Sunday, December 7, 2014

How does To Kill a Mockingbird's Maycomb view Tom and how did they react to his death? How does Scout feel about him and his death?Questions...

Tom Robinson is respected among the African-American
population of Maycomb, who take up a collection for his family during church services on
the day that Scout and Jem attend with Calpurnia. Although there is little said through
Scout's narration, we can assume that his friends consider him innocent of the charges
against him. His employer, Link Deas, announces in court that Tom has never given him
any trouble, and Deas continues to employ Tom's wife, Helen, after Tom's death. Atticus
obviously believes in Tom's innocence, and Atticus' family supports him and believes in
Tom, too.


However, most of the white population of Maycomb
seem to side with the Ewells' story, primarily because of the dictum that a white man's
word is always believed over that of a black man. Thus, most of Maycomb probably see Tom
as guilty. Some of Maycomb's white citizens are upset about Tom's death, most notably
Aunt Alexandra and Miss Maudie when they receive the news at the missionary circle tea.
B. B. Underwood, no lover of the black man, commiserates about Tom's death in his
newspaper editorial, likening it to the "senseless slaughter of songbirds." But, as
Scout points out,


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Maycomb was interested by the news of Tom's death
for perhaps two days: two days was enough for the information to spread through the
county... To Maycomb, Tom's death was typical. Typical of a nigger to cut and
run...


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