Atticus has to go to Helen Robinson's house to deliver the bad news that Tom was shot and killed in a foiled and desperate escape attempt. He encounters Jem and Dill along the way and reluctantly takes them along. When Helen gets the news of her husband's death, she crumples, according to Dill, "...like a giant with a big foot just came along and stepped on her." The reason this scene is in the book is because the reader is seeing the story through the eyes of the narrator, Scout. Scout wasn't there and we need to know what happened, so Dill and Jem relate the events to Scout who relates them to us, the readers. Also, through this scene and Dill's description to Scout, we see the simplicity with which the Robinson's and the other black families live, and how they take care of each other. Lee wants us to see these are good people who do no harm to anyone. We also learn that the Ewells place has to be passed by on the way to the Robinson's place and that as Atticus, Jem, and Dill passed by, the Ewells yelled unkind words at them. This shows us again how bad the Ewells are, especially as compared to the Robinsons.
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