid in the bottle in the paper bag is just Coke! Raymond explains that he pretends to be a drunk so he's not judged for preferring blacks over whites. When the kids get back into the courtroom, the hear Atticus giving a schpeel about the truth about Tom Robinson. Personally, I'm on Atticus's side. He says that Miss Mayella was lonely, and she tried to have sex with anyone she could to fulfill herself. Atticus says that her father beat her because Tom was black. Atticus begs the court to simply believe the fact that just because a person is black, doesn't mean that they're automatically a criminal. And the party don't start 'till Calpurnia walks in. She walked in.
Chapter 21
Calpurnia explains that it's nothing to do with the case. The judge allows it. Cal tells Atticus that the kids are in the courtroom. After some discussion with his kids, Atticus and Jem compromise. The kids get to go home for supper, eat slowly, then come back to finish watching the case. After supper, the kids return to the courtroom. Jem is eager for his dad to win. Dill just falls asleep. Tom Robinson is convicted guilty!
No comments:
Post a Comment