Harper Lee prepared us for a unfair and brutal trial for Atticus , Tom Robinson and the black community. This is done through many different characters and metaphors
‘Roman circus’- Ms Maudie (the day of the trail, description of the courthouse)
this quote is said as Ms Maudie justify’s why she will no be attending the trail. It is very powerful as using these words to describe a court suggest that the trail will be brutal/entertaining but for all the wrong reasons just like the Roman games.
‘… Original court house burnt in 1865. Another court was built around them. It’s better to say, built in spite of them’
I belive that the court house burning and the declaration of the freedom of slaves have a strong connection. I think that the original court house and the way in which it has been rebuilt shows is the true Deep South philosophy of Maycomb society, I think this quote is a powerful metaphor as it enhances our understanding of how Tom Robinson might feel. The same persecution that the Black community has felt over the last hundred years hasn’t change and that Tom Robinson will enviably fall like the people previous to him
React!