What, according to Atticus in chapter 20, is Mayella's mistake in To Kill a Mockingbird?
In Chapter 21, we hear of the decision of the jury. As everyone is waiting, there is a feeling of uncertainty. The children, particularly Jem, believe that the verdict will be innocent, but the adults know that Tom Robinson will most likely be found guilty.
Reverend Sykes tells...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
the optimistic Jem these words:
“Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man...”
In light of this point, the wrong that Mayella committed against Tom Robinson is to blame him for a crime he certainly did not commit. She was covering up her shame, because she knew that she could get away with it, even if all evidence was against her, simply because she was a white woman and Tom Robinson was a black man. She knew the people, the town, and the outcome. So she worked the system to her favor.
In Chapter 20Atticus gives his rationale more clearly.
“The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence to the effect that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place. It has relied instead upon the testimony of two witnesses whose evidence has not only been called into serious question on cross-examination, but has been flatly contradicted by the defendant. The defendant is not guilty, but somebody in this courtroom is.
“I have nothing but pity in my heart for the chief witness for the state, but my pity does not extend so far as to her putting a man’s life at stake, which she has done in an effort to get rid of her own guilt.
“I say guilt, gentlemen, because it was guilt that motivated her. She has committed no crime, she has merely broken a rigid and time-honored code of our society, a code so severe that whoever breaks it is hounded from our midst as unfit to live with.
What "crime" does Atticus claim Mayella feels guilty for in Chapter 20 of To Kill a Mockingbird?
In Chapter 20 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus is giving his closing statement. Atticus has proven that there is no way Tom Robinson is guilty of the crime Mayella has accused him of, yet he also knows that in a town like Maycomb, the chances of Tom being found innocent are very slim. Atticus goes on to say that Mayella is the one who committed a crime. Mayella is a white woman who tried to tempt a black man. In this society, people just didn't do things like this, and Atticus says that Mayella knows this and tried to cover up her guilt.
"I say guilt, gentlemen, because it was guilt that motivated her. She has committed no crime, she has merely broken a rigid and time-honored code of our society, a code so severe that whoever breaks it is hounded from our midst as unfit to live with. She is the victim of cruel poverty and ignorance, but I can not pity her: she is white. She knew full well the enormity of her offense, but because her desires were stronger than the code she was breaking, she persisted in breaking it. She persisted, and her subsequent reaction is something that all of us have known at one time or another. She did something every child has done- she tried to put the evidence of her offense away from her. But in this case she was no child hiding stolen contraband: she struck out at her victim- of necessity she must put him away from her-he must be removed from her presence, from this world. She must destroy the evidence of her offense."
Atticus is trying to show the jury that Mayella was the one who started all of this, and when she got caught, she tried to make Tom look guilty, and because she was white and Tom was black, it worked. Tom will be convicted for what Mayella started.
"She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man. Not an uncle, but a strong young Negro man. No code mattered to her before she broke it, but it came crashing down on her afterwards."