To Kill a Mockingbird - Chapter 25

When Helen saw Atticus in her yard, she seemed to know what had happened even before he told her. According to_______________ she said hello to Atticus and then suddenly collapsed: "...she just fell down in the dirt...like a giant with a big foot just came along and stepped on her... Like you'd step on an ant."

Dill

They had been cruel, insensitive, and blatantly racist. According to which character, "To Maycomb, Tom's death was typical. Typical of a ****** to cut and run. Typical of a ******'s mentality to have no plan, no thought for the future, just run blind first chance he saw."

Bob Ewell

As Scout is about to kill a roly-poly bug. What stops her from doing it? What theme does the incident underscore?

Jem stops her, explaining that the defenseless bug had done nothing to her. Like the mockingbird, the roly-poly bug is a symbol of innocence. The incident underscores the theme that thoughtless actions and/or deliberate cruelty can cause the destruction of innocent creatures, a concept that is most clearly illuminated by the death of Tom Robinson.

According to Stephanie Crawford, who said that Tom's death "made one down and about two more to go."

Mr. Ewell

Who compared Tom's death to "the senseless slaughter of songbirds." The metaphor is an obvious reference to the book's title, To Kill a Mockingbird, and emphasizes one of the novel's major themes: the merciless destruction of innocent creatures caused by the cruel and thoughtless actions of others.

Mr. Underwood

At first, who wondered how Tom's death could be characterized as a senseless killing: "Tom had been given due process of law to the day of his death; he had been tried openly and convicted by twelve good men and true; my father had fought for him all the way."

Scout