To Kill a Mockingbird

The trial begins, and Sheriff Heck Tate is called to the stand. Tate testifies that Bob Ewell came to him on the night of November 21 and summoned him to the Ewell house: a tin-roofed cabin on the outskirts of town near the dump. Tate arrived at the house to find Ewell’s daughter, Mayella, lying in the middle of the floor, where she was “pretty well beat up” (190). When Tate asked what happened, Mayella claimed that Tom Robinson beat her and raped her. Tate then brought Tom back to the station, where Mayella formally identified him.

In his cross-examination, Atticus asks Tate if anyone called a doctor out of concern for Mayella’s condition. Tate confirms that a doctor was not called, suggesting that he was primarily focused on identifying the suspect. He briefly describes the injuries Mayella sustained, emphasizing that she had bruises on the right side of her face.

Robert E. Lee “Bob” Ewell is called to the stand. As Scout reflects on his dirty appearance and demeanor, she notes that the Ewells lived with seven children in a cabin formerly owned by a Black family. The living environment was poor and squalid.