To Kill a Mockingbird Chapters 16-20. Chapter 16 Explaining Upcoming Events.

To Kill a Mockingbird

Chapters 16-20

Chapter 16

Explaining Upcoming Events

An Explanation

Atticus explains why Mr. Cunningham and the men from Old Sarum were there

He explains that Scout made Mr. Cunningham step into Tom’s skin for a minute by reminding him of his entailment

He got justice under the law

Tom deserves the same opportunity

Pre-Trial

The jury is selected for the trial (12 white men)

Women were not allowed to serve on the jury

Negroes were not allowed to serve on the jury

Will Tom really be tried by a jury of his peers?

Dolphus Raymond

We learn about Dolphus Raymond

He is a white man who lives with a Negro woman in the Negro community

He has mixed children He is supposedly a

drunkard He has whiskey in a coca-

cola bottle Why can Dolphus

Raymond break the rigid rules of Maycomb’s caste structure?

In the Balcony

The kids decide to go see the trial (even though Atticus

told them not to go)

They sit in the balcony with Reverend Sykes and the Negro community

What does this show us about the children?

Chapter 17

The Trial

Heck Tate’s Testimony

Bob Ewell’s Testimony

The Trial Begins

Mr. Gilmer Prosecuting

attorney Atticus Finch

Defense attorney In a rape case, the

burden of proof lies with the prosecution

First Witness for the Prosecution

Heck Tate Maycomb County

Sheriff Sheriff Tate stated that

the alleged rape took place on November 21 of the previous year

He said that Bob Ewell came to him and said that Tom Robinson had raped his daughter Mayella

Investigative Evidence

In his investigation, Sheriff Tate stated that Mayella had been badly beaten

Her right eye was black

She had choke marks all around her neck (both sides)

Cross-Examination

Under cross-examination by Atticus, Sheriff Tate revealed he never called the doctor because he could see she had been badly beaten.

Therefore, Atticus has shown that without the medical evidence to substantiate the case

There is now doubt that the rape even took place

Does the fact that Mayella was severely beaten mean she was raped?

Second Witness for the Prosecution

Robert E. Lee (Bob) Ewell Bob stated that he

agreed with everything Heck Tate said

Bob claimed he saw Tom “ruttin’ on my Mayeller.”

He never asked for a doctor to be called

Cross-Examination

Under cross-examination by Atticus he is made to be buffoonish

Atticus reveals that Bob is left handed, and that he can read and write

Chapter 18

Mayella Ewell’s Testimony

Third Witness for the Prosecution

Mayella Violet Ewell Mayella is 19 years old

(makes this non-statutory)

She said that she asked Tom to come into the yard to bust up an old chiffarobe (dresser) and he attacked her.

She said Bob came into the house and asked her “who done it?”

Cross-Examination

Under cross-examination by Atticus she is unsure of her answers

She contradicts herself several times; she contradicts her father’s testimony

She cannot look at Tom She believes Atticus is

trying to trick her or humiliate her

Cross-Examination

Atticus has Tom stand during her testimony to bring out the fact he has a crippled arm.

It was caught in a cotton gin when he was young and now hangs useless at his side.

Atticus tries to get Mayella to admit that Bob beat her up and that no rape took place

Mayella has an outburst on the stand and cries (sympathy vote)

Chapter 19

Tom Robinson’s Testimony

Witness for the Defense

Tom Robinson Tom said that he often

stopped at the Ewell place to help Mayella

On the day in question, he went to help get something down from a shelf

He noticed the children were gone.

He stated that she said she had saved a year to give each of them a nickel to go to town to get ice cream

Defense’s Case

He implies that Mayella and Bob had an incestuous relationship

He stated that Mayella attacked him and kissed him

Bob Ewell saw them through the window; Tom got scared and ran away

Cross-Examination

Tom had been arrested once for disorderly conduct.

He served his thirty days and was released.

Mr. Gilmer asks Tom why he helped Mayella

Tom states that he helped her because he felt sorry for her (this is his crime)

Chapter 20

Closing Argument

Dolphus Raymond Revisited

Dill becomes so upset over the way Tom is treated by Mr. Gilmer that he has to leave the courtroom.

The kids meet Dolphus Raymond; they learn he is actually

drinking coca-cola He acts as if he was drunk

so that society will leave him alone and let him live with the Negroes

They return to the courtroom

Closing Argument

Atticus presents his closing argument (pages 203-205)

He states that all the evidence in the case is circumstantial

This case should never have come to trial

A Final Plea

The prosecution has not proved their case

He calls on their integrity and ethics to do the right thing