TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD Chapter 23
Chapter 23
The summer ends, and the children start school again. The big question for Atticus is the appeal. He must take Tom Robinson’s case to a higher court, and hope they will say he is not guilty.
Atticus says that they still have a chance to free Tom. “The jury decision is not the end,” he tells Jem. “We can ask another court to look at the case.”
Atticus explains that there are two things Tom Robinson has lost: his case and his money. The appeal process costs a lot of money and takes a lot of time.
Jem is still very angry about the jury. He speaks about the unfairness of it. “I thought the people in Maycomb were good people,” Jem says. “But they are bad to Tom Robinson. They are not fair.”
Atticus understands Jem’s anger. He tells Jem that the jury is made of farmers and country people. They are good at working the land, but they are not good at thinking about justice.
Atticus also tells Jem a secret about the jury. “One man on the jury wanted to say not guilty. He was a Cunningham. He took a long time to change his mind.”
The news is surprising. The children remember Walter Cunningham's father, who was part of the mob that wanted to hurt Tom Robinson. This shows Jem that even in bad situations, there is still some good in people.
The problem with Bob Ewell has not gone away. Ewell is still angry at Atticus. Atticus explains what happened when Ewell threatened him. “Ewell told me he would get me for what I did in court,” Atticus says.
The children are very worried. They ask Atticus if he is safe. “Don’t worry,” Atticus assures them. “Ewell is too much of a coward to hurt me himself. He is just trying to scare me.”
However, Aunt Alexandra is very concerned. She tells Atticus, “You must be careful. Ewell is not a safe man. He might do something bad to you.”
Atticus explains that Bob Ewell had a moment of victory in the court. Ewell told a lie, and the jury believed him. But Atticus took away Ewell's pride when he showed everyone that Ewell was an abusive father and a liar. By yelling at Atticus, Ewell believes he has gotten his pride back.
Atticus believes Ewell's threats are empty words. “He has said his piece, and that’s the end of it,” Atticus says. The children, however, do not feel safe. They know that sometimes, angry people do terrible things.
Because of the trial, the children start to think more about people in their town. They think about the different groups of people in Maycomb. Jem says, “There are four kinds of people in this town. We are one kind. The poor farmers, like the Cunninghams, are the second. The Ewells are the third. And the black community is the fourth.”
Scout disagrees. She thinks people are simpler. Atticus tells them, “There is only one kind of people, really, Jem. People.” But the children have seen too much to believe this simple answer anymore. They know that in Maycomb, the lines between the groups are very real, and those lines have hurt an innocent man.
