Tom Robinson is shot trying to
escape while in prison.
The trial of Tom Robinson is
the trial
of the century for Maycomb, Alabama. A black man accused of raping
a white girl is big news.
The case is not so simple as black and white,
however. It threatens to tear apart several
families in Maycomb.
The Ewells are a poor white family that lives near the
town dump.
They are mostly illiterate because they never send their children to school for
very
long. They do not have jobs. Bob Ewell gets relief checks from the
government and hunts to
feed his family. No one is even sure how many
children there are.
Tom
Robinson is a black man from a
respectable family, but no one in Maycomb really respects anyone
of color.
Tom Robinson felt sorry for young Mayella Ewell, the oldest Ewell, because she
was
responsible for taking care of the entire Ewell brood. She seemed
desperate and lonely, so he
helped her when she needed it and she paid him a
nickel for small chores. One day she tried to
kiss him.
Mayella was caught with Tom Robinson by her father, and he assumed
the worst. She accused Tom Robinson of rape, and he was arrested. Judge Taylor
assigned
respected lawyerto defend him. Unlike most of Maycomb, Atticus was
not willing to give up on
his client just because he was black. That did not
mean, however, that he felt he could win the
case.
During
the trial, Atticus made a big deal out of the fact that Mayella
was beat up
on her right side by someone who had to be left-handed. He also proved that
Bob
Ewell was left handed, and that he often beat Mayella. He established
that Mayella never saw a
doctor, and there was no proof she was even
raped.
The clincher for Atticus's
case was that Tom
Robinson was crippled. He did not have use of his left hand at all because
of
a farming accident when he was young. Despite this, as the prosecutor Mr.
Gilmer demonstrated,
Tom Robinson was incredibly strong. Robinson also said
that he felt sorry for Mayella, which
was a big mistake. A black man should
not admit to feeling sorry for a white woman.
In his
closing argument, Atticus reminded people that the case should be decided on
facts and not on the preference for believing a white woman over a black
man.
€¦ I am confident that you
gentlemen will review without passion
the evidence you have heard, come to a
decision, and restore this defendant to his family. In
the name of God, do
your duty. (Ch. 20)
The jury
deliberated longer than anyone thought possible, but they still came back with a guilty
verdict
and Tom Robinson went to prison. Atticus was dejected, but told his
client that they had a
chance on appeal. It was too much for Tom Robinson.
He had been locked up long enough, and the
injustice of what happened finally
got to him.
Tom Robinson tried to jump the
fence of the
prison, which was difficult with one hand. He was shot trying to escape. It
was
suicide.
We had such a good chance,
he said. I told
him what I thought, but I couldnt in truth say that we had
more than a good chance. I guess Tom
was tired of white mens chances and
preferred to take his own. €¦ (Ch. 24)
The death of Tom Robinson was not enough for Bob Ewell. He had
been
humiliated by Atticuss accusations at the trial, and spat in his face. Ewell vowed to
get
Atticus, but Atticus did not take him seriously until Bob Ewell tried to
attack his children.
The Finches reclusive neighbordefended them, killing
Bob Ewell and putting an end to
things.
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