Chapter 18

In chapter 18, Mayella Ewell gives her witness testimony. Mr. Gilmer and Atticus are questioning her throughout the chapter. Mayella seems afraid of Atticus because she would always break down crying and would say to him "stop mocking me." Atticus asked Mayella what Tom Robinson did and how he did it. When Atticus asked about her father, Bob Ewell, he would sit up in his chair and stare her down. Atticus had raised another possibility that Bob Ewell had raped and took advantage of his daughter. Throughtout the testimony, Mayella was reluctant to answer questions about her dad and she couldn't remember what all the details about Tom Robinson. Atticus had noticed this pattern and thought that things were going his way, but he was wrong.