What Atticus did to horrify Scout and Jem was he unhitched his watch and chain. Then he placed them on the table. After that he unbuttoned his vest, unbuttoned his collar, loosened his tie and took off his coat. This was something they had never seen him do and to Scout ad Jem he might as well have been stark naked.
What does Atticus do in Chapter 20 that shocks Jem and Scout?
Atticus, after asking permission from the judge, takes off his coat, unbuttons his vest and collar, and loosens his tie—shocking his children, who have never, ever before seen him so undressed outside of his bedroom.
How does Atticus explain that the case is not about Tom but actually about mayella and society?
How does Atticus explain that the case is not about Tom, but actually about Mayella and society? Atticus explains that Mayella is actually the guilty one. She broke an unwritten code of society: she is white and she tempted a black man.
How does Atticus claim that we are not all equal?
How does Atticus claim that we are NOT all created equal? He says people are not equal in personlity and talent but in the court of law the court is “blind” and treats everybody equally.
What does Atticus say about the courts in Chapter 20?
Regardless, Atticus insists that all men should be equal in court. He insists that he believes in the court and he knows the jury will review the evidence and come to the right choice. He implores the jury to believe Tom. Dill points.
What was the most sickening thing to Atticus?
Atticus is talking about the Ewells to Scout and Jem, “There’s nothing more sickening to me than a low-grade white man who’ll take advantage of a Negro’s ignorance” (Lee 296).
How does Atticus feel about Jem Scout and Dill going to the trial?
He forbids them to go. He says it’s up to them if they want to go.
What is Tom actually guilty of?
The Trial. In the novel, Tom Robinson is accused of beating and raping a young white woman named Mayella Ewell.
What injuries did Mayella have?
Sheriff Heck Tate; he states that Mayella had a black eye on her right eye, that she had bruising all around her neck and on both arms, no one called a doctor.
Why did Mayella accuse Tom?
Mayella’s motive for accusing Tom Robinson of rape is because she lured Tom into her shack to seduce him. When Mr. Ewell saw his Mayella trying to kiss Tom he preceded to beat his daughter. Atticus assumed that the jury would never believe a white girl would do this.
Why does Atticus remove his coat?
He wanted to lessen the formality of his job as to connect better with the jury. It was Atticus’s way of stepping down from his position of authority and reducing himself to a common man, like the country folk dressed in their work clothes who served on the jury: He was appealing to their “humanity and morality.”
Why do you think Atticus avoids Jem’s question?
Atticus avoids answering Jem’s question, “Do you think they’ll acquit him that fast?” because Atticus knows that the jury will not acquit Tom Robinson. However, Atticus would like his son to experience the injustice of the situation firsthand.
Does Atticus pity Mayella?
Atticus does not pity Mayella. He said he has pity for the chief witness, but that does not extend to her using Tom to get out of her own guilt of liking a black man. She broke a code of society and the guilt of that made her lie.
What code did mayella break?
strates Tom’s innocence, discredits Bob Ewell’s lurid testimony, and reveals Mayella’s violation of the community code in making sexual advances to Tom. Despite the evidence the jury convicts Tom and condemns him to death. As Atticus acknowledges , the case was lost one hundred years before it began.
What is Atticus final statement?
“I’m no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and the jury system—that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working reality. Gentlemen, a court is no better than each man of you sitting before me on this jury. A court is only as sound as its jury, and a jury is only as sound as the men who make it up.
What does Atticus say mayella is a victim of?
She is the victim of cruel poverty and ignorance. But my pity does not extend so far as to her putting a man’s life at stake, which she has done in an effort to get rid of her own guilt, I say guilt, gentleman, because it was guilt that motivated her. She has committed no crime.
Does Atticus know he will lose the case?
When he takes the case, Atticus assumes that they will lose the trial, but he believes they have an excellent chance in the appeal process. The people of his community trust him to do the right thing, and he does. After the trial is over, Atticus feels discouraged by the outcome, but he is not beaten by it.
What does Jem’s broken arm symbolize?
Jem’s arm is broken during the attack, symbolizing the pain and disillusionment he has experienced while learning about Boo Radley and witnessing the Robinson trial. Jem survives the attack but carries a permanent scar, a symbol of the disabling power of hatred and injustice.
Who threatens Atticus’s life after the trial?
Despite the guilty verdict, the effects of the trial linger. At the end of chapter 22, we learned that Bob Ewell confronted and threatened Atticus.
Why did Scout call Jem a traitor?
Scout relates that, upon seeing Dill under the bed, Jem “rose and broke the remaining code of our childhood” by telling Atticus. To Scout, this act makes Jem a “traitor,” though it is really an act of responsibility that marks Jem’s maturation toward adulthood.
Did Atticus Finch win the case?
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch does not win the court case. Tom Robinson, an African-American man, is found guilty of raping a white woman, although Atticus clearly proved in the trial that Tom was innocent. The jury, which was composed of all white people, convicted him regardless of the evidence.