Chapter 19: Michael Malynn

Plot Summary

Chapter nineteen is about the testimony of Tom Robinson. He is twenty five years old and he is married with three children. Tom is asked about his past criminal record in which he reveals that he had spent thirty days in jail for disorderly conduct because he could not pay to fine involved with the fight he was in. Following the interrogation of his personal life Tom reveals his side of the case. He says that he walked by the Ewell’s house everyday to pick cotton and work for Mr. Link Deas. In his version of the story Mayella Ewell called him into her house to do a routine fix up job of a door whose hinges became loose. The seven kids in the Ewell family had gone into town to get ice cream. As Mayella is getting Tom the screwdriver he tests the hinges which have no problem at all. Next, as Tom was on a chair fixing the door, Mayella grabbed Tom around the legs and kissed him on the side of the face. After trying to escape Tom saw Mr. Ewell in the window, and he cursed at him and threatened to kill him. Tom ran as fast as he could because he was afraid of having to go to court for something he didn’t do. Following the testimony of Tom, Scout brings the crying Dill outside. Dill is upset about the way Tom Robinson had been treated in the courtroom. 

Major Changes and Developments

The reader is informed that Tom has had a minor criminal history. We are introdiced to Mr. Link Deas who owns the property that Tom Robinson works on. The major change in conflict is the very different story of the case in the testimony of Tom Robinson. 

Significant Quotes

“ Mr. Finch, if you was a (black person) like me, you’d be scared, too” (Lee 261)

In this quote said by Tom Robinson he is telling Mr. Finch that being a black man around a white woman alone is very scary. Tom ran because he knew he could potentially be killed for being around her. 

“ Then you were mighty polite to do all that chopping and hauling for her, weren’t you, boy” (Lee 263)

The speaker, Mr. Gilmer, questions the politeness of Tom, and why he would normally do such good deeds for Mayella without pay. It also reveals how Mr. Gilmer refers to Tom as “boy”. Mr. Gilmer treats Tom with little respect and is bias towards the story of Tom. 

Literary Elements

Harper Lee leaves a cliffhanger at the end of chapter nineteen when she leaves the reader thinking about what will happen next in the case. She leaves loose ends with the decision of the judge. 

Vocabualry

misdemeanor (262)-noun- a criminal offense defined as less serious than a felony.

conscience (265)-noun- the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one's conduct or motives, impelling one toward right action

Critical Thinking

 How would the case differ in specific areas is Tom Robinson was a white man?  

Do you think there is anything we don’t know about Dill that made him so upset?