Contents
Chapter 19
Overview
Tom Robinson testifies, explaining he often helped Mayella out of pity and that she initiated physical contact before Bob Ewell intervened, prompting Tom to flee. He denies harming her. The prosecutor belittles Tom, Link Deas disrupts with support, and Dill, upset by the racist contempt, leaves with Scout and encounters Dolphus Raymond.
Summary
Tom Robinson takes the stand, displaying his crippled left arm. At Atticus Finch’s prompting, Tom recounts helping Mayella Ewell with chores over time without pay because he felt she had no help. He says he never went onto the property without invitation.
Describing November 21, Tom says Mayella lured him inside, sent her siblings for ice cream, then hugged and kissed him, saying what her father did to her “didn’t count.” When Bob Ewell appeared and cursed Mayella, Tom fled. He denies raping or hurting Mayella and explains he ran because, as a Black man, he feared the consequences.
Link Deas interrupts to vouch for Tom’s character, and Judge Taylor angrily orders the remark stricken. Prosecutor Mr. Gilmer cross-examines Tom, stressing Tom’s strength and mocking his claim that he felt “sorry” for Mayella, implying presumption and guilt. Tom maintains Mayella is “mistaken in her mind,” and that he ran to avoid wrongful arrest.
During the harsh cross, Dill begins to cry at Mr. Gilmer’s demeaning treatment—calling Tom “boy” and sneering—and Scout escorts him outside at Reverend Sykes’s request. Under a live oak, Dill insists the cruelty is wrong, regardless of custom. Mr. Dolphus Raymond appears and tells them he understands why the spectacle makes Dill sick.
Who Appears
- Tom RobinsonDefendant; testifies Mayella initiated contact, Bob threatened her; denies rape; explains fleeing out of fear.
- Atticus FinchDefense attorney; elicits Tom’s account and highlights his crippled arm and respectful conduct.
- Mr. GilmerProsecutor; belittles Tom, fixates on strength and “felt sorry,” provoking Dill’s distress.
- Scout FinchNarrator; observes testimony, reflects on Mayella’s loneliness, escorts Dill outside.
- Dill HarrisOverwhelmed by Mr. Gilmer’s contempt; leaves the courtroom with Scout, upset by the injustice.
- Judge TaylorPresides; restrains courtroom, strikes Link Deas’s outburst, directs proceedings.
- Link DeasTom’s employer; interrupts to praise Tom’s character, is reprimanded by the judge.
- Mayella EwellAccuser; central to Tom’s account as the initiator of contact; present during testimony.
- Bob EwellMayella’s father; caught them, cursed and threatened Mayella, prompting Tom to flee.
- Reverend SykesUrges Scout to take the distraught Dill out of the courtroom.
- Mr. Dolphus RaymondMeets Scout and Dill outside; sympathizes with Dill’s reaction to the courtroom’s racism.