How does Maycomb react to Tom Robinson's death in chapter 25 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

The death of Tom Robinson is soon forgotten by most of the people of Maycomb, many of whom believe that Tom got what he deserved.

     Maycomb was interested by the news of Tom's death for perhaps two days: two days was enough for the information to spread through the county.  (Chapter 25)

Atticus is, of course, disgusted by the way in which Tom died.

"Seventeen bullet holes in him. They didn't have to shoot him that much."  (Chapter 24)

Aunt Alexandra believes it is "the last straw," but Miss Maudie explains that the entire town does not celebrate Tom's death.

     "The handful of people in this town who say that fair play is not marked White Only... The handful of people in this town with background, that's who they are."  (Chapter 24)

But the majority believe that Tom's decision to run is "typical."

Typical of a nigger to cut and run. Typical of a nigger's mentality to have no plan, no thought for the future.  (Chapter 25)

Newspaper editor B. B. Underwood thinks differently, however. Though Underwood is no lover of Negroes, he shows his objectivity in his passionate editorial in The Maycomb Tribune. He calls it a "miscarriage of justice," comparing Tom's death to the

... senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children.  (Chapter 25)

How Maycomb as a whole reacted was much different than how Atticus and his family reacted.  Atticus was devastated; Aunt Alexandra even said that "it tears him to pieces."  Near the end of chapter 25, it describes Maycomb's reaction.  Maycomb as a whole "was interested by the news of Tom's death for perhaps two days" which was long enough for the news "to spread through the county."  So, they took it as in interesting and new piece of gossip to prattle about for a couple days, and then they promptly forgot about it.  It was just fodder for juicy gossip sessions, and a chance for people to air their opinions about the entire thing.  But, they weren't personally impacted by his death, so they moved on with their lives and didn't think twice.

In chapter 25 of To Kill a Mockingbird, how does the town react to Tom's death?

The fickle nature of the town and the way that their response to what to us is a tragedy is conveyed by the narrator, who assumes the persona of the average townsperson of Maycombe. Tom's death became hot news for "perhaps two days," which shows the way that it was just passing news and something to gossip about rather than a cause of real tragedy and sadness for Maycomb. Note what the narrator says:

To Maycomb, Tom's death was typical. Typical of a nigger to cut and run. Typical of a nigger's mentality to have no plan, no thought for the future, just run blind first chance he saw...You know how they are. Easy come, easy go. Just shows, that Robinson boy was legally married, they say he kept himself clean, went ot church and all that, but when it comes down to the line the veneer's mighty thin. Nigger always comes out in 'em.

This is an excellent example of how the white residents of Maycomb use the facts to support their stereotypes and prejudices. It doesn't matter to them that Tom Robinson lived an overtly respectable life. They are just waiting to find any evidence that will show the "Nigger" in him that he is covering up with an outward "veneer" of respectability. Prejudice and discrimination are important themes that run throughout this book, and we can see them rear their ugly head once again like a many-headed hydra in how Maycomb as a whole responded to this news.

What is Atticus's reaction to Tom Robinson's death in "To Kill a Mockingbird"?

After Tom Robinson's attempt at escape and death by seventeen bullets from guards at the prison, Atticus has several reactions:

His initial reaction is rather contemptuous. When he informs his sister Alexandra of the death, Atticus remarks on the excess exercised by the guards. "They didn't have to shoot him that much." Then, when Alexandra says, "This is the last straw," Atticus replies with cynicism, 

"Depends on how you look at it....What was one Negro, more or less, out of a hundred of 'em? He wasn't Tom to them; he was an escaping prisoner."

Further, Atticus becomes reflective as he thinks aloud, saying that he truly believed that Tom had a chance on appeal. But, again he has to recognize that Tom's race gives him only "a chance" because as Mr. Underwood explains in his editorial, Tom has been convicted in the first trial, not by justice, but in "the secret courts of men's hearts" where he had no chance.

As Atticus leans, clearly with emotional exhaustion, against the refrigerator, and rubs his eyes by pushing up his glasses with his fingers, Atticus appears very distraught and frustrated--even despairing--as he says with cynical finality, "I guess Tom was tired of white men's chances and preferred to take his own."

Atticus comes home with the news of Tom Robinson's death in the middle of Aunt Alexandra's missionary circle meeting. He asks Calpurnia and Aunt Alexandra into the kitchen and Scout and Miss Maudie follow.

At first, he maintains an impartial tone as he relays the facts of Tom's death and asks Calpurnia to go with him and see Helen Robinson. A moment later, however, he despairs and lets his frustration show:

"We had such a good chance . . .  I told him what I thought, but I couldn't in truth say that we had more than a good chance . . . I guess Tom was tired of white men's chances and preferred to take his own."

How does Atticus react to the verdict announcement in "To Kill a Mockingbird"?

As the verdict is announced in Chapter 21 of To Kill a Mockingbird, the reactions of Atticus Finch are devoid of emotion; rather, they are perfunctory.  He snaps his briefcase shut after pushing papers into it, goes to the court recorder and says something, nods to Mr. Gilmer the prosecuting attorney, and then goes to Tom Robinson.  Placing his hand on Tom's shoulder, he says something to Tom, too.  Atticus does not even put on his coat; instead, he throws it over one shoulder and takes the quickest way out of the courtroom without looking up at his children.

Atticus Finch goes through the motions of preparing for an appeal.  He asks for a copy of the transcript of the proceedings, tells Tom that they will appeal the verdict, and nods to the prosecutor.  After these necessary actions, Atticus wants to make a quick getaway from the "disease of Macomb County."  He is disgusted with the verdict; he is ashamed of the men who say that Tom is guilty of sexually assaulting Mayella when they know that he has not.  This disgust and shame are what make him take the quickest route out of the building and what keeps him from looking at his children, who he knows are amazed at the men on the jury.

Atticus is the most unrevealing character we see in To Kill a Mockingbird. He immediately assures Tom that this isn't over yet. Then he walks indifferently down the aisle. Atticus is always unrevealing in the courtroom according to the kids, but this is the first time they have seen so much of him (he sweats, he begins to take off exterior clothes). This reveals that Atticus deeply cares about Tom's well-being, and beyond that justice (not to mention Mayella's well-being). To define him with one emotion would be difficult, but the two that strike me most are disappointed and optimistic. This seems strange because they are opposites, but it's obvious with the jury out so long he had hope that the verdict could possibly go in their favor. On the other hand, he is looking to the future potential appeal.

Shortly thereafter, he is flooded with gracious thankfulness as the black community gave him so much.

The answer to this can be found in Chapter 22 of To Kill a Mockingbird. We are not told exactly how Atticus felt at the moment the verdict was announced, though Scout describes him as "tired" several times in the hours before the verdict is given. Indeed, this is how he describes himself to Aunt Alexandra as he goes to bed after returning from court on the night of the verdict: He is "not bitter, just tired." His remarks to his children demonstrate that he is disappointed, though, being thoroughly aware of the realities of race in Maycomb County, not surprised. He acknowledges to Jem (who if anything, takes the decision harder than Atticus) that the decision is "not right" and when asked how the jury could have arrived at such a verdict, says with resignation that "they’ve done it before and they did it tonight and they’ll do it again." 

But Atticus is not totally without hope. The next morning, before he encounters the mountains of food brought to the house by several sympathizers, he reassures Jem that the case will be heard on appeal. We learn in Chapter 24, of course, that Tom is shot and killed supposedly trying to escape. At this point, Alexandra observes that the news, and his role in the trial in general, "tears him to pieces." Throughout the book, and especially in Chapters 22 through 24, we see that Atticus, though a stoic figure, bears a heavy burden in the form of the trial. This is not a surprise to him--as mentioned before, he is well aware of the social and racial dynamics in Maycomb, but it clearly takes a toll on the man.

You can find the quotes above in the Warner Books edition of To Kill A Mockingbird (1988), pages 215-221.  

In To Kill a Mockingbird, how do Maycomb County residents react to Tom's death and why?

In Chapter Twenty-four, when news gets out about Tom Robinson's death in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, the Maycomb community at large responds one way, and non-prejudicial folks like Miss Maudie, and even Mr. Underwood, owner of the newspaper, The Maycomb Tribune respond differently.

Atticus notes that the guards would never feel a sense of loss for the death of the black man convicted of raping Mayella Ewell. To them Tom wasn't a person:

"This is the last straw, Atticus," Aunt Alexandra said.

"Depends on how you look at it," [Atticus] said. "What was one Negro, more or less, among two hundred of 'em? He wasn't Tom to them, he was an escaping prisoner."

Miss Maudie notes that to a handful of people in town, Tom's death was a travesty because they did not define a man's worth based upon the color of his skin. Miss Maudie points out that these people rely on Atticus to stand up and do the right thing, even if it's not popular. She identifies this group as...

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 trial is for everybody, not just us...

For Miss Maudie and Aunt Alexandra, Tom's death speaks to the racial divide that separates the town of Maycomb. Alexandra's pain in learning that Tom was shot so brutally speaks to how she has changed her attitude about race.

For the remainder of the townspeople, however, the reaction is similar to that of the guards: they don't see Tom as a person, but as a black man—inferior in everyway simply because of his skin color. In Chapter Twenty-five, the townspeople make disparaging remarks about Tom. They accuse him of being foolish and cowardly (putting him into the same category where they place all blacks)...

...Typical...to cut and run...Typical...to have no plan, no thought for the future, just run blind first chance he saw...you know how they are. Easy come, easy go.

The ripple created by the news of Tom's death garners public attention for "perhaps two days." However, Mr. Underwood does not sit quietly by; he decides to write an editorial, "writing so children could understand." He raged on about how "it was a sin to kill cripples" under any circumstance, comparing it to the "slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children;" but the majority of the readers missed his point completely.

Prejudice and justice are two strong themes in the story, as well as innocence—seen not just in Tom's innocence, but also in the coming of age theme exemplified by the changes seen in Jem and Scout. While Scout's enlightenment comes more slowly to her than to Jem (in that she is younger), the reader can find messages from the author that Scout does not necessarily recognize. In a moment of brilliant clarity, Lee uses Scout's voice to share a heavy truth of this time period in the South. Scout notes:

Then Mr. Underwood's message became clear: Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.

In conveying the different responses exhibited by various groups in Maycomb, Harper Lee speaks directly to the themes of prejudice, injustice, and social separation: central messages of her story. One group represents ignorance; the other, social enlightenment.

There is actually very little commentary concerning the death of Tom Robinson aside from Mr. Underwood's editorial and the gossip that went around the town of Maycomb, which "was interested by the news of Tom's death for perhaps two days." Other comments:

• An obituary appeared in the newspaper's Colored News.
• Aunt Alexandra "put her hands to her mouth" and her "voice shook" when she heard the news. " 'This is the last straw,' " she said.
• Miss Maudie said nothing, but "was breathing as if she had just climbed the steps." She commented that there were a " 'handful of people in this town who say that fair play is not marked White Only.' "
• According to Dill, Tom's wife, Helen, " 'Just fell down in the dirt like a giant with a big foot just came along and stepped on her.' "
• Atticus described the events in a matter-of-fact manner. He "leaned against the refrigerator, pushed up his glasses and rubbed his eyes." " 'We had such a good chance,' " he said.

Bob Ewell does not comment in the story about Tom's death.

The two opposing viewpoints we get to see are those of Mr. Underwood and Mr. Ewell.  I think the opposing viewpoints show the true sentiments of the American public as we've moved from slavery to Civil Rights.  I also believe these are two points of view that still exist today.

Mr. Underwood represents the part of society that may not have been brave enough, like Atticus, to take on the task of defending Tom, but who nevertheless believed he was innocent.  Mr. Underwood writes in the paper that Tom's death was "like the senseless slaughter of songbirds."  Mr. Underwood's reaction shows that there is forward movement in the minds of some - towards racial tolerance and equality.

Mr. Ewell's response on the other hand is is "one down, about two more to go."  Mr. Ewell represents the group of people who will never learn tolerance for racial (or other) differences.

Ironically, aside from the comments concerning the fact that he was "running" there isn't a lot of comment on how many times he was shot - and the fact that it was all in the back.  This is a subtle detail Harper Lee throws in, presumably as an additional shock to a modern audience.

In Chapter 25, the author says that most of the people (white people, at least) in Maycomb think that Tom's death just shows how stupid black people are. They say that it shows black people have no patience or discipline. They say Tom might have gotten off on appeal, but he was too dumb to think ahead. Here's a quote:

To Maycomb, Tom's death was typical. Typical
of a nigger to cut and run. Typical of a nigger's mentality to have no plan, no thought for the future, just run blind first chance he saw.

I think that the author gives a bit of both sides to show that there were a few "decent" people in Maycomb, but to show that they were a very small minority.