TKAMB

RESOURCES

Chapters 20-27

Summary: 20

In the square Scout and Dill talk with Dolphus Raymond. Raymond has a black girlfriend and several mixed-race children, a situation that many people in Maycomb look down upon. Raymond offers Dill a drink from his ever-present brown bag to help settle his stomach. Scout is aghast, assuming it's alcohol, but Dill accepts, takes a sip, and tells Scout "it's nothing but Coca-Cola." Scout is taken aback and, in a display of growing command of her interactions with others, asks Raymond why he lets people think he's a drunk.

Raymond explains that he pretends to be a drunk to deflect the community's ire. The citizens of Maycomb accept the plausible explanation that he is a drunk and leave him and his family alone.

The children return to the courtroom as Atticus makes his closing remarks. Dill gets Jem and Scout's attention, pointing below as Calpurnia makes her way up the aisle toward Atticus.

Summary:21

Calpurnia passes Atticus a note, which Atticus quickly reads. Atticus reports to the judge that the note is from his sister, Alexandra, who writes that his children are missing and haven't been seen since noon. Braxton Underwood, the publisher of the newspaper, interrupts to say that Jem, Scout, and Dill are sitting above in the "Colored balcony."

The children meet Atticus and Calpurnia downstairs just before the jury is sent out, and Atticus orders the trio home. When they beg to return for the verdict Atticus relents, sending them home to eat and telling them that if the jury is still out when they return, they can wait with everyone else to hear the verdict.

At home Alexandra is shocked to know where they've been and disapproves of Atticus's consent for them to return. The children eat and head back, finding that Reverend Sykes had saved their seats. The jury has been out for a half hour.

By the time the jury files back in it's well past 11 p.m. Scout and Dill have been dozing on and off, and they wake to find the courtroom still packed. As the guilty verdict is read Scout recalls that everything took on a dreamlike state. She reports the details—Atticus packing his briefcase, saying something to Mr. Gilmer and the court reporter, speaking softly to Tom Robinson—and as Atticus turns toward the aisle to leave, Scout becomes aware of someone poking her. It is Reverend Sykes. Pointing out that her father is passing, Scout realizes that everyone in the Colored balcony has stood to honor Atticus as he leaves.

Summary: 22

Feeling defeated, Atticus, Jem, Scout, and Dill trudge home. Jem in particular is crushed by the verdict because he can't make sense of why Tom was treated so unfairly. At home they find Aunt Alexandra has stayed up to greet them.
Before they go to bed Jem asks Atticus how the jury could have come to this verdict. Atticus admits he also doesn't understand it.

In the morning life picks up where it left off, except for the bounty of food that covers the kitchen table. Calpurnia tells Atticus that she found it all on the back steps that morning: gifts from Tom Robinson's many supporters to show their appreciation for Atticus. The people's gratitude brings tears to Atticus's eyes.

Outside, Miss Stephanie drills the children with questions, wanting to know the latest gossip about the trial. She doesn't let up until Miss Maudie calls her off and invites the children in for cakes. She tries to help the children understand the previous day's events by explaining how Atticus helped the community advance toward something better, even if by only a little bit.

Jem, Scout, and Dill listen but seem unconvinced as they leave Miss Maudie's house. Miss Rachel catches up to them and tells them danger is coming as she herds them back home. Word has spread that Bob Ewell confronted Atticus at the postoffice, spitting on him and threatening him.

Jem, Scout, Dill, and Aunt Alexandra are worried about Atticus when Bob Ewell threatens him the day after the trial. Atticus, however, with his ever-present composure and ability to look at a situation from another person's viewpoint, assures the family that Bob Ewell's threat was just his way of venting. Atticus suggests that Bob Ewell's threat to him might prevent Ewell From taking out his anger on the Ewell children. To Atticus, the tradeoff seems fair.

Summary: 23

Atticus's assurance seems to calm everyone, and summer continues to pass. They all look forward to Tom Robinson's appeal, which Atticus thinks they'll have a good chance of winning. Atticus and the children have a long talk about juries and evidence. Jem seems to have a better appreciation for the law, even if he holds steadfastly to his idealism of justice and equity.
When the discussion comes to Atticus's jury choices for the Robinson trial, he reveals that he allowed a relative of Walter Cunningham's to serve. Scout, gaining respect for the family, suddenly thinks about young Walter Cunningham and announces that once school starts again, she would like to invite him over for dinner. Aunt Alexandra is doubtful, and the conversation switches gears as Scout and Jem explore their aunt's thinking about class in Maycomb. Unable to make her point and under Scout's persistent questions, Aunt Alexandra brings a crushing blow to the conversation by saying that she won't allow Scout and Walter to play together because the Cunninghams are "trash." She further upsets Scout by saying that being friends with the Cunninghams would encourage bad habits and make her even more of a problem for Atticus than she already is.

Under Jem's protective wing they retreat to his bedroom where he tries to comfort his sister. Scout tells Jem that she is less upset about what Aunt Alexandra said about her than what she said about the Cunninghams. Although nothing seems to get resolved, Jem has the final word when he says he's starting to understand why Boo prefers to stay inside.

Summary: 24

With summer nearly over, school will soon be back in session. Before Dill has to leave he and Jem go to Barker's Eddy where Jem teaches Dill to swim. Since they are going to be swimming naked, Scout stays behind.

Aunt Alexandra is entertaining a circle of old missionary friends and invites Scout to join them. Fearing she'll drop something on her dress, Scout stays out of the meeting for the most part but offers to help Calpurnia with the refreshments. Aunt Alexandra seems pleased, and the ladies are delighted to talk with Scout, although they pepper her with questions. Miss Maudie, ever a dependable friend, helps Scout stay steady.
Halfway through the meeting Atticus comes home unexpectedly. He greets the ladies, excuses himself, and asks to see Aunt Alexandra in the kitchen. He reveals that while trying to escape prison, Tom Robinson has been shot. He takes Calpurnia with him to go see Tom's wife so they can break the news to her.

After Atticus and Calpurnia leave, Aunt Alexandra breaks down, overwhelmed by the weight she sees Atticus carrying. She wonders aloud to Miss Maudie how much more the town can take from him. In response Miss Maudie reminds Aunt Alexandra that whether they know it or not, the people of Maycomb's complete trust in Atticus is a tribute to him. With that Aunt Alexandra and Miss Maudie rise to the occasion and return to the ladies in the living room. Scout follows them, figuring if they are able to be ladies at the moment, she can do it, too.

Summary: 25

On the way to Helen Robinson's to inform her of Tom's death, Atticus and Calpurnia come upon Jem and Dill, who are just returning from swimming, and the boys accompany them. Later the boys relay the details to Scout, telling her that upon hearing the news about her husband, Helen Robinson crumpled in a heap.
The news of Tom's death spreads like wildfire through Maycomb. Some people say Tom's poorly planned escape is typical of a black man's behavior. Others criticize him posthumously for the inability to wait to see the outcome of Atticus's appeal. In an editorial Braxton Underwood, the publisher of The Maycomb Tribune, says it's a sin to kill cripples, likening Tom's death to the "senseless slaughter of songbirds." In contrast, when Bob Ewell learns of Tom's death, he says, "one down and about two more to go."

Summary: 26

Once school starts the children find themselves passing the Radley house again. Scout, now in third grade, reflects on their past summers' obsession with Boo Radley, and she says she feels some shame for her part in their efforts, which she now thinks must have tormented him.

In school Scout's class has a Current Events period one day a week. This particular week Cecil Jacobs, one of Scout's classmates, brings in an article about Hitler's persecution of the Jews, talking specifically about forcing them into camps. When Cecil finishes, someone asks how Hitler can get away with that, wondering why the government isn't stopping him. A discussion of democracy follows in which the teacher, Miss Gates, points out that democracy is the difference between the United States and Germany and that in the United States, she says, persecution is not allowed.

Scout carries the conversation home with her, querying Atticus and then Jem. Examining the idea of hate and persecution, she finally gets around to her question. She recalls seeing her teacher on the steps of the courthouse the night of Tom Robinson's trial, where she overheard her saying how it was time someone taught "them" a lesson. Miss Gates also said something about how black people were getting too above themselves.

She asks Jem how Miss Gates can hate Hitler so much for what he does to the Jews, people half a world away, yet treat people she knows here at home so poorly. Jem, still angry about the court's decision, refuses to talk about it.

Character Map: Know your characters
Click on the picture for the character map

Quotes: Know who said it and what he meant 

Familiarize yourself with the quotes

Themes: Be familiar with the lessons being taught
Equality vs Inequality
Race
Innocence 
Class

Symbolism: Be familiar with what each symbolize in the novel
Mockingbird
The knothole
The rabid dog

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