Question
Excerpt from Chapter 24 of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee
The front door slammed and I heard Atticus’s footsteps in the hall. Automatically I wondered what time it was. Not nearly time for him to be home, and on Missionary Society days he usually stayed downtown until black dark.
He stopped in the doorway. His hat was in his hand, and his face was white.
“Excuse me, ladies,” he said. “Go right ahead with your meeting, don’t let me disturb you. Alexandra, could you come to the kitchen a minute? I want to borrow Calpurnia for a while.”
He didn’t go through the diningroom, but went down the back hallway and entered the kitchen from the rear door. Aunt Alexandra and I met him. The diningroom door opened again and Miss Maudie joined us. Calpurnia had half risen from her chair.
“Cal,” Atticus said, “I want you to go with me out to Helen Robinson’s house—”
“What’s the matter?” Aunt Alexandra asked, alarmed by the look on my father’s face.
“Tom’s dead.”
Aunt Alexandra put her hands to her mouth.
“They shot him,” said Atticus. “He was running. It was during their exercise period. They said he just broke into a blind raving charge at the fence and started climbing over. Right in front of them—”
“Didn’t they try to stop him? Didn’t they give him any warning?” Aunt Alexandra’s voice shook.
“Oh yes, the guards called to him to stop. They fired a few shots in the air, then to kill. They got him just as he went over the fence. They said if he’d had two good arms he’d have made it, he was moving that fast. Seventeen bullet holes in him. They didn’t have to shoot him that much. Cal, I want you to come out with me and help me tell Helen.”
“Yes sir,” she murmured, fumbling at her apron. Miss Maudie went to Calpurnia and untied it.
“This is the last straw, Atticus,” Aunt Alexandra said.
“Depends on how you look at it,” he said. “What was one Negro, more or less, among two hundred of ‘em? He wasn’t Tom to them, he was an escaping prisoner.”
Atticus leaned against the refrigerator, pushed up his glasses, and rubbed his eyes.
“We had such a good chance,” he said. “I told him what I thought, but I couldn’t in truth say that we had more than a good chance. I guess Tom was tired of white men’s chances and preferred to take his own."
What does this scene reveal about Tom Robinson, and what theme does it develop?
Responses
Tom’s escape attempt shows he was guilty and afraid of being proven wrong in court — revealing the theme that a person’s actions can reveal their guilt, even when the truth isn’t clear through words alone.
Tom’s escape attempt shows he was guilty and afraid of being proven wrong in court — revealing the theme that a person’s actions can reveal their guilt, even when the truth isn’t clear through words alone. EndFragment
Tom tried to escape because he misunderstood how close he was to being released — revealing the theme that tragic outcomes can result when someone makes decisions based on fear or incomplete information.
Tom tried to escape because he misunderstood how close he was to being released — revealing the theme that tragic outcomes can result when someone makes decisions based on fear or incomplete information.
Tom didn’t trust Atticus to win his appeal and gave up too easily — revealing the theme that people sometimes lose hope when they don’t fully understand how the legal system works or what options remain to them.
Tom didn’t trust Atticus to win his appeal and gave up too easily — revealing the theme that people sometimes lose hope when they don’t fully understand how the legal system works or what options remain to them.
Tom was pushed to the point of desperation and no longer believed justice was possible — revealing the theme that people are often dehumanized and denied dignity when prejudice shapes how justice is carried out.
The front door slammed and I heard Atticus’s footsteps in the hall. Automatically I wondered what time it was. Not nearly time for him to be home, and on Missionary Society days he usually stayed downtown until black dark.
He stopped in the doorway. His hat was in his hand, and his face was white.
“Excuse me, ladies,” he said. “Go right ahead with your meeting, don’t let me disturb you. Alexandra, could you come to the kitchen a minute? I want to borrow Calpurnia for a while.”
He didn’t go through the diningroom, but went down the back hallway and entered the kitchen from the rear door. Aunt Alexandra and I met him. The diningroom door opened again and Miss Maudie joined us. Calpurnia had half risen from her chair.
“Cal,” Atticus said, “I want you to go with me out to Helen Robinson’s house—”
“What’s the matter?” Aunt Alexandra asked, alarmed by the look on my father’s face.
“Tom’s dead.”
Aunt Alexandra put her hands to her mouth.
“They shot him,” said Atticus. “He was running. It was during their exercise period. They said he just broke into a blind raving charge at the fence and started climbing over. Right in front of them—”
“Didn’t they try to stop him? Didn’t they give him any warning?” Aunt Alexandra’s voice shook.
“Oh yes, the guards called to him to stop. They fired a few shots in the air, then to kill. They got him just as he went over the fence. They said if he’d had two good arms he’d have made it, he was moving that fast. Seventeen bullet holes in him. They didn’t have to shoot him that much. Cal, I want you to come out with me and help me tell Helen.”
“Yes sir,” she murmured, fumbling at her apron. Miss Maudie went to Calpurnia and untied it.
“This is the last straw, Atticus,” Aunt Alexandra said.
“Depends on how you look at it,” he said. “What was one Negro, more or less, among two hundred of ‘em? He wasn’t Tom to them, he was an escaping prisoner.”
Atticus leaned against the refrigerator, pushed up his glasses, and rubbed his eyes.
“We had such a good chance,” he said. “I told him what I thought, but I couldn’t in truth say that we had more than a good chance. I guess Tom was tired of white men’s chances and preferred to take his own."
What does this scene reveal about Tom Robinson, and what theme does it develop?
Responses
Tom’s escape attempt shows he was guilty and afraid of being proven wrong in court — revealing the theme that a person’s actions can reveal their guilt, even when the truth isn’t clear through words alone.
Tom’s escape attempt shows he was guilty and afraid of being proven wrong in court — revealing the theme that a person’s actions can reveal their guilt, even when the truth isn’t clear through words alone. EndFragment
Tom tried to escape because he misunderstood how close he was to being released — revealing the theme that tragic outcomes can result when someone makes decisions based on fear or incomplete information.
Tom tried to escape because he misunderstood how close he was to being released — revealing the theme that tragic outcomes can result when someone makes decisions based on fear or incomplete information.
Tom didn’t trust Atticus to win his appeal and gave up too easily — revealing the theme that people sometimes lose hope when they don’t fully understand how the legal system works or what options remain to them.
Tom didn’t trust Atticus to win his appeal and gave up too easily — revealing the theme that people sometimes lose hope when they don’t fully understand how the legal system works or what options remain to them.
Tom was pushed to the point of desperation and no longer believed justice was possible — revealing the theme that people are often dehumanized and denied dignity when prejudice shapes how justice is carried out.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The scene reveals that Tom Robinson was pushed to a state of desperation, leading him to try escaping despite the risks involved. This act illustrates his loss of faith in the justice system and the harsh realities of racial prejudice that surrounded him. The theme that emerges is that people are often dehumanized and denied dignity when prejudice shapes how justice is carried out. Tom's devaluation as an individual—reduced to being just "an escaping prisoner" in the eyes of the guards—highlights the systemic racism that ultimately drives him to make a desperate choice. Tom's actions become a tragic reflection of his understanding that, despite Atticus's efforts, the chances for a fair outcome in a prejudiced judicial system are slim to none. This underscores the broader theme of how societal biases can erode human dignity and the very concept of justice.