To Kill a Mockingbird
By Harper Lee, copyright 1960

Chapter 23

This chapter starts off with Mr. Ewell, a tobacco chewer, spitting in Atticus' face, cursing him and threatening to kill him. Atticus simply wipes his face off, and when Mr. Ewell taunts Atticus further by saying he was a n-lover and too proud to fight. Atticus says he's simply too old. Atticus feels by letting this pass, he's allowing Mr. Ewell to get his anger out of his system, anger that might have been directed towards Mr. Ewell's children otherwise. Aunt Alexdra isn't so sure this will be the last the Finch family hear from Mr. Ewell. (To me, this shows that Atticus doesn't believe that some people are evil in nature).

We learn that Tom Robinson is being held 70 miles away and that his case is on appeal. However, if he loses his appeal, he'll be sent to the electric chair, unless the governor commutes his sentence. In Alabama, rape is a capital offense, and no black man who is found guilty of raping a white woman should expect to receive the death penalty or a straight acquittal. Jem mused that rape ought not be a death penalty offense, but Atticus said he had no quarrel with the rape statute, but he didn't like to see the death penalty given on purely circumstantial evidence.

The family has a discussion about racism and how it taints even otherwise reasonable people. Atticus tells Jem that the one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in the courtroom. He tells the children, "There's nothing more sickening to me than a low-grade white man who'll take advantage of a Negro's ignorance. Don't fool yourselves - it's all adding up one of these days, and we're all going to foot the bill for it. I hope it's not in you children's lifetime."

The children were very surprised that one juror held out for an acquittal, and that juror was a Cunningham. The Finch's had gained the man's respect the night outside the sheriff's office. Immediately, Scout starts making plans to invite young Walter Cunningham over for dinner after school starts, but Aunt Alexanda tells her no because the Cunninghams aren't their kind of people and they're drinkers too.

The children continue the discussion by themselves. Jem proudly tells Scout that he's beginning to grow chest and underarm hair and that he's going to try out for the football team while advising her not to let their aunt aggravate her. He sees that their aunt is just trying to turn Scout into a lady, which Scout has no intentions of becoming anytime soon. (As a child, I was a tomboy myself, so I totally relate to Scout.)

At the conclusion of their race/class discussion, Scout says, "There's just one kind of folk's. Folks." This causes Jem to punch his pillow, and he admits when he was Scout's age, he thought the same and couldn't understand why people just couldn't get along. Now, that he's maturing, he's beginning to understand why Boo Radley stays shut up, and it's because he wants to stay inside. (Jem is beginning to understand the rigid class structure in his community.)

Chapter 24

With Jem and Dill off skinny dipping at the creek, Scout is forced to spend her lonely time divided between Calpurnia and Miss Maudie. Aunt Alexandra is hosting the missionary circle, and Calpurnia serves a tray of *charlotte to the ladies. Aunt Alexandra has told Scout to join the ladies for refreshments, because the business part of the meeting would be boring to her. She overhears the ladies discussing the Mrunas, Africans who are said to live in squalor and are being converted to Christianity thanks to a missionary named J. Grimes Everett. (I think the author is going to give the reader a lesson in hypocrisy through the eyes of Scout.)

Scout is dressed in her pink Sunday dress, and is very careful not to spill anything on it because Calpurnia would have to wash her dress for the next day, and she thoughtfully notes that this has been a busy day for her.

While the ladies are enjoying their refreshments, talk turns to the trial and the effect it has on on the community. Mrs. Merriweather complains that there's nothing more distracting than a "sulky darky". Mrs. Farrow recalls a conversation where she says that they can "educate'em" until they're blue in the face, they can try to "make Christians out of 'em", but "there's no lady safe in her bed these nights". (This conversation coming after lauding J. Grimes Everett for converting the Mrunas to Christianity.)

After more conversation of this sort, Miss Maudie has reached her limit and makes a non to subtle remark that the ladies (except Scout) understand. At this point Aunt Alexandra passes the refreshments around. Surprisingly to Scout, Aunt Alexandra gives Miss Maudie a look of pure gratitude.

Atticus comes home, and asks Alexandra to join him in the kitchen. He also needs to "borrow" Calpurnia for a while. He spares the Missionary the sad news that Tom Robinson has been shot dead while attempting an escape. He needs Calpurnia to join him to visit Mrs. Robinson. Tom Robinson had felt hopeless, and decided that rather than take "white men's chances" for a successful appeal, he "preferred to take his own".

Although very upset at the turn of events, Aunt Alexandra, Miss, Maudie and Scout had to return to the meeting. Aunt Alexandra, while not always agreeing with her brother. respects that he is among the handful of people in the town who stands up to the oppression of the black community. Aunt Alexandra tidies herself, and she enters the room with the Missionary ladies with a smile. Scout mimics her aunt with the determination if her aunt can be a "lady" at time like this, so could she.

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Charlotte: French for a classic molded dessert that begins with a mold lined with sponge cake, ladyfingers or buttered bread. It is then filled with fruit or mousse or custard or whipped cream thickened with gelatin. The dessert is chilled thoroughly and unmolded.

http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/ah/g/charlotte.htm

Ch 23 - How ironic that, in a discussion about the way the trial turned out, Aunt Alexandra acts as judge and jury when Scout suggests having Walter Cunningham over for dinner. It seems that the children are getting a lesson in more ways than one regarding just how the world works, and they are doing a great job at trying to navigate around the attitudes that people have had in town in addition to their own household. I liked your description of Jem's understanding and relating to Boo Radley's decision to stay cut off from the rest of the town-his isolation is probably something he might be wishing for sometimes, especially after hearing of Atticus' treatment from the likes of Mr. Ewell.

Ch 24 - The helplessness that Tom Robinson felt over his situation was heartbreaking! How awful to feel that the justice system didn't work for everyone, whether in a court of law or in people's homes. I wonder if the town would have accepted an aquittal in the appeals court, had it been allowed to continue?

Atticus has an almost Ghandi type attitude. Instead of trying to change the world, he just tries to effect justice within the scope of his expertise, the courtroom. He turns the other cheek to Ewell and demonstrates such refined character.

In Ch 24 I can't help but draw comparisons to the ladies in The Help. Here they are sitting around doing "charity" work on behalf of Africans and yet showing no charity within their same community whether it is towards the Blacks or people like the Cunninghams. Is their charity work a means of atonement or shame? Or both, maybe? I have to wonder.

And Mr. Robinson, he knew the score, knew that the appeal process was futile after watching his best defense totally shot down. There's a reference to Bo Radley in this chapter and we learned that he secluded himself when he got into some type of trouble earlier in life and his father was particularly harsh but both of these men chose ways to withdraw from the injustices of their lives in different ways.

NE Mom, you brought up a very interesting question about the town's reaction *if* there had been an acquittal in the case. Sadly, I think the very vocal majority would have wanted to lynch Tom to make statement that whether he raped the girl or not, he overstepped his place.

Pauline, I hadn't thought about it, but that scene with the Missionary Ladies could have easily been believably repeated word for word in The Help. One thing I loved about The Help is that it takes place at the beginning of the civil rights movement in the US.

I like your question about why are the women so generous in their concern for the Africans? I think it might be that they're so narrow minded that they believe the ugly acquisitions that have been tossed about in their meeting..."sulky darky" and that white women unsafe in their beds since the trial...to name two. The Africans, being on another continent pose no threat, and they can safely exhibit concern for them from the safety of their homes. The ladies seem to feel sorry for the plight of the Africans, while the blacks and folks like the Cunninghams deserve their contempt.

Harper Lee wonderfully captured the swirling undercurrents in Maycomb without spelling it right out, rather you feel it.