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How does Harper Lee foreshadow the guilty verdict?

There are many times throughout the novel where Atticus alludes to the fact that he knows he won't win the trial for Tom Robinson. These allusions are mixed in with the hope that he will win, but because of the prejudiced feelings of the people of that time period, there is always that sense of reality that tells him that he's fighting a losing battle. Friends, such as Link Deas, even say he'll lose, but that doesn't...

There are many times throughout the novel where Atticus alludes to the fact that he knows he won't win the trial for Tom Robinson. These allusions are mixed in with the hope that he will win, but because of the prejudiced feelings of the people of that time period, there is always that sense of reality that tells him that he's fighting a losing battle. Friends, such as Link Deas, even say he'll lose, but that doesn't stop Atticus from standing up for what is right and doing his best for his client. In chapter nine, Scout asks her father if he is going to win the case and he says "No, honey." She then asks him why he is doing it. He responds with the following:



"Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win" (76).



Atticus is referring to the fact that the case will be fighting against racial prejudice more than any real evidence condemning Tom Robinson. This is definitely a hint to the future guilty verdict . Another example of a foreshadowing to the guilty verdict is when Atticus is talking with his brother Jack about it. Atticus says that the case is tough because of the following:



"The only thing we've got is a black man's word against the Ewells'. The evidence boils down to you-did--I didn't. The jury couldn't possibly be expected to take Tom Robinson's word against the Ewells'" (88).



Atticus gives the reader an insight into Maycomb's way of life. White people side with their own; and as long as they are in complete control of everything, they won't allow an African American's word to take precedence over a white man's. The case is most-like going to fail because of this prejudiced way of thinking.


Finally, there's one more quick foreshadowing that happens right when the jury comes in from their deliberations. Scout is watching them come back into the courtroom in chapter 21 and she says the following:



"A jury never looks at a defendant it has convicted, and when this jury came in, not one of them looked at Tom Robinson" (211).



The verdict is read immediately thereafter; but at this point, the verdict still hasn't been read. Tom could still be acquitted. Maybe Scout's assessment of the jury is wrong. Unfortunately, she is exactly correct; but the this foreshadowing right before the verdict is actually read does a great job creating suspense for the reader.


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