“That was the one thing that made me think, well, this may be the shadow of a beginning. That jury took a few hours. An inevitable verdict, maybe, but usually it takes ’em just a few minutes.”
– Harper Lee
To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 23. Atticus, speaking to Jem, expresses surprise that the jury took a fews hours to reach a verdict on Tom Robinson when it usually took a few minutes. He sees a glimmer of hope in this that some people in Maycomb may be putting reason and justice before history and prejudice.