Chapter 14/15: In chapter 15, Atticus is visited by two groups of men. Explain the situations and the intentions of each group. (Gillian)

Two groups of men talk to Atticus in the chapter 15, both with two very different objectives of either helping or hurting Atticus. At the beginning of chapter 15, Atticus meets a group of men outside of his home, Heck Tate explains to him, “‘...movin’ him to the county jail tomorrow,’ Mr. Tate was saying, ‘I don’t look for any trouble, but I can’t guarantee there won’t be any...” (Lee 194). Mr. Tate and the rest of the group came to Atticus to warn him how they had to move Tom Robinson to the county jail. They did this because they knew that there may be some trouble from the other folk that live in Maycomb, and that they might come after Tom. Heck and his friends came to Atticus trying to help and warn him. After they leave, Atticus comes back inside. Jem is terrified, thinking that they were a gang, but Atticus explains to him that “‘No son, those were our friends” (Lee 196). This statement reveals to the reader that the “gang” was just trying to assist Atticus and tell him that something bad could be coming for him and Tom. The other group, had an extremely different goal. Atticus expected them to come after Tom, so he stationed himself outside of the county jail the night that Tom was moved in. While Atticus is sitting, four cars roll up near him, and a group of men surrounds him. They say to him, “‘You know what we want,’ another man said, ‘Get aside from the door Mr. Finch’” (Lee 202). Due to other information revealed by the men, the audience learns that the men are after Tom Robinson, and Atticus is guarding him. It isn’t shown what their true motive and goal is, but inferences can reveal that the men wanted to kill Tom. The two groups of men in chapter 15 that came to spoke to Atticus both wanted very different things, revealed by context clues and evidence from the text. One group wanted to warn him about people coming after Tom, while the other wanted to kill Tom Robinson.