Did Atticus do any good in taking the case to trial?
After reading Mr. Underwood’s editorial, Scout realizes, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed” (276). Did Atticus really use every tool available? Was there anything else that could have been done?
At one point after the trial, Scout is playing with a bug, but when she tries to smash it, Jem stops her. From the text:
“Why couldn’t I mash him? I asked. “Because they don’t bother you,” Jem answered in the darkness. (273). Where do you think Jem got his soft spot for the bugs?