TKAM 18-20

Mayella Ewell testifies under oath that Tom Robinson savagely attacked her- she even bursts into theatrical sobs. Mayella though Nader oath and sworn to tell the truth is obviously lying to cover up a more heinous crime-incest. Atticus tries to bait her into telling the truth but Mayella stoutly refuses to give in. In the end, despite circumstantial evidence at best Tom is found guilty of a crime he wasn't guilty of, in fact one could say his crime was feeling sorry for a white woman. It makes you really take a step back and rethink being nice to some one or helping people without personal gain. I found it interesting that the whole town was willing to ignore what Bob Ewell was obviously doing to his daughter in favor of delivering some "good 'ol southern justice" to a negro. Through the trial Scout, Jem, and Dill are in the colored section watching the proceedings-Dill becomes upset that the prosecutor was being so mean. When he children head outside so that Dill can calm down they meet Dolphus Raymond who Scout refers to as an evil man because she learns from around town that he is married to a black woman and has mixed children...she learns that Raymond is just pretending to be a drunk so that he won't have to explain to people about his life choices. He tells the kids this because they are the only ones who can truly understand and have an unbiased opinion because kids have a rose tinted view of the world.