Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______

Close Reading Organizer - Chapter 19 Sample

Answers
Directions: Read each summary entry and think about which themes listed in the
Themes Key apply to it, then color in those themes in the Theme Tracker. Next, write a
few sentences of Analysis to explain how the themes you chose apply to each summary
section.

Note: There is not always a definitive set of “correct” answers for which themes should appear in the
Theme Tracker. Answers that differ from the ones we propose below should therefore not automatically
be treated as incorrect, and in fact can serve as great discussion starters.

Themes Key
1 Good, Evil, and Human Dignity
2 Prejudice
3 Growing Up
4 Courage
5 Small Town Southern Life

Summary Theme Tracker Your Analysis

Atticus calls Tom to the 1 2 3 4 5 Tom shows here that he’s a

stand. With Atticus’s kind and empathetic
questioning, Tom says that individual, and that he
he’s 25, has three children, recognized Mayella’s
and served 30 days in jail humanity and sought to
for disorderly conduct a respect it by helping her.
while ago. He explains that This begins to show that in
he works for Mr. Deas this sense, Tom is far more
year-round and passes the upstanding and respectable
Ewell house to get to and than Mr. Ewell is, something
from work. He often that Maycomb’s racist white
greeted Mayella, and last population would likely
spring she asked him to insist is impossible given
chop up a chiffarobe. He many in town believe that
refused the nickel she any white person, no
offered, but after that, matter how unsavory, is
Mayella often asked him to better than a black person.
do small tasks for her. Tom
explains that the children
were always around, but
never helped Mayella, and

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Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
Mr. Ewell didn’t either.
Scout realizes that
Mayella must be the
loneliest person in the
world and is probably
lonelier than Boo Radley.
White people shun her
because of her poverty,
while black people want
nothing to do with her
because she’s white. She’s
not like Mr. Raymond,
who can spend time with
black people because he’s
wealthy. Scout thinks that
Tom was probably the only
person to ever be kind to
her. She listens to him say
that he’d never enter the
Ewells’ yard without an
invitation and believes
him. Atticus asks what
happened on the night of
the alleged rape.
Tom says that the Ewell
place seemed quiet. He
entered the yard at
Mayella’s invitation and
when she asked him to
look at the door, entered
the house. The door was
fine, but Mayella closed
the door and explained
that she saved money to
send the children to town
to buy ice cream. He
praised her for this and
then at her request, stood
on a chair to get a box off
of an armoire. While he
was there, she grabbed
him around the legs,
scaring him. He jumped
down and knocked the
chair over. Tom looks
This is a major turning point
for Scout, as she begins to
understand the horrible and
lonely situation that both
Mayella and Tom are in. She
also recognizes how
someone like Mr. Raymond
can get away with breaking
social codes simply because
he’s white and wealthy,
whereas Tom’s very
1 2 3 4 5 livelihood is in danger for
allegedly doing the same as
a black man. Additionally,
accepting that Mayella is
human is and important
and brave thought process
for Scout, as it requires her
to be empathetic to her
enemy.
1 2 3 4 5 Tom has good reason to be
scared—due to the likely
combination of sexist and
racist beliefs in the
community, the idea that a
white woman would
willingly touch a black man
in an inappropriate manner
is likely unthinkable to
many in this courtroom.
When Tom repeats
Mayella’s insistence that
what Mr. Ewell does to her
“doesn’t count,” it heavily
implies that Mr. Ewell
sexually abuses Mayella. If
this is the case, Mayella
perpetuated that abuse
onto someone else by
choosing to touch Tom
without his consent. For
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Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
terrified as he says that
Mayella hugged him. The
courtroom explodes
momentarily, and Tom
continues that Mayella
kissed his cheek. Mayella
told him that what Mr.
Ewell does to her “doesn’t
count,” and then Mr. Ewell
appeared. Mr. Ewell
threatened to kill Mayella,
and Tom ran away.
Tom insists he didn’t rape
Mayella, and that he ran
because he was scared—
being black, he couldn’t
have fought back
differently. Mr. Gilmer
rises as Mr. Deas
announces that he’s never
had any trouble from Tom.
Judge Taylor throws Mr.
Deas out. Mr. Gilmer asks
about Tom’s disorderly
conduct charge and asks if
he’s strong enough to
throw a woman to the
floor. Tom admits that he
probably is, but he never
has. Mr. Gilmer leads Tom
to admit that he felt sorry
for Mayella. They go
through Mayella’s
testimony and Tom insists
that Mayella is mistaken.
He insists that he ran
because he was scared,
and now he’s ended up in
court for something he
didn’t do.
Dill starts to cry
uncontrollably, so Jem
sends him out with Scout.
Outside, they greet Mr.
Deas and sit under an oak
her, Tom is vulnerable, just
as she’s vulnerable to her
father.
Tom understands that as a
black man, he’d be in even
more trouble if he’d pushed
Mayella or otherwise fought
harder to get away. Doing
so would play right into the
racist belief that all black
men are violent rapists and
a threat to white women,
the belief on which Mr.
Ewell is basing his entire
case. When Mr. Deas stands
up for Tom, it shows Scout
that there’s another person
1 2 3 4 5
in town who’s not racist and
who’s willing to
courageously stand up for
what’s right, even if he
knows he’ll get thrown out.
This reaffirms Atticus’s
lesson that courage means
doing what is right even in
the face of opposition or
failure.
1 2 3 4 5 Dill understands that it’s
awful to treat someone
rudely and in a racist way,
no matter who the person
in question is. All people, he
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tree. Dill says that he understands, deserve

couldn’t stand the way respect and kindness.
that Mr. Gilmer spoke to Scout’s attempts to talk Dill
Tom, calling him “boy” down, meanwhile, betray
and sneering. Scout points her own internalized
out that Tom is “just a racism.
Negro,” but Dill says it’s
not right to talk to anyone
that way. Scout and Dill
argue, but Mr. Raymond
interrupts them in support
of Dill.