How did the author use descriptions of settings, events immediately prior to the trial to build and intensify a mood of suspens?Everything that...

Harper Lee used a variety of scenes and sub-plots to set up the drama of the Tom Robinson trial in To Kill a Mockingbird. In Chapter 14, Jem and Scout feel the stares and hear the gossip from the people of Maycomb concerning Atticus defending a Negro. Lee adds the runaway Dill to the mix, giving Atticus one more problem to ponder before the trial. In Chapter 15, Atticus meets with a group of concerned citizens who warn him about something that Jem and Scout don't quite understand. When Atticus heads to the jail later that night, the children follow, setting the stage for their dramatic rescue of their father from the prospective lynch mob.

The day of the trial is narrated in great detail by Scout. It is obviously not a normal day in Maycomb. Throngs of people arrive for the trial: Religious zealots, out-of-towners, and Negroes make up just some of the people as "the county went by." Women argured in the street, and the "courthouse square was covered with picnickers" before Jem, Scout and Dill decided to make their appearance as well.