difficult of circumstances. It is clear that before the alleged rape a sort of friendship had grown up
between Tom and Mayella.
Tom Robinson was probably the only person who was decent to (Mayella).
Unfortunately the ideas about race and society held at the time meant that contact between them
could never be anything other than distant and respectful (quite apart from the fact that Tom was
married anyway). But Mayella's yearning for some form of close human contact emerges during the
trial. She had saved for almost a year to have enough nickels to give her brothers and sisters a treat
in order to have her house empty when she invited Tom inside. When she made her advance to Tom
he was caught by his inability to hit a white woman and the extreme taboo that Maycomb placed on
any form of sexual contact. He had no choice but to run from Mayella when he got the chance.
Unfortunately for Tom the chance came with the arrival of Bob Ewell at the window.
The trial itself provides Harper Lee with the opportunity to examine the attitudes of people like the
Ewells and the presumably more respectable members of the jury. Bob Ewell emerges as a
drunken, bullying, child-abuser with little respect for the law and even less for truth and justice. But
however low in the social order he is, Bob Ewell can still look down on black people. At the
beginning of his testimony he complains about a 'nest' of them near him bringing down the property
values of his shack by the town dump. Tom's account of Mayella's actions suggests that he may
have indulged in some form of incest with his daughter, but the taboo against relationships between
white women and black men is so strong that even Bob Ewell is shocked and horrified by it. He
responds first by savagely beating his daughter and then by accusing Tom Robinson of rape.
Whatever respect or sympathy the reader might have had for Bob Ewell is dispelled by his behaviour
in the courtroom and the evidence that Atticus produces that he was the cause of Mayella's
beating. Not only is he a self-righteous bully but he is prepared to sacrifice Tom Robinson's life for
his own selfish ends. The reader is more likely to feel sympathy for Mayella as the trial progresses.
Her loneliness and need for simple human contact are made painfully evident as Scout comes to
understand that she is 'the loneliest person in the world', rejected by white people because of her
poverty and unable to mix with Negroes because she is white. The causes of her behaviour are
made clear and Maycomb's social and racial prejudice have a large part of the blame.
In his summing up, Atticus explains her accusation of rape in terms of guilt. She has committed no
crime, she has merely broken a rigid and time-honoured code of our society, a code so severe that
whoever breaks it is hounded from our midst as unfit to live with. Atticus says explicitly that she is
'the victim of cruel poverty and ignorance' but he cannot condone her actions because her solution
involves 'putting away the evidence' and that evidence is the life of a human being.
Tom Robinson's innocence is established to Jem's satisfaction at least, but the success of
Atticus's case is measured only in the unusual amount of time the jury spend before bringing in a
guilty verdict. The explicit racism of the trial process is acknowledged by Atticus when he speaks of
Bob and Mayella presenting themselves to the court
in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that (the jury)
would go along with them on the assumption - the evil assumption - that all Negroes lie.
Mayella herself expresses the same idea in her outburst at the end of her testimony, when she
says that the gentlemen of the jury are 'yellow stinkin' cowards' if they don't accept her version of
the facts. Maycomb's racism is so deep in such matters that Tom is lucky not to have been
lynched without a trial at all.
It seems possible however that the evidence presented by Atticus could have swayed the jury if it
had not been for one simple mistake made by Tom Robinson in giving his evidence. In his account
under cross-examination by Mr Gilmer of his relationship with Mayella Tom says
'Yes suh. I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more than the rest of 'em - '
Mr Gilmer picks up on this and Tom 'realized his mistake' and 'the damage was done'. Tom's crime
in other words is not that he was kissed by a lonely white girl but that he felt sorry for her. By taking
pity on a white person Tom is breaking a fundamental rule of racial superiority. Bob Ewell is not the
only white person who needs black people to look down on. Even Mr Gilmer is so insulting in his
attitude to Tom that Dill has to leave the courtroom in tears. Atticus tries to undo the damage
caused by Tom's mistake in his summing up but it is probably this statement that affects his case
most severely.
The advantage of using a court case to highlight attitudes is that the legal process requires
everything to be as explicit as possible. Views and behaviours that would normally be understood
by the majority of adults have to be put into simple enough language for a child to understand them.
The advantage of having the trial narrated by Scout is that her childish understanding is free of adult
prejudice and expectations. She and Jem measure the proceedings against simple child-like ideas
of truth and justice and find them grossly wanting. On the other hand Jem is an expert on court
behaviour from watching her father on other occasions so she is able to give an insightful account
into most aspects of the trial.
The Tom Robinson case shows the ugliness of both racial and social prejudice. Ultimately the jurors
choose to vote along racial lines without regard for truth or justice. Mayella and Tom are both
victims of Maycomb's prejudice but only Tom has to pay.
Sustained knowledge of text
The essay shows an excellent knowledge of the text and refers in detail to specific events.
Structured response to task The essay makes a strong opening statement and then deals with
the points raised in a clear and logical order.
Personal involvement/empathy The candidate has expressed personal opinions about the
characters and has justified them with reference to the text
Appropriate comment on meaning/style The candidate has discussed the way in which Lee
mediates the reader's understanding of events through the character of Scout and how this affects
the reader's response.
Effective use of reference/supporting textual detail
The essay shows a good knowledge of the text and refers to some incidents in detail. There is a
good mixture of detailed reference, embedded quotations and longer quotations.
Sustained comment on social/cultural/historical issues or context The essay demonstrates an
excellent understanding of the social and historical context of the novel.
