While an innocent man is headed to a trial with just about everyone convinced of his guilt, the atmosphere in front of the court house looks like a huge celebration. This is ironic, because any trial—let alone the trial of an innocent man—should be a somber occasion and not a cause for celebration.

This “gala” ambiance is fueled by racism and unjustified hatred for Tom Robinson, who in fact did not commit the rape for which is he on trial. In the racist minds of the people of Maycomb, the fact that Tom is black means he must be guilty of raping and assaulting Mayella Ewell. Thanks to the politics of the US’s South in the 1930s, this man is considered guilty until proven innocent—and no one believes there is any chance of him being found innocent.

This “gala” scene is described in detail as being jam-packed with people who were there not only to watch, but have picnics, catch up with their friends, and have a good time. You’d have thought they were waiting for some kind of parade to begin, not the trial of an innocent man.

In a nutshell, the irony here lies in the community’s unjust celebration of the fate of one falsely accused black man.

What Scout describes is an example of situational irony. This form of irony occurs when a situation is the opposite of what one might normally expect.

In this case, Scout describes the mood of a gala or happy, festive event. People have gathered en masse in front of the courthouse with picnic lunches and coca colas as if this is a Fourth of July celebration.

In fact, it is a grim occasion, which is not what the scene Scout describes would suggest. A man's life is at stake: a black man, Tom Robinson, is accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell, and his trial is about to begin. Worse, it is a foregone conclusion in the South in the 1930s that Robinson will be found guilty, whether he raped Mayella or not, because the word of a white person is always believed over the word of a black person.

White people in Maycomb are therefore celebrating an unjust trial that will condemn a black man. Instead of grieving that a white woman might have lied or that a black man will be wrongly convicted, they are turning the trial into a triumphalist narrative in celebration of white supremacy, showing that they enjoy watching black people "put in their place."

What is ironic about Scout's observation that the mood in the town was that of a gala is that a man’s life is at stake and the town is celebrating as if it were a big party and extracting every bit of entertainment value out of Tom’s trial.

When Atticus gets home that day, he tells Scout and Jem that the court had spent the entire morning selecting the jury. Then, after the family has had dinner, they pick Dill up and walk into town. Scout says, “it was a gala occasion.”

This is because the town is crowded with people who have come to observe the trial. Except for the group of people watching from the balcony, not one person there cares if justice is served or if Tom receives fair treatment. They are there for the entertainment value of the public spectacle, and their racist views blind them to the seriousness of the trial for Tom, his family, and the entire black community.

In fact, so celebratory is the occasion that people are having picnic parties in courthouse square, eating “cold chicken and cold fried pork chops,” among other picnic foods. One can almost picture a similar atmosphere to that of the French Revolution when the townspeople brought their lunches to the town square to witness the beheading of the aristocrats thanks to Madame Guillotine.

Awaiting Tom’s trial for a rape that he is falsely accused of in the courthouse square is a family affair. The atmosphere is so festive and that people are there with “drugstore Coca-Cola in bulb-shaped soda glasses,” bringing their children to play as everyone awaits the trial.

To Kill A Mockingbird