Having spent a tense night before the trial by standing up
to the angry mob, Atticus makes his way to the courthouse. Outside this courthouse,
Scout overhears the old men in khaki pants and white shirts with suspenders
talking,"resentful of the interruption of their comfortable
routine."
Scout overhears one say that the court appointed
Atticus Finch to defend Tom Robinson.
'Yeah, but Atticus aims to defend him. That's
what I don't like about
it.'
Scout reacts to this
news by saying that it puts a different light on things. Atticus could have used this
as an excuse. But, she is baffleded by the town's being upset with him and having come
as a mob last evening:
He had to, that's why he was doing it, equaled
fewer fights and less fussing. But did that explain the town's attitude? The court
appointed Atticus to defend him. Atticus aimed to defend him. That's what they didn't
like about it. It was
confusing.
While this news is
confusing to Scout, it is not to the reader. For the conventional wisdom is that Tom
Robinson should be convicted because he is a black man who interfered in the lives of
white people. He simply had no business on the Ewell property.
Period.
No comments:
Post a Comment