Answer two of the following questions. Post twice; responses should each be 4+ sentences. Respond to a classmate at least once; focus on building on each others’ ideas with additional examples.
- How does Mr. Gilmer’s questioning of Tom Robinson reveal Mr. Gilmer’s racism? Specifically look at the language he uses to question Tom. You could also look at Dill’s reaction at the end of the chapter. It would make sense to include a short quote or two in your response (262-266).
- At times, there seems to be no right way for Tom Robinson to answer Mr. Gilmer’s questions. Explain one of these instances (263-265).
- It also seems that there was no right way for Tom Robinson to get out of his situation at the Ewells’ house. Explain why (261, 265).
- Based on new information from Chapter 17, reconsider this question from yesterday: In what ways do you feel sympathy for Mayella? In what ways don’t you?
Ms Bularzik's Blog 
One time when it was difficult for Tom to answer was when Mr. Glimer got him to say he was sorry for Mayella. This was difficult because black people are not supposed to feel sorry for white people in Maycomb. This was difficult for Tom because he knew that this wasn’t the answer he should give, but it was the answer he wanted to give. He wanted to give this answer because he truly did feel bad for Mayella.
I agree with Owen on this. I think Mr. Gilmer makes it purposefully hard for Tom to amswer the questions. It makes Tom look bad in front of the jury. It will also make him look guilty and protect the Ewells.
I agree with Owen. Tom did feel bad for Mayella and Mr. Glimer was making it hard on Tom. Mr. Glimer kept telling Tom “Then you say she’s lying, boy” which does not allow for Tom to make firm claims that Mayella was truly wrong. Tom just said the Mayella was wrong in a polite way and kept giving Mr. Glimer that same answer. This makes Tom seem like he is lying if he is saying the same response over and over again.
I agree with Owen because Tom feels really bad for Mayella because she is abused at home. Also, it is hard for Tom to answer because he feels really bad for Mayella but he knows he is innocent and that he did nothing wrong. Next, Tom probably doesn’t know how to respond since Mayella has been through a rough time with having no friends and because her dad abuses her a lot.
I think owen made an excellant point, But also Tom is suprised by how he said it and Toms expression showed how he felt probably.
I agree with Owen that Mr. Gilmor made it very hard for Tom to answer his questions, unlike with Atticus and Mayella, which were tough questions, but not nearly as hard as Mr. Gilmore’s questions to Tom Robinson.
I now feel a little bit of sympathy for Mayella. She really struggled when Atticus brought her up on the witness stand. It was basically because she knew the actual truth but Atticus stressed her out so much that she didn’t know what to do. Mayella probably didn’t wanna tell the truth because she didn’t want to rat out her dad. I don’t feel bad for her because she is old enough to know right from wrong and she should be able to tell the truth.
I agree with Marissa that she got very stressed and that she did not want to tell about her dad, but she also was old enough. She could have also told the court that it was not Tom Robinson but another unknown black person from another town, and could have kept Tom out of all of this. Mayella knew that he was a good man, but put him on death row any ways.
I don’t feel any sympathy at all. She is a grown up women and she should know right from wrong. Mayella is showing signs that she could be false and this could not happened and it could of been her father all this time and Tom Robinson did not do anything at all.
I disagree with Chrisdalton00. I do feel bad for her she is being beaten by her father and is very scared. She has no where to go because she will either destroy her family or continue to be beaten by her dad. Her situation is similar to Tom’s having no right thing to do.
I partially agree with Brendan and Chris. I agree with Brendan for the fact that I also feel bad for Mayella because of the circumstances she has to live with on a daily basis. At the same time, though, I agree with Chris because she should not wrongly accuse someone of a crime that one never committed (Tom Robinson), No matter how bad times can be, you should never put someone thats innocent in a position like that.
There was no way for Tom to get out of the Ewells hoise for a few reasons. One is that Mayella is going to be embarrassed to be seen with a black man so she will completely turn on him to protect herself. Another is that the Jury will believe her because she is the innocent little white girl who could never do anything wrong. Also I think Tom feels bad because he was the reason that Bob beat Mayella on this occasion.
I agree with Brendan, because he made a good point about Mayella might have gotten beaten up because of him. And that would make him feel sorry. which is even worse because it is disrespectful for a black man to feel bad for white people. So Tom did have a lot of problems.
Tom Robinson is trapped in the Ewells house and cannot leave. Mayella has some kind of relationship with Tom that she wants to keep secret and she blocks him from leaving her house. It is proven that she wants it to be kept a secret because she sent out the other kids to town to go for ice cream and she made sure her father was not around. Tom was trapped with no one to help him. He could not lay a hand on Mayella or he would definitely go to jail or even be killed because of his racial background. Tom was stuck “between a rock and a hard place”. This means either option he has is a bad one and he cannot make a move to prevent him from becoming in danger. He could either push Mayella out of the way or he could sit there and hope she is not doing anything that will get him in trouble.
Now that we hear Tom Robison’s side of the story I still feel no sympathy towards Mayella. She is a legal adult who is blaming a black man for a crime he did not do. She is to embarrassed to admit she was wrong and is using Tom Robinson as an escape. Since Tom is black, the racist jury members will vote against him. This is a cowardly act of Mayella, especially since Tom was nothing but nice to Mayella. Mailer may not have any friends but in the court of law this is not to be focused on very much. The truth has now come out and Mayella should own up to it but she still denies it. This is not the adult thing to do.
I feel bad for Mayella because she has no friends due to who her parents are. Also, she lives behind a dump so she is probably embarrassed to bring people to her house. Next, she may be sacred to bring people to her house because she doesn’t know how her dad will act towards someone new coming in to her house. However Mayella is abused a lot by her father for unknown reasons. Mayella is probably sacred to leave her house due to being scared about being abused by her dad because when someone is abused they are scared for life because they don’t know who to trust or who will hurt them so they build there walls high so no one can break them down.
I agree 100% with owens point and like to add that white people in maycomb can Be extremely racist. Adding to the fact with the feelings sorry for white people quote.
One instance is when Gilmer explains hes sorry for white people. He does not know how to act in these situations were really racist people put on a act. This mentally confuses Tom and leads with answerless.
Yes I feel sorry for Mayela, why because she did not have a choice in the situation. She is beaten by her dad and is too uneducated to react. Aswell as having no friends to talk to about it, no advise from anybody and sadly she lives in a dumpish area. All together this is not her fault and she doesnt have to right “equipment” to go through what she is going theough.
Based on the new information I found in chapter 19, I feel more sorry for Mayella, but not enough to forgive her conviction of Tom Robinson. If she loved Tom Robinson like she supposedly said to Tom Robinson, she would tell the jury that it was her father who beat her instead of Tom. The pity comes from when she has no friend or anyone to comfort her, so Tom Robinson was the closest thing she had to a friend, and she over did the relationship. Her lack of friends made her feel like she was in love with Tom Robinson, and she realized that it was false hope, but by then it was too late.
I still feel as bad for Mayella, but I still don’t believe in accusing an innocent person. I don’t think it is right to try to send someone to jail for a crime they did not commit. When she was asked to speak in the court, she seemed a little suspect because of the fact that she was lying, and trying to continue on her lies. Also, with Atticus always asking mysterious and hard questions, it brought even more pressure on Mayella. Even thought she does not want to destroy her family by telling the court that her father beats her, she still should not put Tom or anyone of that matter in a position that basically woild end their lives.
There were many instances where there was no right way to answer Mr. Gilmers questions. One important part was when he was talking about why he was called in the house and he gave a totally different answer han Mayella. Mr. Gilmer thought that Tom was saying that Mayella was lying, and back then it was wrong for black men to disrespect whites. He didn’t notice he was saying something wrong until Mr. Gilmer pointed it out.
I feel even worse for Mayella, because it is clear that her father beat her up, but she still can’t do anything about it. Now that the trial has been going on for so long it is clear that Mayella feels even worse about it. Since it was known before that she might not be as bad as she seems she was probably lying and feeling terrible about it. She is not well educated so she doesn’t know what to do in this situation.
Tom had a hard time trying to answer when Mr. Glimer made him apologize for what he allegedly did to Mayella. This was difficult for him because after everything he was framed for and the racist past Maycomb has, one can imagine how terrible it must have been. This was hard for Tom because it’s not the phrase he wanted to say, but said it anyways so he didn’t create any more problems for himself. Tom felt bad for Mayella. In a sense, he did apologize for what happened to Mayella. The only part of the answer that truley came from Tom’s heart was the part where she got hurt. One can only imagine what it was like for him in that situation.