Tom had busted up the chiffarobe last spring. He says Mayella Ewell had paid him a nickel to do it.
Tom's sentence was death by electric chair. Atticus was going to try to appeal to the higher court, but Tom was shot (as he was trying to escape from jail) before that could happen
Tom says that he helped Mayella because he did. Mayella invited Tom inside to show him the chifforobe that was needed to be chopped up. Tom had recently chopped up a chifforobe for Mayella. He was just looking to help her, but Mayella decided to try and hook up with Tom.
Mayella's story mentions a chiffarobe because she claims Tom Robinson helped her to break it. Allegedly, Tom was helping her, but in reality, it was her father who abused her, and she falsely accused Tom of the crime to protect her family's reputation.
Mayella had Tom chop different things on different days over a period of months. One time it was wood, another time a type of dresser. Tom did the chores because Blacks could not refuse a White woman, and because he felt sorry for her.
Mayella Ewell testified that Tom Robinson came into her yard to help her with chores, specifically to chop up an old chiffarobe (wardrobe) for firewood.
She claimed that she called him in her house to chop up an old dresser that her father didn't want anymore.
Mayella Ewell testified that Tom Robinson had helped her with some chores, and when she asked him to come inside the house, he forcibly kissed her and assaulted her. Mayella claimed Tom had beaten and raped her.
Mayella says: that her father asked her to chop up an old chiffarobe (chest of drawers) for kindling, but she didn't feel strong enough. When Tom Robinson walked by, she asked him to do it for a nickel. She claims that she went inside for the money, and Tom followed her, pushed her to the floor, and took advantage of her while she screamed and tried to fight back. Then, her father arrived and Tom ran away.
4,000
Tom had to walk by the Ewell property every day to go to work. Every day, Mayella Ewell would ask him to do chores; he obliged. But one day, she made advances to Tom. She ended up making up a story that Tom raped her when he did not.
Mayella Ewell's testimony in the trial of Tom Robinson in "To Kill a Mockingbird" alleges that Tom Robinson raped her. However, it is later revealed that she fabricated the story to cover up her own advances towards Tom and to avoid repercussions from her abusive father.
A chiffarobe is a piece of furniture that combines a wardrobe and a chest of drawers, typically used for storing clothing. It has drawers on one side and a hanging rod for clothes on the other side.