not attend the trial also emphasizes her individuality. She does not share the same ideology, beliefs, or interests as her fellow citizens, which is why she refuses to attend the trial.

When people are on their way to the courthouse, Jem yells to Miss Maudie Atchinson to ask if she is also going to the trial. She responds, "I am not, 't's morbid watching a poor devil on trial for his life. Look at all those folks, it's like a Roman carnival."

Miss Maudie, who does not attend the trial because she knows too well the prejudices of her town, is, nevertheless, impressed with the defense which Atticus offers on behalf of Tom Robinson.

Not one to gossip, Miss Maudie makes no comments on the trial as it goes on; however, she does remark upon it when she comes to the house for Aunt Alexandra's Missionary Tea. For, after Atticus comes home and informs his family that Tom has been shot as he tried to escape, Aunt Alexandra becomes distraught and speaks to Miss Maudie, asking her what more the town wants from him:

"...they're perfectly willing to let him wreck his health doing what they're afraid to do, they're--"

"Be quiet, they'll hear you," said Miss Maudie. "....Whether Maycomb knows it or not, we're paying the highest tribute we can pay a man. We trust him to do right. It's that simple."

Aunt Alexandra asks who these people are, and Miss Maudie replies,

"The handful of people in this town who say that fair play is not marked White Only; the handful of people who say a fair trail is for everybody, not just us....that's who they are."

From these remarks, therefore, the reader can infer that Miss Maudie is disgusted with many of the folks living in Maycomb who would afford the Ewells any credibility simply because they are white and Tom Robinson is black. And, she is repulsed by those who make a sacrificial victim of Tom simply to keep the status quo, despite the strong and righteous defense that Atticus has provided Tom. When she hears of Tom's death, she is sorry both for Tom and for Atticus, who made every effort on the unfortunate man's behalf.

Miss Maudie believe that Atticus was almost "called" to take on Tom Robinson's case. It was as if Atticus was the only person who could morally take the case and do it right. We see this in her words,

“I simply want to tell you that there are some men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your father’s one of them."

Furthermore, she points out that he did it because the town counts on him to do the right thing and that is a high honor:

“We’re so rarely called on to be Christians, but when we are, we’ve got men like Atticus to go for us."

She goes on to point out that Judge Taylor and Heck Tate were in the right places too in order to begin to show the society of Maycomb that the time is coming when blacks will be treated equally with whites.

“You think about that,” Miss Maudie was saying. “It was no accident. I was sittin‘ there on the porch last night, waiting. I waited and waited to see you all come down the sidewalk, and as I waited I thought, Atticus Finch won’t win, he can’t win, but he’s the only man in these parts who can keep a jury out so long in a case like that. And I thought to myself, well, we’re making a step—it’s just a babystep, but it’s a step.

This shows she realized that the jury's long time meant someone was really thinking about doing the right thing as far as the jury was concerned. Maudie calls this a step, but it's a good step and a necessary step for change to happen.

In chapter 22, Jem, Scout, and Dill visit Miss Maudie’s home the day after the trial, and she proceeds to feed the children pieces of her famous Lane cake as she attempts to console Jem about the unfortunate verdict. Miss Maudie begins by encouraging Jem not to fret and tells him that things are never as bad as they seem. Although Jem is too upset and hurt to agree with Maudie's assessment of the trial, she begins to name the numerous people who supported Atticus throughout the proceedings. Miss Maudie informs Jem that Sheriff Tate, Judge Taylor, and the entire black community supported Atticus's defense of Tom Robinson.

Miss Maudie also comments on the fact that Judge Taylor specifically named Atticus to take the case, instead of the inexperienced Maxwell Green, because he knew that Atticus would valiantly defend Tom. Despite the outcome of the trial, Miss Maudie is able to see the many positives and believes that it was a small step toward racial equality. Although Miss Maudie supported Atticus, she was not naive enough to believe that he would win the case. However, she is able to exercise perspective and acknowledge the many positive aspects of the trial. Overall, Miss Maudie is optimistic about the outcome and believes that the prejudiced community of Maycomb made an important step in the right direction.