Chapters 28-31: What does Heck Tate mean when he says, “Let the dead bury the dead this time” (369)? Explain what is going on here and what he means. (Simru S-E)

Heck Tate is saying that the Tom Robinson case should be sealed by the event of Bob Ewell’s death, since in reality the case didn’t end in the moral way.  When Atticus tries to convince Heck that Jem was the one that killed Ewell, Heck fires back with, “Knowing everything that’s happened [in Maycomb County]... there’s a black boy dead, and the man responsible for it’s dead” (369).  Heck sees that the end would only be fair if no one was blamed for Bob Ewell’s death, that it’s high time it came to him.  Mr. Ewell, he thinks, doesn’t deserve someone making excuses for him, since he made them for himself already, unjustly.  These excuses were Tom’s supposed ‘crime.’  Mr. Ewell had Tom’s blood on his hands; he was the one that accused him, and he was well aware that the case would indeed end this way, since the society probably wouldn’t take a stand for the racial revolution.  Since Ewell practically killed Tom, Jem shouldn’t be blamed for Ewell's death - no one should, only himself.  He doesn’t deserve a ‘fair trial,’ since Tom didn’t get one either.  This event nearly rights all the wrongs in the case for Heck Tate, though still the damage can’t be erased.  As Mr. Tate said, two men are dead and racial prejudice has been demonstrated yet again.  Still, it’s even, in a way, since both ‘sides’ lost a life.  But all in all, the word ‘bury’ could refer to the case being closed once and for all; it can now be forgotten, since the two main people involved in the case, Tom and Mr. Ewell, have been buried themselves.  It’s even in the way that though one man is dead, the man who killed him is as well, so they’ve both received their fate.  The phrase ‘let the dead bury the dead’ possibly refers to the evening out of this case to Heck Tate.  Atticus, on the other hand, though he fought through a case that he felt very strongly for and lost, still wants to be completely truthful with this.  Though he has been in turmoil with Bob Ewell, he still supports him, in a way.  He didn’t blame Bob Ewell for killing himself, while he very much deserved it.  He expected the worst (that Jem killed him) and was selfless about it, but still thinking of Jem’s reputation.  This also shows that he wants his children to live under the same truthfulness that he does; he wants them to have the courage to hide behind nothing.  Heck and Atticus may have slightly different views on what should be done about Ewell’s death, but they must both agree on one thing: it wouldn't have been just for Mr. Ewell to remain alive and without a scratch, and it was a shame that it had to end so badly for Tom.

If Jem was taken to court for supposedly killing Bob Ewell, what would be the outcome?  When it’s a young white boy against a disgraced white man, who would gain more respect and more trust?  Is Atticus right to put his own son forward as a murderer?