Journal #7, Chapters 25-28, Perspective of Scout

I don’t know what to think of Jem these days. I mean he will be all friendly with me, and then in the next second, he will be angry with me and send me out of the room. It’s even worse when Atticus tells me to leave him alone, when I’m not doing anything in the first place. For example, I was in my room and I was laying on my cot when I see a little rolliepollie walking across the floor with all 100 legs, when I touch it and it rolls up into a ball. I guess they do that for protection. To save them selves when there isn’t really anything to be afraid of, just like how Jem is afraid of Atticus getting hurt or something else happening to him. Or like the Tom Robinson case and how just yesterday, Tom Robinson, had to go hopping over that fence to just get shot in the act. Anyway, Jem tells me to quit bugging the bug and go to sleep, when I tell him that he is just turning into a little girl, even though I am suppose to be the lady not Jem.

Aunt Alexandra really has no purpose of being here any longer because he has already turned someone into a girl and that was her goal all along. I know it was an obscure idea of her to think that she would actually succeed in doing so, into turning me into a lady, but I cant really blame her for trying to help me and Jem out.

This town is really messed up sometimes. Tom Robinson, a very nice man, was accused of something he didn’t even do in the first place. But, it was his idea to jump over the fence and practically kill himself. And Mayella, she is a real big hypocrite because she said that he raped her but in reality she kissed him and she got beat up by her father for doing that. I also know that it was improbable for Tom to win the case because it was white against black, but the jury knew that they didn’t have enough evidence and that they weren’t even sticking with the lie that they had created. I know that the whole town of Maycomb will sustain Tom Robinson's name forever and treasure it as a hero for the whole town to see.

The summer went by very quick and now I was going to start 3rd grade. I was in Miss Gates class and she has introduced something to the class that most of us have never heard of before, and that was current events. You know like something you find in the newspaper that is news to everybody, all over the world. Many people brought in their current events and they were all about things that I didn’t really understand but there was one by Cecil Jacobs that stood out to me the most and his was about Hitler taking all of the Jews and locking them up in cages. Miss Gates talked to us about what was happening in Europe at the time and how Hitler and his army were treating the Jews. The whole class made an assessment about Hitler and we all agreed that it isn’t right to treat them like that, just because of their religion. I went home that night and told Atticus all about Hitler and what he was doing; Atticus only said that you couldn’t judge someone by what they do even if it is really bad. I didn’t really understand why because Miss. Gates Judged Hitler and she didn’t mind it at all. I just don’t know what to think now, about everything, Jem, Tom Robinson, Miss Gates or Atticus. I guess I will just have to see what life throws at me next.

Journal #6, Chapers 16-19, Perspective of Atticus

Today was the big day. The day where I would either fail or succeed, the day that Tom Robinson will be noticed for the man that he is and the day that will affect my entire life. This court case, is riding on my shoulders, many people have ignored me, and I have been called bad names but that will not stop me from defending this man. Some people have been irrelevant with the situation that is at hand and now I am bringing this case to the front and I am going to make this court case seem subsequent.

When I walk into the courtroom I see all of the people coming to watch and I also see all of the jury members sitting in their chairs waiting to decide what is in store for me and for Tom Robinson. To win this case I am going to have to be stealth and I am going to have to use all of my knowledge to get us through this. I am worried though, about Scout and Jem because this court case wont just affect me, it will effect them to and I don’t want that to happen. Even though Tom is a Negro and a pauper I don’t want people to look down on him because of that. The trial is about to start and I am as nervous as ever when Mr. Heck Tate comes to the stand. While I am questioning him we find out that he has all of his facts straight and that Mr. Ewell ran in to go and get him after Mayella got beat up. He seemed to know what he was saying and I know that he won’t be very helpful to try and prove the real part of the case. The next person up is Mr. Ewell and I am very curious to see what he has to say about this. When he first gets up their Mr. Gilmer examines him and then it is my turn to cross-examine. I was wondering how I was going to come about this all day but I guess I was just going to have to wing it. Before I started I knew that Mr. Ewell was going to be the opposite of a predicament person.

I asked him basic questions, and every answer was the same thing that Mr. Gilmer had said before he came to the stand and I had to get more from him. The person that had to of hit Mayella had to be left handed and Tom’s left hand was deformed. I asked him if he could write his name for us and when he started writing he used his left hand, so I had evidence that Mr. Ewell had punched his daughter. Next up was Mayella and I knew that this was going to be hard. When I started I had a feeling that she wasn’t going to tell the truth, she was only going to say the things that Mr. Gilmer told her to say, so it was going to be hard to get something out of her. She was scared of me and that made it harder to answer the questions that I asked her. When we were done the only thing that I concluded to was that she wasn’t really sure what she was talking about. I had everything I needed, to examine Tom when the courtroom called a 10-minute break. When it was over Tom went to the stand and I asked him all questions necessary, in order to make sure the jury knew that Tom would tell them the whole truth. He told his side of the story and it sounded way more convincing then Mayella. Then it was Mr. Gilmer’s turn to cross-examine, his side made Tom feel uncomfortable by the questions he was asking. Tom stuck to the correct story and I felt glad when Mr. Gilmer was done. I don’t know how the case will come out, or what it will do to Tom or I but I know that I jut had to be the great lawyer that I know I am.