Explain the victory in Old Sarum almost causing an acquittal during the jury deliberations.

In Chapter 15, the Old Sarum bunch surrounds Atticus while he is reading outside of Tom Robinson's cell. They are a lynch mob who plan to kill Tom Robinson before the trial. Fortunately, Scout unexpectedly runs out into the circle of men and attempts to have a conversation with the familiar Walter Cunningham. She catches Walter's attention, and he is able to see the situation from Atticus' perspective. Walter tells the rest of the Old...

In Chapter 15, the Old Sarum bunch surrounds Atticus while he is reading outside of Tom Robinson's cell. They are a lynch mob who plan to kill Tom Robinson before the trial. Fortunately, Scout unexpectedly runs out into the circle of men and attempts to have a conversation with the familiar Walter Cunningham. She catches Walter's attention, and he is able to see the situation from Atticus' perspective. Walter tells the rest of the Old Sarum bunch it's time to leave, and the mob drives away without harming anybody.

Following Tom's wrongful conviction, Jem loses his innocence and becomes jaded about the community members of Maycomb. In Chapter 23, Jem is discussing the trial with his father. They begin talking about juries and Jem wonders why no righteous people such as Atticus or Maudie ever serves on them. Atticus tells him that Maudie can't serve on a jury because she's a woman, and the other upright community members are too scared that their decision will affect their reputation. Jem comments, "Tom's jury sho' made up its mind in a hurry" (Lee 297). Atticus disagrees and says to Jem and Scout that there was one fellow who "took considerable wearing down" and was arguing for an outright acquittal. Atticus doesn't say the name of the person but tells them that he was part of the Old Sarum bunch. Jem is shocked that one of the Cunninghams was in favor of Tom Robinson, considering the fact they tried to kill him the night before the trial. Jem says, "I'll never understand these folks as long as I live" (Lee 298). Atticus explains that once you earn the Cunninghams' respect, they are for you tooth and nail. He surmises that they earned their respect by not backing down in front of the jailhouse that night.

Even though Tom Robinson was still wrongly convicted of raping Mayella Ewell, there was a moral victory in getting one of the Cunninghams from Old Sarum to argue for his acquittal. Changing the mind of a violent racist illuminates the slow changes taking place in Maycomb in regards to racial injustice.