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Tim O’Neal
Tom Milton is the lawyer who represents Kya when she’s on trial for Chase ’s murder. A considerate, levelheaded man, he comes out of retirement to be her lawyer, wanting to advocate for her because he knows that the townspeople of Barkley Cove have mistreated her for her entire life. In keeping with this mindset, Tom helps convince the jury members that Kya is innocent by urging them to disabuse themselves of the their preconceived ideas about her. Rather than focusing on the stories they’ve heard about Kya as the mysterious “Marsh Girl,” Tom says, the jury members should consider that Kya was abandoned by her entire family as a young girl and left to survive on her own in the marsh. Worse, none of the townspeople helped her through this period, showing her animosity instead of support. Consequently, he argues, the jury members should take it upon themselves to finally treat Kya with the kindness she deserves. In the end, this argument works, and Kya is found not guilty.
Tom Milton Quotes in Where the Crawdads Sing
The Where the Crawdads Sing quotes below are all either spoken by Tom Milton or refer to Tom Milton. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 53
Quotes
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I grew up in Barkley Cove, and when I was a younger man I heard the tall tales about the Marsh Girl. Yes, let’s just get this out in the open. We called her the Marsh Girl. Many still call her that. Some people whispered that she was part wolf or the missing link between ape and man. That her eyes glowed in the dark. Yet in reality, she was only an abandoned child, a little girl surviving on her own in a swamp, hungry and cold, but we didn’t help her. Except for one of her only friends, Jumpin’, not one of our churches or community groups offered her food or clothes. Instead we labeled and rejected her because we thought she was different. But, ladies and gentlemen, did we exclude Miss Clark because she was different, or was she different because we excluded her? If we had taken her in as one of our own—I think that is what she would be today. If we had fed, clothed, and loved her, invited her into our churches and homes, we wouldn’t be prejudiced against her. And I believe she would not be sitting here today accused of a crime.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Tom Milton Quotes in Where the Crawdads Sing
The Where the Crawdads Sing quotes below are all either spoken by Tom Milton or refer to Tom Milton. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 53
Quotes
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I grew up in Barkley Cove, and when I was a younger man I heard the tall tales about the Marsh Girl. Yes, let’s just get this out in the open. We called her the Marsh Girl. Many still call her that. Some people whispered that she was part wolf or the missing link between ape and man. That her eyes glowed in the dark. Yet in reality, she was only an abandoned child, a little girl surviving on her own in a swamp, hungry and cold, but we didn’t help her. Except for one of her only friends, Jumpin’, not one of our churches or community groups offered her food or clothes. Instead we labeled and rejected her because we thought she was different. But, ladies and gentlemen, did we exclude Miss Clark because she was different, or was she different because we excluded her? If we had taken her in as one of our own—I think that is what she would be today. If we had fed, clothed, and loved her, invited her into our churches and homes, we wouldn’t be prejudiced against her. And I believe she would not be sitting here today accused of a crime.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
