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Chapter 23
“‘The man had to have some kind of comeback, his kind always does. So if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take. He had to take it out on somebody and I’d rather it be me than that houseful of children out there. You understand?’”
In Chapter 23, Scout and Jem are disturbed by Bob Ewell’s threat against Atticus. Atticus, however, isn’t frightened; he prefers that Bob Ewell takes out his rage on him rather than one of his children, particularly Mayella. Read more about this quote in Quotes by Character: Atticus.
“‘As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it—whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.’”
Atticus tells Jem and Scout in Chapter 23 that racial prejudice is commonplace in their society, but that no matter who is perpetuating it, that person is “trash.” For much of the novel, Scout and Jem have discussed and debated class and ancestry. This quote from Atticus makes it clear that a person’s status in society matters less than the treatment they give others, particularly those who use their status to wield power, level abuse, and perpetuate systems of injustice.
“I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks.”
In Chapter 23, Scout and Jem discuss class differences, and Scout recognizes that the reason Walter Cunningham falls behind in school is not because he is unintelligent, but because he has to devote much of his time to working the farm. She concludes, more generally, that no one is born inherently better than anyone else, demonstrating her growing understanding of the world and the people in it. Read more about this quote in Quotes by Theme: Racial Prejudice and Quotes by Character: Scout.
Chapter 24
“‘Oh, yes, the guards called to him to stop. They fired a few shots in the air, then to kill. They got him just as he went over the fence. They said if he’d had two good arms he’d have made it, he was moving that fast. Seventeen bullet holes in him. They didn’t have to shoot him that much.’”
In Chapter 24, Atticus returns home during Aunt Alexandra’s Missionary Society meeting. Calpurnia, Aunt Alexandra, Scout, and Miss Maudie join him in the kitchen away from the other ladies, and he informs them that Tom Robinson was killed while attempting to escape from jail. That he was shot seventeen times—far exceeding the number it would have required to stop or kill him—underscores the brutal racism inherent in the jail’s guards, and in society in general.
