To Kill a Mockingbird Annotation

 Summary

As the trail began, Mr. Heck Tate explained how Mr. Edwell saw his daughter lying in pain with several bruises and ran to get him. Mr. well explained how when he came home he saw through the window that Tom was raping his daughter. Atticus asked him why he didn't call the hospital to tell them that his daughter is seriously hurt. Mr. Edwell said he didn't think about it and it leaded to a conclusion that Mr.Edwell didn't want to waste money. Atticus also asked Mr. Edwell if he knew how to write and he said he did, and Atticus told him to write his name. This was another conclusion that Mr. Edwell was left handed.

Vocab

 Gullet (pg.171)n. – the throat

Gulling (175)v. - to be quiet and calm

sulky (176)adj. - moody and ebing quiet, unhappy

Gardenia (180)n. - a type of flower that is large

Probing Questions

Could Mr. Heck Tate and Mr. Edwell be lying?

Why did Atticus have to ask the question" why didn't you go to the doctor?" so many times before it's answered?

Can Mr.Edwell being left handed lead to a clue?

Supporting Images

 Summary

As the trail heated up, Mr. Edwell's daughter, Mayella, was called to the witness stand. She was a 19 year old lady who accused Tom Robinson for raping her. During the trail, she was asked a lot of questions by Mr. Gilmer and Atticus about the day she was raped, but her answers were weak and she hesitated a lot. Mayella told the judge that she is scared of Atticus, and when Atticus spoke to her and asked her questions she was mad at him because she left like he was mocking her about questions she didn't answer fully. In this chapter Mayella explained her side of the story and she accused Tom Robinson fully guilty and that he was the one who raped and took advantage of her.

I think that Mayella isn't telling the truth because she was hesitating and refusing to answer any more questions Atticus was trying to ask her. For example, when Atticus asked her if she loved her father and if he was good to her, she answered "tollable, 'cept when-"' right there was where she left a blank in her answer. Another example was when Atticus asked her "Who beat you up? Tom Robinson or your fater", she didn't answer.  Mayella sounds like she is against Tom Robinson's right to be innocent. Mayella always leaved holes in her answer and she's not telling answers straight forward to Atticus. She also accused Atticus for making her feel bad.

Vocab

Important Quotes

"You were screaming all this time?...Then why didn't the other children hear you? Where were they? At the dump?...Why didn't your screams make them come running? The dump's closer than the woods, isn't it?...Or didn't you scream until you saw your father in the window? You didn't scream until then, did you?...Did you scream first at your father instead of at Tom Robinson? Was that it?...Who beat you up? Tom Robinson or your father?... What did your father see in the window, the crime of rape or the best defense to it? Why don't you tell the truth, child, didn't Bob Ewell beat you up?" These questions Atticus asked Mayella with no answer seemed to be very mysterious.

I think that these questions from Atticus to Mayella is important because when Mayella didn't answer, it made a very clear answer that she wasn't telling the truth about things before and that what Atticus had said is true. These questions really made me see that Mayella isn't telling the true story and that she is trying to lie and make the judge feel sorry for her so she wouldn't get in trouble.

"I got somethin' to say an' then I ain't gonna say no more. That nigger yonder took advantage of me an' if you fine fancy gentlemen don't wanta do nothin' about it then you're all yellow stinkin' cowards, the lots of you. Your fancy airs don't come to nothin' - your ma'amin' and Miss Mayellerin' don't come to nothin', Mr. Finch-" - Mayella

I think that this qoute is important because it really reflects how strongly Mayella believe that Tom Robinson raped her. I believe that when Mayella said this quote and then cried it turned everyone into believing that Tom is guilty and ignored what Atticus had said earlier.

Comment on Plot Development

Things are juicing up, and Mayella has got the judge's attention. I think that Mayella's tears and words at the end, really made everyone think that she was telling the truth. Atticus asked a lot of questions that cornered Mayella, but in the end of the chapter, she still won.

 Summary

 In chapter 19, Tom Robinson stepped into the witness chair and he told his side of the story clearly and with confident. He said that on that day he was just walking by, when Mayella called him to help her with something, when he went inside her house, he saw that there was nothing wrong and he told her he was going to go, since there's nothing he could do for her. Mayella stopped him and said if he can help her get a box from a high shelve, he said yes, but when he was getting it for her, she started pulling his leg. He go scared and jumped down and Mayella jumped on him and hugged him around the waist. Tom tried to free away but she wouldn't move, instead she kissed him in the cheek and told him to kiss her back. Soon Mr. Edwell showed up looking through the window and yelled at Tom, and then Tom ran as fast as he could out of there.Mr. Gilmer soon asked Tom some questions and hwy he went into Mayella's house, and he replied that he wanted to be a gentlemen and help.Soon later Dill started to cry and Scout had to take him outside.

Vocab

 Candid (pg.200)adj. – to be open; honest

Grimly (pg.200)adv. - without humor; sternly

Volition (pg.195)n. - the will

expunge (pg. 198)v. - to remove completely

Background Information

Blacks in the 1960's

Black people in the 1960's were still trying to get their rights and freedom to do the will of what they please as people, but they were still mistreated by the whites and their freedom is still little compared to the white people. During this time, Martin Luther King Jr. was still on the civil rights movement trying to help the nation realize that we are all equal, and born equally.

Comment on Character Development

I think as Gilmer ask his questions to Tom, I think Atticus is developing more clues and examples to try to prove that Tom Robinson i innocent. I think that as the trail goes, he is having some difficulties getting the judge to agree that Tom's innocent.

 Atticus' and Gilmer's cross-examination styles differ by how Atticus is always very sure with himself, and he has background information to support him, and Gilmer is always taking this offensive tone in his voice and he just talks straight forward without evidence. Atticus is very sure and ask good questions that helps the trial get somewhere, while Gilmer is just randomly asking questions that he think is worth asking. They might be different in these ways, but they're also similar by how they both talk seriously with words that corner their victims to find an answer.