Tension during the trial

The outcome of the trial seems inevitable to the reader, Tom Robinson is black and in the eyes of the racist jury he is guilty no matter what the evidence says. However Harper Lee creates tension during the trial by presenting Atticus' questioning in a way so that you believe he has a chance. He slowly picks apart the prosecution's case in such a way that you begin to believe he could win.

Harper Lee also presents Atticus' defence in a mysterious way, he seems to be asking random questions and you don't know how he will link this to the trial or how it will help Tom Robinson so it intrigues the reader because they are interested as to how he will use this to defend Tom Robinson.

She also uses a lot of imagery, when Scout and Jem arrive at the trial she spends a long time setting the scene so you can imagine you're there. When Heck Tate and Bob Ewell take the stand they describe the incident in a way that seems so real which helps to build tension.