Choose from the following topics and post twice:
- What is Mrs. Merriweather’s attitude toward “‘those poor Mrunas,’” a fictional African ethnic group, on pages 308-309? How does this attitude compare with the women’s attitude toward the black people in their own community throughout the rest of the chapter?
- On page 315, Atticus reveals some news about Tom Robinson. What do you think Tom’s motivation was in doing what he did? Can you step into his skin to understand his actions? Do you agree with his actions?
- On page 315, Atticus reveals some news about Tom Robinson. What do you think the prison guards’ motivation was in doing what they did? Can you step into their skin to understand their actions? Do you agree with their actions?
- At the end of the chapter, Scout serves the women cookies and narrates, “After all, if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I” (318). Why is this a difficult time to “be a lady”? And how has Aunt Alexandra won Scout’s respect in this chapter? Think about what Aunt Alexandra has done or said in this chapter that might change Scout’s (and our) opinion of her.
Ms Bularzik's Blog 
Tom motivation was probably that if he got out he could see his family again. He had completely lost all hope and must have been thinking that he will die either way so why not try to escape. I can understand Tom’s actions but I disagree with them. Atticus said he could appeal and get them a different jury but Tom was so hopeless he didn’t realize he had a chance to still live and be free. I can understand why he felt so hopeless though. He might have not understood what a appeal was and only understood that he was going to be sentenced to death.
I agree with what Sam said. Tom probably really just wanted to see his family before he died and thought that he could make it. He was miserable in the jail and lost all hope as Sam said. I do agree with Tom’s actions, if I thought that if I escaped I would see my family I would probably do it. It’s not fair to Tom that he was shot though.
On 315 the prison guards shot Tom 17 times and it killed him. Their motivation for doing this was that Tom was a “criminal” escaping from jail so they had to protect people and stop him. Also I think their previous opinions about Tom and all black motivated them to shoot him. They all wanted him dead and they didn’t hisitate when they got the chance to. What drove their minds into doing this was hatred.
I forgot to say that i disagree with the guards actions. They didn’t need to shoot him, since they caught him they should have just got him and brought him back to the prison cell
I agree with what Shaun is saying. The guards did not have a right to shoot him to death. Even though they were trying to protect people they were likely just taking the advantage. They wanted to kill Tom and when they got the chance, they did.
I agree with Shaun that the guards were just looking for a reason to kill Tom. They did not like him because of his skin color, and when he tried to escape they saw their chance to take their hatred out on him. If it was any white man escaping I think the guards would’ve only shot him once or twice. Since it was a black man, the guards shot at him seventeen times, further proving their hate for him. I do not think they should have killed Tom but rather chase after him and bring him back into the prison.
I also agree with Shaun I think it wasn’t just a prisoner escape to them. They easily could have caught him. I think racism might have even played a part in shooting Tom Robinson.
I agree with Shaun. The guards were looking for a reason to shoot Tom and they did. It was unnecessary to fire 17 shots at him. The issue could have been resolved many other ways. The guards just wanted him dead.
I agree with Shaun’s point that he disagrees with the guards actions. The guards should put up a fence with more protection so even if the situation arises, a prisoner would not be able to escape. Also, the guards did not have to shoot Tom 17 times. That was unnecessary and they could have shot maybe only once or twice at most in the leg or arm so he wouldn’t be severely injured.
On page 315, Tom Robinson gets caught escaping jail. The guards shot Tom and killed him. I think Tom wanted to get out of jail and see people like his family. He didn’t want to die without saying good bye to them first. I think he was motivated to do so because he knew that he was in jail for his life. Tom’s reason to escape was very reasonable.
Atticus comes home and reveals that Tom Robinson had been shot and died. During the prisoners’ exercise period, Tom had tried to run away and jump over the fence to be free. Since Tom only has one good arm, he was not able to make it over the fence in time and was shot seventeen times. I believe Tom was motivated to do this because he thought he had no chance of being declared innocent in any trial. I can understand why Tom thought his only option was to try to run away and escape. However, I do not agree with it. I think Tom should have stayed in prison until his next trial to see the outcome. If he was still found guilty, then I would be more understanding of him trying to escape.
What happened to Tom on page 315 is both understandable and not at the same time. The guards were technically doing their job and they both told him to stop and fired warning shots, but as Atticus explains that “they didn’t need to shoot him that muxh
*much” (Lee 315). And even though the guards fired off warnings, the fact that they shot him so many times shows that they were still acting out of harsh feelings towards black men. I agree that Tom had to be stopped from escaping, but a shot to the leg would’ve near immobilized him, which would’ve been much more humane of them than not only killing him, but overdoing it greatly. I disagree with their killing of him as much as I agree with how he needed to be stopped from escaping, but they should not have shot Tom.
When Atticus came home he announced that Tom was killed. During an exercise period Tom decided to make a run for the fence. Just as he was over the fence the guards shot seven bullets that killed him. I think that Toms motivation was to get his freedom because he knew that there is big chance that he would be declared guilty. Yes, I can step in his shoes and understand his action. Tom knew that it was his words against Mr. Ewells and Mayalle who where both white. He knew he had no chance of not being found guilty. I agree and I disagree. I agree because he did not want to face the death penalty for something he did not do; on the other hand I disagree because there was a low chance of him being able to escape without getting caught.
I agree with Cindy because she has a point when saying she could step into his shoes, anyone would have that thought in their heads, but not everyone would go through with it. His actions are understandable on every level, but I also believe Tom knew what was going to happen. Peeved if he did make it over the fence, the whole town would be searching for him including the armed guards and an angry Mr. Ewell hunting him down. Tom would have no chance of ever being really free. He would carry it around with him for the rest of his life.
During this chapter Tom Robinson is in jail. Atticus came home and said that Tom had been shot and he is dead. This is because when the guards working at the jail went on break Tom tried to escape. With only on arm Tom was not able to escape. The guards shot Tom seventeen to times and he passed away.
I also agree with Shaun. The guards were only looking for a reason to kill Tom Robinson.
Mrs Meriweather does not feel bad fo the tribes. She thinks they should convert. She deffinatly sees the back people in her town are below her. They talk of there mid behaving.
I understand toms motives for trying to escape. His thought were probably if I stay here I’m ganna die. So if I get killed trying to escape I have nothing to lose.
Aunt Alexandra expresses a total different teaching style on Scout than what Atticus has been teaching all her life. Aunt Alexandra teaches manners and how to act towards different people. Scout sometimes disagrees with this, but in a way, wants to be more like her aunt. She decides to do what aunt Alexandra would do and that’s why she serves the women cookies.
Tom Robinson was obviously scared. He didn’t win the first trial despite all the crucial evidence Atticus brought forward. He must have worried about not being able to appeal to the second court. To him there probably wasn’t a chance of ever seeing his family again. To him it was escape and be free or die trying. I understand what Tom did, but I don’t agree with it. I wish he tried to wait and see if he could get an appeal.
I think Toms motivation was wanting to get out because he is not guilty. He knows he is not guilty, and so does Atticus and a bunch of other people. Also, he probably wanted to see his family since he had not seen them in such a long time. Yes, I can understand his actions because I would also want to see my family. But, I would probably not have tried to escape because if Tom thought out his plan, he might have realized he could die. Tom might have had that motivation though to go see his family no matter the circumstances.
When Atticus tells the news of Tom to Aunt Alexandra she looks wary. Scott notices that, but when Aunt Alexandra returns she pretends like nothing ever happened. Scott is trying to impress Aunt Alexandra. This time however Scoot is not trying to avoid punishment from her, but she is seeking a reward and wants to maintain a healthy relationship. Scott sees this and tries to act like a lady for respect because she thought what Aunt Alexandra was doing was hard, and Scott wanted to be like that.
Atticus comes home to fetch Cal, so she could go with him to Tom’s wife, and tell her Tom’s dead. Along doing so he tells Cal, Scout, Mrs. Maudie, and Aunt Alexandra that Tom tried escaping and was shot dead by 17 bullets. If the story about how Tom died is true, he had his reasons. First off Atticus suggests, “Tom was tired of white men’s chances and preferred to take him own” (Lee 315). Tom loss all of his hope, and figured that he won’t get a different outcome. Also either way he most likely would end up dead in the electric chair. I don’t nessarily agree with his actions, but he really didn’t have anything to lose, also he was acting blindly.
The prison guards motives were to kill Tom Robinson. If the guards were trying to stop him from escaping the guards would have chased after him, not shot at him seventeen times. However, I can sort of sense what the guards were thinking, they did not want him to escape because they would be punished. On the other hand it was not necessary to shot Tom at all.
Question #2: I think that perhaps Tom’s motivations were to, go out on his own terms. Tom obviously knew that he was going to die either way. Tom knew he was wrongfully convicted, he knew would die because of racism and hate. This was his way of going out on top and sticking it to the man.
Question #3: I understand why the prison guards did what they did, but at the same time I sort of don’t. I get why they’d want to to stop a prisoner from escaping, though I’m not one hundred percent sure why they’d shoot Tom seventeen times. My best guess would be it was only because of the color of his skin. If Tom were (well come to think of it he wouldn’t be in this mess if he was) the guards might have only shot once at him, or could have possibly just wounded him. Though racism strikes again in this book and sadly this time it delivered the final blow to Tom Robinson.
In the book, there comes the part when the women at the gathering discuss Tom and what happened in prison. At 315, it states how Tom broke into a wild dash to escape over the fence, and how they fired a few warning shots then killed him. He would of even made it if he had an extra arm. The guards figured him a “criminal” from all the reports and it seemed like they were itching to just shoot somebody. Even Tom. Even if they were trying to protect people, the worse they could of done was immbolize him by shooting near his leg and chipping him or something. Back then, hatred against blacks was something else. And frankly, i think this was really wrong.
(This is just me thinking outloud and bonus, no need to credit this it’s just thoughts)
Stuff like this is the reason people are so mad about racism nowadays anyway. And sadly, it’s happened before and even today. Back in the 1980’s around L.A, it was bad. Even today, in Ferguson it’s just as bad. Mainly the reason riots broke out then and now. Let’s hope we all make a change.
The guards or whoever told Atticus could have easily made up a cover story of how Tom really died. The guards may have just killed, but he caused such a huge problem for most. Though if the guards are telling the truth, than they went over board with shot him with 17 bullets. Yeah, their job is to keep the prisoners in, but at the time they probably just didn’t care or like Tom because he’s an African-American.
When Tom was escaping the jail, the guards shot him 17 times. The guards motivation was that he was black and everyone wanted him to die. The guard could have shot Tom 5 times at most. Since he was black and everyone wanted him dead, the guard took full advantage of putting as many bullets into him as he wanted
Tom was caught trying to escape the prison by climbing the fence and he was killed. The guards actions weren’t the right thing to do but not the wrong thing to do. They could’ve shot Tom in the leg so he wouldn’t of died. The guards took it too far by shooting him 17 times. If it were a white men they would’ve just wounded him to get down fron the fence.
I see what Tom was thinking while he was trying to escape. He really didn’t belong in there and he knew it himself. So with that opinion that caused him to want out of there and he probably didn’t know the consequences. Also he definitely was missing his family and he needed to see them.
What is Mrs. Merriweather’s attitude toward “‘those poor Mrunas,’” a fictional African ethnic group, on pages 308-309? How does this attitude compare with the women’s attitude toward the black people in their own community throughout the rest of the chapter?
Mrs. Merriweather talks in the missionary group. They talk about how their own slaves who are African American are behaving badly ever since Tom Robinson’s trial. They are just upset that an innocent man is being put on the death penalty for no reason. He never even did anything wrong. They are also upset because the Ewells got what they wanted. That’s why theslave and african Americans are behaving badly. All because an innocent man was found guilty.
On page 315, Atticus reveals some news about Tom Robinson. What do you think Tom’s motivation was in doing what he did? Can you step into his skin to understand his actions? Do you agree with his actions?
Tom Robinson tries to escape prison but unfortunately is shot while escaping. He wanted to run because he knew he was innocent. He had children and a wife at home that he didn’t want to leave behind so he did everything he could to escape and see them. I have empathy for Tom because all he wanted to do was see his children and his wife.
The women’s attitudes towards the Mrunas are different towards the black people of Maycomb. They are basically in the same situations, but most of the women don’t see that. Mrs. Merriweather says that she wants to be like the person that visits the poor people in the story; but she is not like that person because she sees herself as better than some people. The only person who seems to make the connection is Miss Maudie.
Aunt Alexandra earns Scout’s respect in this chapter. Scout sees how hard it is to be a woman, and sees how hard Alexandra is trying to act like a woman. I think that Scout’s opinion of Alexandra changed a little when she saw how emotional she got over Atticus when he said that he is going to see Helen. Scout saw that Alexandra does have emotions, and starts to understand her.
On page 315, Atticus reveals that Tom Robinson got shot. I think Tom did what he did to say goodbye to his family. He knew that he was going get the death penalty so he just wanted to say but to his family. I don’t agree with his actions because there was a small chance he could only get twenty years.
On page 315, Atticus reveals that Tom was shot 17 times while trying to escape from prison. I understand that the prison guards were trying to do their job, but shooting Tom 17 times was not necessary. As Atticus says “He wasn’t Tom to [the prison guards], he was an escaping prisoner”, which is agreeable for the most part. I think that because Tom was a black man trying to escape the prison gaurds shot him more than they should have. In ypthar end I think that Tom would have suffered death because of hoe unfairly the legal system had ran back then for black people.
This answers two questions ⬆️