Sex scenes are often used in order to insinuate that couples do engage in that activity. However, a scene described in To Kill A Mockingbird is used for the exact opposite assumption.
Tom Robinson has been accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Being of a different race in these tough times, he is immediately decided guilty by the town. During the trial, Tom, Mayella, and each witness gives their side of the story. Tom explains that he was just helping Mayella like he had many times before. Mayella starts by saying Tom came in to help her, but ended up taking advantage of her. Mr. Ewell then says that while working outside, he heard his daughter scream. He quickly ran inside to find his daughter being "taken advantage of" by Tom. Although the description in the book goes a bit more in detail, no specific details of the actual rape are spoken of, however, specific details of what Tom was doing to help Mayella are mentioned; also, details of previous times he had given Mayella a hand in fixing something.
From these scenes, character traits are quickly developed. At this point in the novel, the reader finally realizes that Tom, in fact, did not rape Mayella. Tom is an honest, kind man who was truly trying to be help to a white woman he thought deserved help. Mayella proves to be a fearful daughter, willing to lie in a trial simply to satisfy her father. And Mr. Ewell proves to be a terribly racist man in need of money or simply attention from the public, but most apparent, a liar. Also, respect is quickly gained for Atticus from the reader by realizing he is a wealthy, well-known white man who is defending a poor black man simply because he believes in justice and fair punishment.
Although sex scenes are usually vague in order to avoid awkward and inappropriate descriptions, the avoided description in the trial of To Kill A Mockingbird was to point out previously unclear characteristics of the certain characters.
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