What happens in Chapter 27 of To Kill a Mockingbird?
Chapter 27 arrives in late October, and Scout recounts three troubling events that unfold in Maycomb following Tom Robinson's death. First, Bob Ewell loses his WPA job and publicly blames Atticus for his disgrace, a grudge that has clearly been brewing since the trial. Second, Judge Taylor catches an intruder lurking around his back porch one Sunday night — a shadowy figure that remains unnamed but is strongly suggested to be Ewell. Third, Helen Robinson, Tom's widow, discovers that Bob Ewell has been stalking and taunting her during her walks to work at Link Deas's farm; Link confronts Ewell and threatens legal action, which manages to silence him for the time being. Scout wraps up the chapter by detailing the preparations for the Halloween pageant at the Maycomb school, where she will play a ham — that is, a large pork costume — and Jem has promised to escort her there and back. Aunt Alexandra, feeling uneasy in a way she can’t fully explain, voices her concerns about the evening. The chapter concludes on a seemingly cheerful note, with the children's excitement for the pageant overshadowing the growing sense of dread that Harper Lee has skillfully woven into each story.
Analysis
Chapter 27 is a masterclass in creating structural tension. Lee employs a tripartite episode format — three seemingly minor incidents narrated in Scout's breezy, anecdotal style — to build menace without resorting to melodrama. Each vignette tightens the noose around the Finch family just a bit more. Bob Ewell's dismissal from the WPA reveals his motive; the prowler at Judge Taylor's house expands the threat beyond Atticus; Helen Robinson's harassment illustrates that Ewell's cruelty is both indiscriminate and escalating. Lee's skill shines in the contrast between Scout's narration and the reader's understanding: Scout shares these events with the carefree confidence of a child who hasn’t connected the dots yet, while the adult reader pieces together a picture of predatory intent.
The Halloween pageant acts as a tonal pivot. The absurdity of Scout's ham costume — encased in wire mesh and chicken wire, rendering her nearly blind — is amusing at first glance but subtly hints at her vulnerability in the dark. Aunt Alexandra's vague sense of dread ("I've just got a feeling") serves as the emotional keynote of the chapter, marking a rare moment where her social rigidity gives way to genuine fear. Lee also uses the pageant's cheerful community spirit — the whole town coming together with children in costume — to highlight how violence can break out in the midst of the ordinary. The chapter concludes with Scout's innocent excitement, which is the calm before the storm that Lee has been building since Part Two began.
Key quotes from Chapter 27
“Things had a way of settling down in Maycomb, and by the time Halloween came, everybody had forgotten about it.”
Scout reflects on the town's short collective memory in the wake of Tom Robinson's death, ironically undercutting the chapter's accumulating evidence that nothing has settled at all.
“I had a feeling that I shouldn't let Jem out of my sight for a while.”
Aunt Alexandra voices her unspecified unease to Atticus on the evening of the pageant, one of the few moments in the novel where her instincts override her composure.
“Bob Ewell acquired and lost a job in a matter of days and probably made himself unique in the annals of the WPA by being fired.”
Scout reports Ewell's dismissal with deadpan irony, establishing his idleness and wounded pride as the combustible conditions for everything that follows.