In chapter twenty-five, Atticus revealed that Tom Robinson had been shot seventeen times while trying to escape from prison. When the news was delivered, the family was left with shock on their faces and even started to quiver, especially Aunt Alexandra: "Aunt Alexandra put her hands to her mouth...Aunt Alexandra's voice shook." (315) Harper Lee is showing in this section of the novel that slowly, the shift in accepting both blacks and whites is beginning. For Aunt Alexandra, something changed inside of her. Once she heard of the brutality of Tom's incident, it was almost as if there was no difference between the segregated races in her mind. A man who's innocence remains possibly unsure to her that was shot too many times shifted a gear inside of her head. This mental shift is really only shown with her. It is implied that the other commoners in Maycomb county still contain the vigorous amount of racist feelings and thoughts: "To Maycomb, Tom's death was typical...when it comes down to the line...Nigger always comes out in 'em." (322) It ended up taking two days to circulate the County's community. Although the proper reaction did not surface in everybody like it did with Aunt Alexandra, once they heard about Tom's tragedy, the shock value within Maycomb still appeared to be high.
Tom's act to try and escape, however, is not as surprising. The end result clearly was shocking, as it caused a whole stir in Maycomb, but the initial cause is not as wowing. After Harper Lee's description of Tom's trial, it was made clear that Tom was not guilty, and he knew it too. Any man who has been segregated throughout his entire life and then put into jail for committing a crime that he was framed for can most certainly cause large amounts of anger, depression, and other life changing emotions. It does not feel as shocking to discover that Tom wanted to escape. The core to the surprising factor comes from the numerous bullet holes in his lifeless body.
If you were in Tom's situation, what would you personally do? Do you think he made the right decision? Do you think Scout looks at her Aunt differently at the end of the chapter? How is this a large part of the novel?
If I was Tom, I would've tried to escape prison. If I was truly innocent but convicted of a crime just because of my race, that would drive me crazy. It shows that Maycomb has not changed and the town is still racist towards blacks. I don't know if he made the right decision though because his death not only affects him, but it affects so many other people too. Atticus was deeply saddened by Tom's death, and now he thinks there is no hope that Maycomb will change its ways. Even Aunt Alexandra was sad too that she almost got to the point of crying. Tom's wife, Helen, just collapsed when she heard about the news of her husband's death.
ReplyDeleteScout does look at her Aunt differently at the end of chapter 24. "Aunt Alexandra looked across the room at me and smiled. She looked at a tray of cookies on the table and nodded at them. I carefully picked up the tray and watched myself walk to Mrs. Merriweather" (Lee, 318). After that she asked Mrs. Merriweather if she wanted any cookies. "If Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I" (Lee, 318). These quotes show that even after they heard the news about Tom's death, Aunt Alexandra still manages to hold herself together in front of her friends and be a lady. Scout respects that and shows her Aunt that she can be ladylike too by offering Mrs. Merriweather cookies.
How will Tom's death affect Maycomb? Do you think it will help Maycomb become less segregated or more segregated? How do you think Scout will treat Aunt Alexandra now that Scout looks at her differently?
Did Tom make the right decision of trying to escape?
ReplyDeleteI think both yes and no. No because there was no possibility of Tom getting over the fence without being shot by one of the guards. Moreover, even if he got away he wouldn't be able to go home and continue his regular life because he would get caught and just be taken back to jail. I also think yes because he was (more or less) standing up to the white people who think he raped Mayella Ewells by continuing to try and get out of the situation that he has been put in.
Is there any possibility that Tom knew that he was going to get shot when he tried to escape?
I think that there is a chance that TROB knew that he would not make it when he tried to escape, but still attempted it because he had given up hope that he would get life in jail but that he would be killed anyway and he wanted to die knowing that he tried to escape. He wanted to die with dignity instead of dying for a crime he did not commit without putting up any type of resistance at all.
DeleteTom Robinson knew there was a chance he would die. Still, he was able to die proving a point, not just sitting alone in a jail cell. This series of events further proves to Scout what true courage is. Atticus said to Scout earlier in the novel, "I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand." This scene further shows that the man holding the gun is not the one with courage. The man with "real courage" is Tom Robinson, who runs even though he knows he only has one arm and that there is a man with a gun waiting for him. Scout at this point has matured to a place where she can tell the difference.
ReplyDeleteHow have Scout's views about courage changed since he beginning of the novel?
I think Tom made the right decision about trying to escape. I think this because he might as well make a run for freedom and die, if he will be prosecuted anyway. This shows some of Tom's courage, because he knew that he was innocent, and knew that it wasn't right for him to be locked up. He just kept on trying to earn his freedom even if he knew he would be shot while doing it. Tom shows his courage in this book, mostly through this part even though he has been showing a bit in other parts of the book. T-ROB made the right decision with alot of courage, because he was gonna die anyway.
ReplyDeleteI think that Tom Robinson made the wrong choice, to try to escape the prison camp. I think that it was a mistake for Tom Robinson to try to escape because he stood a good chance of being set free by the Court Of Appeals. On 314, Tom Robinson says to Atticus. "Good bye, Mr. Finch, there ain't nothin' you can do now, so there ain't no use tryin'." What Harper Lee made very clear, was that Tom Robinson had lost faith. Therefor he knew that either way he was going to die, so why not make it a valiant attempt.
ReplyDeleteHow will Tom Robinson's death affect Maycomb? How will Tom Robinson's death be further taken in Scout's livelihood?
If I were Tom, I would try to escape because its either that or die. Tom is innocent and he knows that he does not deserve to die so he tried to save his own life which is exactly what I would do. Trying to escape would give Tom a tiny chance of survival and he took the risk and it took a lot of courage. He did not want to end his life rotting in a jail cell and then put to death. Tom did the right thing, he deserved to live so he went out and tried to get what he deserved. It sadly did not work out for him but he would have died anyway if he had stayed in jail.
ReplyDeleteIf I was in Tom’s position, I would be very anxious and scared. He has three kids and a wife at home to care for, and he has already been in jail before. But, I would have had faith in Atticus because he is so experienced and talented at what he does. Also, I do not think he should have tried to climb over the fence. Even if he had two good arms, he would have gotten in serious trouble when he got caught. So, I empathize with Tom for what he has been through, but think it was a poor decision to try to escape the prison.
ReplyDeleteThe news about Tom did not surprise me. Harper Lee made a reference to a mocking bird in earlier in the book and how killing one is killing an innocent animal. In this chapter, Tom Robinson was a mockingbird. He was completely innocent to the crime he "committed" and was killed in a prison that he shouldn't have ever been in. The reader knew that an innocent person was going to be killed because of Lee's foreshadowing, in this case, it was T. Rob.
ReplyDelete