What lesson have you learned from chapter 19 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

Chapter 19 shows Tom Robinson taking the stand as a witness for his own trial, answering questions for Atticus, and then answering questions for the prosecution, Mr. Gilmer. Jem, Scout, and Dill are up in the balcony watching the proceedings. The reader learns about what really happened on the night in question, just as the children do; and what they learn isn't easy to digest. We learn that Tom was caught between a rock and a hard place, as the saying goes, when Mayella asked him into her home to help her. We learn that whatever Tom says won't matter--in fact, it will hurt him; and then we learn that racism is taught, not caught.

First, Mayella claimed in chapter 18 that Tom choked and raped her. In chapter 19, we learn that she called Tom into her house to kiss him; but once her father came up and saw her through the window, Tom ran and Bob Ewell set the sheriff after him with a lie about him raping his daughter. Tom was caught between a rock and hard place as explained by Scout:

"Until my father explained it to me later, I did not understand the subtlety of Tom's predicament: he would not have dared strike a white woman under any circumstances and expect to live long, so he took the first opportunity to run--a sure sign of guilt" (195).

Tom had two choices at that time he was caught with Mayella: Either he stays and takes his chances reasoning with Bob Ewell about his innocence or run and have a chance to explain it to the judge. Either way was bad for Tom because he's black and the Ewells are white. 

Next, we learn that whatever Tom says in his defense, even if it is all true, won't matter. Mr. Gilmer takes every advantage to make Tom look like he thinks he's better than white people. For example, at one point Tom says that he felt sorry for Mayella because she was alone, had no friends, had no mother, and had to take care of all the children by herself. Mr. Gilmer raised the roof with that one by showing his unbound disgust for what Tom had said. Scout explains as follows:

"The witness realized his mistake and shifted uncomfortably in the chair. But the damage was done. Below us, nobody liked Tom Robinson's answer. Mr. Gilmer paused a long time to let it sink in" (197).

Mr. Gilmer plays off of Tom's truth because it seems as if Tom is placing himself higher than a white woman on the social class scale. That is a big problem for Southern white people to hear. When they hear that Tom was sorry for a white woman, that's like saying white people are inferior to him and that just doesn't fly in the South. 

Finally, we learn that racism is taught, not something we are born with. Dill demonstrates this because he, a young innocent child, can't stand listening to how disrespectfully Mr. Gilmer addresses Tom. Dill can't put his finger on it; that is to say, he doesn't know how to say that Mr. Gilmer was being a prejudiced bigot towards Tom, but he just knows it isn't right. Scout and Dill go outside so Dill can calm down when they have the following discussion:

"'Well, Dill, after all he's just a Negro.'

'I don't care one speck. It ain't right, somehow it ain't right to do 'em that way. Hasn't anybody got any business talkin' like that--it just makes me sick'" (199).

Dill shows here that he has not been taught to be racist. He can see a bully in Mr. Gilmer a mile away. He could feel how Mr. Gilmer was not speaking to Tom with respect. Scout, on the other hand, being a lawyer's daughter, simply thinks it is part of being a lawyer. She also says what she sees everyday living in Maycomb--that since he's black, it's apparently alright to talk to him disrespectfully. It's surprising to hear Scout talk like that because Atticus for sure wouldn't teach her that; but she sees it everyday by the way people in town treat black people, so she's already learned what Dill is resisting.

In the end we learn that Tom can't win no matter what he says or does. The jury is stacked with white men--not Tom's peers--but with his bullies. And those bullies don't care if he lives or dies. In fact, in order to make a stand for their race, they'd rather see him die. It's really a sad and horrible situation.