In these chapters, Scout and Jem continue to mature as they begin to understand the importance of respect and integrity. From the moment Atticus was assigned to defend Tom, he's been telling the children that he couldn't face them or God if he didn't try to free this man. But as the trial ends, the children gain new insight into their father. Scout is quite surprised when Reverend Skyes makes her stand along with the rest of the balcony as her father passes by. Lee deftly adds to the impact of the respect the African-American community has for Atticus by ending a chapter with this action.
The children are bitterly disappointed by the loss, but Miss Maudie helps them see it in a new light when she says, "'I thought, Atticus Finch won't win, he can't win, but he's the only man in these parts who can keep a jury out so long on a case like that.'" With that, the children begin to understand that in many ways, Atticus's defeat was a major victory.
The importance of respect is further delineated when Atticus tells the children that having a Cunningham on the jury actually helped his case, mainly because Scout earned Walter Cunningham's respect at the jail. And, Atticus changes Jem's definition of bravery, equating it with integrity, by his reaction to being spat on and threatened by Bob Ewell.
Mockingbird symbolism runs throughout these chapters, as well. Scout compares the ominous feeling in the courtroom when the jury returns to "a cold February morning, when the mockingbirds were still." Later, Atticus quietly lectures his children about the evil of white people cheating black people. In this situation, Atticus sees the African-American community as a flock of mockingbirds who are only trying to make their way in a world that is often hostile.
