Gilmer seemed ready to rise to the ceiling. The witness realized his mistake and shifted uncomfortably in the chair. But the damage was done. Below us, nobody liked Tom Robinson's answer " (224). A black man saying he feels badly for a white woman was considered a sin by every white person in the courtroom. Mr. Gilmer was clearly angered by Tom's statement and ever since those words came out of his mouth, he would repeatedly call Tom "boy " to belittle him. Though he had good intentions, Tom knew he shouldn't have said what he said, but it was the truth, and everybody knew that. Even though everybody knew Tom was telling the truth, it didn't matter, because in Maycomb's eyes, he still sinned by verbally expressing his pity for a white person. The jurors failed to see the goodness behind his perceived evil; they failed to understand that Tom is not solely evil, because good and evil coexist.
In a southern community during the early 1900s, one would expect that all of the citizens shared the same beliefs regarding black people, however, in a place like Maycomb, where there are so many different values; there are also different opinions on blacks. The trial revealed a lot to Scout and Jem about what the people of Maycomb believe. Atticus believes that everyone deserves a fair trial while the rest of Maycomb believes that only white men do. Scout and Jem agree with Atticus, however, the rest of Maycomb does not. This conflict brings up many questions about the moral values of those in Maycomb. Who's more moral, the entire community or one individual? The community has a very racist and discriminant point of view while Atticus has a less bias and more consistent point of view. This is where good and evil coexist because the community's stance on the trial is very cruel and evil whereas Atticus' stance is good because it is right and just. At what point are there going to be more individual rights in Maycomb? That in itself is evil because no human should be afraid to state their own opinion.
