In To Kill a Mockingbird, Robert (Bob) Ewell confronted Atticus Finch outside of the post office, following the trial that, incidentally, Bob was on the winning side of. The confrontation consisted of Mr. Ewell spitting in Atticus’ face and threatening “to get” him. Even though Ewell won the case, Mr. Finch hurt his pride by challenging his word against a black man’s. He felt the need to retaliate against the people involved in this insult....
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Robert (Bob) Ewell confronted Atticus Finch outside of the post office, following the trial that, incidentally, Bob was on the winning side of. The confrontation consisted of Mr. Ewell spitting in Atticus’ face and threatening “to get” him. Even though Ewell won the case, Mr. Finch hurt his pride by challenging his word against a black man’s. He felt the need to retaliate against the people involved in this insult. Atticus explains:
“Jem, see if you can stand in Bob Ewell’s shoes a minute. I destroyed his last shred of credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin with. The man had to have some kind of comeback, his kind always does. So if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take.
Robert Ewell was aware that he existed in the bottom rungs of Maycomb society, but he took comfort in the fact that he was at least better than the people of color in the community. The trial of Tom Robinson challenged that superiority. It is probable that the length of time it took the jury to deliberate only served to aggravate Bob more.
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