Harper Lee foreshadows quite a bit in the trial in chapter 17 of To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus casts doubt on the Ewells' testimonies. Bob clearly does not care about his children, and he makes no attempt to hide this fact at the trial. When asked to confirm Mayella's identity as his daughter, Bob responds,
Well, if I ain't [her father] I can't do nothing about it now, her ma's dead.
Bob tells Atticus that he didn't bother to call a doctor when he allegedly found Tom Robinson raping his daughter. Bob was unwilling to spend the money on Mayella's well-being. Lee foreshadows here; the readers see that Bob does not really care about his daughter. We wonder about his true intentions in bringing Tom to trial.
Next, Atticus tricks Bob into revealing that he is left-handed, a fact which is important since Mayella's face had been bruised on the right side. This fact could only mean that she was hit by a left-handed person. Atticus also reveals to the courtroom that Tom is unable to use his left hand. As a result of injuring his arm in a piece of machinery when he was young, his left arm is now shorter than the right one; since then, he has been unable to use it. Clearly, we can see that Tom could not have hit Mayella. In addition, since he only has the use of his right hand, he could not have choked Mayella and held her down to rape her, as the Ewells have claimed.
In addition, Mayella hesitates when Atticus asks if she gets along with her father. Bob leans forward in a threatening manner, waiting for Mayella's answer. When she finally says, "My pa's never touched a hair on my head in my life," the reader knows she is lying. Mayella is clearly intimidated by her father.
These facts foreshadow that Bob Ewell is the real culprit. He is the one who hit and raped Mayella, and he is framing Tom for his own heinous crimes.
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
What are two incidents of foreshadowing in chapter 17?
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