The trial continues with the entire court glued to the proceedings. Mayella who testifies next is reasonably clean – by the Ewells standard, and a terrified nineteen year old girl. Mayella’s life is one of miserable poverty and deprivation and she thinks Atticus is deliberately mocking her by calling her ‘Miss’. With Mr. Gilmer questioning, she says, she called Tom Robinson inside the fence that evening and offered him a nickel to break up a dresser for her, and that once he got inside the house he grabbed her and took advantage of her. In Atticus’s cross examination, he draws a picture of her improvised life, with Mr. Ewell spending his relief money on drinks, while she has to take care of the children. She has to act as a mother to them. Although she will not accept it, it becomes clear that Mayella’s father beat her. Atticus tries to bring up the fact that she had no friends and therefore could have been desperate enough to make friends with a black man and later tempt him. We notice confusion in Mayella when Atticus asks her, if she loves her father. Since she is aware of the truth she is confused and asks “Love him, watcha mean?” We also notice that she tries to hide the fact that Bob Ewell goes crazy when he drinks. However, since she slips it out, she has to lie to Atticus’s question that her “paw’s never touched a hair o’” her head. She is lying, obviously because she is scared to get beaten up. Atticus cross examines her testimony and asks her why she didn’t put up a fight; why her screams didn’t bring the other children and more importantly, how Tom managed to create all the bruises on the right side of the face when he was crippled in the left hand. When her lies were exposed by Atticus, she finds that she has betrayed herself and this hurts her. Although she cannot be forgiven for this vicious lies, both Atticus and Scout feels sympathy for her, because they know that she is a victim of her father’s cruelty. There is good in Mayella but her actions seem motivated by cowardice. Her critical reluctance to say Tom’s name when asked who her rapist was, points towards her hesitancy to accuse him when he is innocent. However, she surrenders to fear and accuse him, thus putting her fear over the value of his life.
Mr. Gilmer rests his case and Atticus calls Tom to the stand. Tom Robinson, a twenty five year, had earlier received thirty days for disorderly conduct. He admits that he got into a fight. He explains that, since he couldn’t pay the fine, he had to do thirty days. Atticus brings this up in the court to show the jury that Tom had nothing to hide as he was innocent. He was in fact convicted for self-defence. Atticus then shows the jury that since there was no other way; Tom had to use the path next to the Ewell place. Tom is then asked about the happenings of November twenty first. Tom’s story about the events contradicts Mayella’s completely. According to Tom, Mayella, who asked him onto her property many times before, asked Tom to help her fix the door to her house. Tom enters the property and proceeds to examine the door. Finding nothing wrong with the door he asks if there is really anything that he can do for her. She asks Tom to lift a box down from atop a high dresser. Tom notices that, oddly, no children are on the property. Mayella explains that she finally saved up enough money to send all the children to town to buy ice cream. Tom remarks how generous Mayella was to do that and proceeds to reach for the box. As he does so, Mayella grabs him around his legs. Tom steps down and faces Mayella who hugs him around his chest and says ‘what her papa do to her don’t count’ and kisses Tom in the mouth. Scared and confused, Tom tries to push himself away from Mayella without hurting her. Bob Ewell catches the two of them together in his living room and proceeds to yell at Mayella. Tom runs and admits that he does not know who beat her although it seems obvious that Bob Ewell beat Mayella. Notice her short comment about “what her papa do don’t count” shows that she is probably abused in some of way by her father and the sexual connotation may connote sexual abuse or even incest.
When Gilmer cross-examines, he shows the jury that a man convicted of disorderly conduct could have had in his heart to take advantage of Mayella. He also tries to show that Tom was capable of choking Mayella with his one hand. He asks Tom why he had helped Mayella so many times without ever taking her money. Tom explains that he felt sorry for Mayella who always seemed to do all the work on the property and had to take care of so many children. Upon hearing this, the people in the courtroom begin to murmur and Tom realizes that he has made a mistake. Gilmer points out Tom’s fault of escaping from the situation which is a sure sign of guilt. The proceeding breaks for a recess before closing arguments.
In the closing arguments, Atticus gives a set of remarks about the case. He points out that: there is no proof that a rape ever occurred since a doctor never examined Mayella, Tom could not have both strangled and beaten Mayella because he has only one good hand, the prosecution has not produced any concrete evidence because it assumes that a white man's word will always win over a black man's. Atticus also outlines that Mayella had actually committed a crime. Mayella's crime, Atticus argues, was to tempt a black man and she could not allow Tom to continue walking past her property everyday as a "daily reminder of what she did". Atticus pleads with the jury to consider the parties involved as equals under the law. His case and his closing argument are very strong.
Calpurnia comes to the court to fetch the children. Atticus finally realizes that they have been watching the entire time. He admonishes them for leaving the house without permission but he allows them to return to the courtroom later to hear the verdict. Excited and extremely proud of Atticus, the children feel that their side has surely won the case. They eagerly anticipate the verdict and return to the courthouse where they rejoin Reverend Sykes after supper. The jury takes longer than usual to return its verdict. When it does, however, the verdict is "guilty." Dumbstruck with disbelief, the children slide sadly into their seats. The lower level of the courtroom empties but the upper level, filled with black people, stand and wait for Atticus to depart. The black spectators respect Atticus for his effort and his obvious convictions. The trial therefore ends with complete unfairness and prejudice.
