To Kill a Mockingbird

Calpurnia gives Atticus a note from Aunt Alexandra. The note states that she is worried about the children because they’ve been missing from home since noon. Mr. Underwood reveals that the children have been watching the trial from the colored balcony of the courthouse.

Atticus is upset by the distress they’ve caused Alexandra, but he allows the children to return for the announcement of the verdict after they eat their supper. Calpurnia takes them home, where they eat quickly. When they return, they find the jury still out. Reverend Sykes has saved their places in the balcony. The jury takes hours to deliberate over the case. In a dreamlike state, Scout listens as the jury returns with a guilty verdict.

As the courtroom empties and Atticus passes beneath the balcony, the colored section stands to honor him.

Jem cries that night, angered by the injustice he’s witnessed. When the children ask Atticus how this could happen, he wearily responds, “I don’t know, but they did it. They’ve done it before and they’ll do it again and when they do it—seems that only children weep” (243).

The next morning, Calpurnia greets Atticus with a bounty of food brought by the Black residents of Maycomb to show their appreciation.