Mr. Link Deas
Age: Probably middle-aged, somewhere around 40 years old
Relation to Narrator: Link Deas is a native Maycomb resident and
so he knows Scout as a neighbor and family friend
Other information: Tom’s former employer
Mrs. Giammario
First Hour
Five Quotations:
“To tell you the truth, Miss Jean Louise, Helen’s finding it hard to get work
these days…when it’s picking time, I think. Mr. Link Deas will take her.”
Page164
“’-don’t see why you touched it in the first place,’ Mr. Deas was saying,
‘You’ve got everything to lose from this, Atticus, I mean everything.’” Page
195
“I just want the whole lot of you to know one thing right now. That boy’s
worked for me for eight years an’ I ain’t had a speck o’trouble outa him. Not
a speck.” Page 261
“But Tom was not forgotten by his employer, Mr. Link Deas. Mr. Link Deas
made a job for Helen. He didn’t really need her, but he said he felt right bad
about the way things turned out.” Page 333
“I know every last one of you’s in there a-layin’ on the floor! Now hear me,
Bob Ewell: if I hear one more peep outa my girl Helen about not bein’ able
to walk this road I’ll have you in jail before sundown!” Page 334
Diary Entry:
October 29, 1935
Dear Journal,
This fall has been unusually warm, even by southern Alabama standards. The fall harvest is
about all in but there is still plenty of work to do to get the barn patched up before winter and stock
enough feed for all of my cattle. The old farm is running smoothly and it’s about time to plant the
winter wheat.
Mrs. Deas has also been keeping me in line, fixing things around the house and such. It’s times
like this when I really start to miss Tom. He was always such a great hand to have around. He could fix
anything and do twice the work that another man could, and that was with only one good arm. He
always came to work cheerful and would tell me about his little ones. Helen is doing alright these days.
I made her a job and I think that’s enough to keep her and the kids going, but not by much. Most of
Maycomb seems to have moved on from the trial and seem to be willing to let her be, but I had to
confront Ewell about his harassing her. That lowdown piece of pond scum had his way in court and
still wants to torment this poor woman. I called him out on it though and he should be leaving her
alone now.
I still can’t believe the events of this past summer and the jury’s verdict. It was so obvious to
everyone that Mayella was just trying to save her own skin. I thought the Ewells were trash before all
this. The God-fearing man in me hopes that Mayella can find a way out of that hellish situation, but
part of me hopes she suffers even worse for what happened to Tom. He was such a good person. He
just wanted to help and his generosity got him killed.
There’s no sense dwelling on the past and the things we cannot change, though. All we can do
is pray for our neighbors and pray that one day this hypocrisy will end.
~Link Deas
Point of View Questions:
1. What do you want to see happen in your town now?
What happened with Tom is a crying shame. Now that the trial is over I want to see my town
and the people of Maycomb come back together, stronger than before. This trial upset some people and
made some of us temporarily forget that we are friends and neighbors. I think some people realized
some of the things they said and did weren’t like Maycomb’s ways. Maybe, just maybe, this will start
to change the way we treat folks. I’d like to see everyone get a fair deal, no matter who they are.
2. What message/lesson do you feel people have learned, if any? (Explain how they learned the
lesson or what lesson they failed to learn)
Not every Maycomb resident learned from this tragedy, but I think a few did. Those who were
on the fence before or who weren’t too set in their ways may have had their minds opened up a little
bit. Though it’s far from the changes we need, it is a small step in the right direction. Those who paid
attention should have realized that if we just take a second to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes for
a minute we can understand them better and work together. Hopefully they also will stop turning a
blind eye to the problems in our community and there will be help for some of Maycomb’s less savory
residents, like Mayella.
3. Do you predict changes to the status quo? Explain.
I think the trial riled some people up and made many people feel defensive. The points Atticus
Finch made during the trial opened some people’s eyes, but others refuse to see and keep their lids
tightly closed. Rather than making white folks want to be more equal, I think for the time being they
are going to want to keep things the way they are. No one likes to feel like they are in the wrong, so
rather than admit that something needs to change I think they’ll go on like they always have. Someday
though we will see the error of our ways and we will have to pay for the injustice done to folks like
Tom Robinson.
10 Questions for Other Characters:
1. Arthur Radley – “What do you do all day while you’re cooped up in the house?”
2. Mr. Walter Cunningham – “If you could go back in time, would you still have gone to the jail
that night?”
3. Atticus Finch – “When I came to see you that night I told you I thought you had everything to
lose. Do you think you lost anything or nearly lost anything by doing the trial?”
4. Mr. Underwood – “I know how you felt before, but now that the trial is over has your opinion
of black people changed any?”
5. Tom Robinson – “What was going through your mind as you ran for the fence at the prison?”
6. Jem Finch – “Did the trial and Atticus’ involvement in the trial cause you to feel differently
about the people of Maycomb? Why?”
7. Bob Ewell – “Do you really think people believed your story? Do you think there will be any
negative response because you lied?”
8. Mayella Ewell – “Do you feel guilty for what you did to Tom? Why or why not?”
9. Mayella Ewell – “Are you going to try to get out of your situation at the dump? Do you have a
plan about how to better your life?”
10. Maudie Atkinson – “Can my wife have your Lane cake recipe? I promise not to give it to Miss
Stephanie Crawford!”
Character Illustration: