To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee tells the story of Scout and her brother Jem, where they live in a small and peaceful town of Maycomb, Alabama. Throughout the novel you see as Jem and Scout “grow up” as they see racial tensions and segregation in their town. Their father, Atticus is a lawyer and he's defending a client, Tom Robinson, who's been accused of raping a white woman Mayella Ewell. Throughout the book Scout loses all the innocence that she had before the trial as she was exposed to the greater evil of reality. In the end the fate of Tom Robinson relies on what the jury think is morally correct or what is socially correct. It the day of the trial and everyone in Maycomb is at the courtroom watching and waiting for the verdict of Tom Robinson. Heck Tate or the sheriff takes the stand and tells how there was no doctors called to attend to Mayella …show more content…
after she had been raped even though she was badly injured with bruises and marks left on her. The Ewells are people that aren't very educated, so when Mr. Ewell takes the stand he takes the whole courtroom by surprise with his language and actions. However, Atticus is not discouraged at all and suggests the idea that Mr. Ewell could have beaten up Mayella after she was caught trying to have sexual interactions with a black man. As Mayella takes the stand it is soon discovered that she is not accustomed to people treating her with respect and courtesy as she think Atticus is mocking her by calling her miss and whatnot. As Mayella identifies Tom Robinson as the man who raped her Scout notices that Tom's left arm is withered and crippled and thus the crime that he is accused of committing could not have been committ in the way it was described. This concludes with all the major key points found in the first part of the trial. For the second part of the trial there is only one witness called to the stand; Tom Robinson.
Tom recalls the events that lead up to him entering the Ewells premises being careful and diligent not to right out say that Mayella is lying. However, Tom made one huge error, he admitted that he felt sorry for Mayella as she was always working and doing things for her huge family and she never reaped any rewards. Dill has a strong reaction to Gilmer's cross examination and breaks out in tears so Jem orders Scout to take Dill outside for a bit and let him calm his nerves. When Scout and Dill are outside they talk to Dolphus Raymond, who was said to be the town drunk. Dolphus lives with black people and he is frowned upon by the community thus he spends his days “drinking” to make the white folk around him think it's because he's drunk and not in a good state of mind. But in all reality Dolphus is just drinking soda. Anyways, Scout and Dill Return to the courtroom to hear Atticus’s passionate and emotional speech to the jury. And thus the trial concludes with Calpurnia entering the courtroom and head up to
Atticus. In this book one of the central ideas and focuses that Lee tries to get across are prejudice and social class or standing. During the time period that we are taken in by this book we can tell that black people are the lowest on the “totem pole”. As such even a child like Scout can identify such a thing and not meaning to reinforce such actions she still does it by saying things like, “If he [Tom Robinson] had been whole he would have been a fine specimen of a man.” This shows that Scout did not think that Tom Robinson wasn't as good as the white people because of the pigmentation of his skin. However, adult Scout is telling the story and it is a fair conclusion that she made an error in thinking a person was less than another because of the color of their skin. If she did not think differently then the story if she even told one to begin with would be greatly different and more bias towards white people. To begin with Tom Robinson publically embarrassed Mayella. He refused to take on the sexual gestures that she made to him, a white woman who should be superior in the mind set of back then was rejected by a black man. In turn Mayella embarasses her father by trying to make advances on a black man. Something that embarresses the Ewells more was that Tom was now aware of the incest that occurs in the household and Tom openly told the court that. No matter what race you are incest is a taboo that everyone frowns upon and now the whole county knew that Mr. Ewell sexually abused his daughter. However, Mr. Ewell was scared that Tom would go and talk and tell the town that Mayella made a pass on him and that the Ewells were incestious. Bob Ewell could have chosen not to do anything about this but he would rather have the weight of having sent an innocent man be killed rather than seeing his family's name be further diminished in the eyes of the town. In the end Toms kindness is what killed him as it was something of a rare occurrence that a black man and white man interchanged kindness to each other. The consequences for kindness between the two races was death, and that's exactly what Tom got in the end. The all white jury is in a dilemma when it's time to convict Tom Robinson as they know that if they weren't to convict him they would be giving power to black people something that they desperately didn't want to do. However, if they did convict Tom they would be sending an innocent man to death. As Dill and Scout go outside and talk to Dolphus they discover that he rather act as a drunkard and be around black people, but he acts like he's drunk so that he and his family aren't treated in the same distasteful way people are treating Tom Robinson and his family. Every white person is so ignorant and refuses to think that a white man would choosingly be with a black person. In the end social standing or class can be as big of a separator within a community such as race can be. How is it fair that Dolphus can be married to a black family and Mayella can't have sexual interactions with a black man? Well the answer is simply unlike the Ewells Dolphus was educated and had land and came from a fine family whereas Mayella could neither fit in with blacks nor with whites. In the end all that a person can do to seek justice is to uphold their justice before their beliefs no matter what the case is. To kill a Mockingbird is a wonderful tale that will teach future generations what injustice and prejudice were like around the civil rights movement.
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is a remarkable novel following the childhood of Jem and Scout, the son and daughter of Atticus Finch. Living in a small and drama filled town of Maycomb County they encounter a great deal of people who do not stand by their word. Hypocrisy occurs throughout this novel first by a man named Dolphus Raymond, then by two women Mrs. Merriweather and Miss Gates.
When Jem and Scout found out that their father would be defending a black person, they knew immediately that there would be much controversy, humiliation from the people of Maycomb and great difficulty keeping Tom alive for the trial. It was not long when Atticus had to leave the house very late to go to jail, where Tom was kept because many white people wanted to kill him. Worrying about their father, Jem and Scout sneak out of the house to find him. A self-appointed lynch mob has gathered on the jail to take justice into their own hands. Scout decides to talk to Walter Cunningham, one of the members of the mob.
Childhood is a continuous time of learning, and of seeing mistakes and using them to change your perspectives. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates how two children learn from people and their actions to respect everyone no matter what they might look like on the outside. To Kill A Mockingbird tells a story about two young kids named Scout and her older brother Jem Finch growing up in their small, racist town of Maycomb, Alabama. As the years go by they learn how their town and a lot of the people in it aren’t as perfect as they may have seemed before. When Jem and Scout’s father Atticus defends a black man in court, the town’s imperfections begin to show. A sour, little man named Bob Ewell even tries to kill Jem and Scout all because of the help Atticus gave to the black man named Tom Robinson. Throughout the novel, Harper Lee illustrates the central theme that it is wrong to judge someone by their appearance on the outside, or belittle someone because they are different.
Imagine there are two eggs; one is white, and one is brown. They have the same inside, but their shells are different colors. Discrimination is the equivalent of choosing the white egg over the brown egg, just because it’s appearance. During the time of the Great Depression, African-Americans were treated inadequately based on their skin color, even though the treatment was unethical. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, marginalized characters demonstrate heroic traits effectively despite discrimination of race and social class. Even without major voices, marginalized characters are unlikely heroes that change society’s views by being caring and helpful towards others.
In chapter 16, Dill observed that in a far corner a bunch of African-Americans were sitting together and Dolphus was sitting with them drinking out of a sack. “Mr. Dolphus Raymond seemed to be so doing: two yellow drugstore straws ran from his mouth to the depths of a brown paper bag” (214). Later on at the courthouse, Dill starts to feel sick and runs out with Scout following him. Mr. Raymond is not too far behind and suggests that Dill take a sip out of his sack. Dill was appalled “‘Scout, it’s nothing but Coca-Cola’” (267). This shows that Dolphus Raymond gets to drink Coca-Cola everyday just to fool the people of Maycomb County into thinking he is drinking alcohol because of his life choices, and who doesn’t love Coca-Cola? At the same time, Mayella Ewell also has the advantage of being white. In chapter 21, the entire town of Maycomb is at the courthouse to see with their own eyes the case against Tom Robinson. Mayella Ewell is accusing Tom of rape, when in fact he did not rape Mayella, Bob Ewell, her father did. “‘...there’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads—they cou...
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee tells the story of the struggle of a white family facing discrimination for defending a black man. Scout and Jem are two young children living in Maycomb, believing that everyone is like their father, Atticus, who embodies justice and equality. Atticus takes on the case of defending Tom Robinson, a man who is being charged with raping a white woman. Before the trial, the Finches are forced to withstand torment from the townspeople. Their beliefs are shaken when a black man is given a rigged trial and he is innocent.
"The only thing we've got is a black man's word against the Ewells'. The evidence boils down to you-did-I-didn't. The jury couldn't possibly be expected to take Tom Robinson's word against the Ewells,'" Atticus solemnly explains this to his brother. First of all, Atticus demonstrates courage when he undertakes the task of defending Tom Robinson, a black man wrongly accused of rape. Atticus knows he won't win the case and like Mrs. Dubose in her battle against morphine, he is "licked" before he begins. Nevertheless, Atticus knows that Tom is innocent and that he must fight for him, since no one else will. Atticus's strong sense of morality and justice motivates him to defend Tom with vigor and determination, giving it all he's got with one mission in mind. He wants the people of Maycomb town, whether they believe it or not, to hear the truth about Tom, "That boy might go to the chair, but he's not going till the truth's told"
Every day Tom completed most of Mayella’s chores to help her, not to earn a little extra money. As the trial continues, it is further visible that Tom Robinson is innocent, in my opinion. Every day when Tom walked by Mayella’s home, he helped her since he felt sorry for her. During Atticus’s speech at the courthouse, “And so a quiet, respectable, humble Negro who had the unmitigated temperament to ‘feel sorry’ for a white woman.”
Hypocrisy is as much a part of Maycomb’s society as church and community spirit. For example, Mrs. Merriweather talks about saving the poor Mruans from Africa, but she thinks black people in her community are a disgrace (p.234). The hypocrisy of this teaching is shown as soon as she mentions the word ‘persecution’. This is due to the fact that she herself is persecuting the black people of Maycomb by not raising an eyebrow at the killing of innocent black men. Furthermore, it is obvious Bob Ewell is abusive to his daughter, Mayella, and that he is the one who violated her, not Tom Robinson (p.178). Since there is such hypocrisy in Maycomb, there are excuses made for whites. The jury probably thinks that if they pronounce Tom innocent the citizens will mock them as they do to Atticus. Harper Lee uses hypocrisy to show how the people of Maycomb are so engulfed in a variety of elements that they unknowingly complete acts of unjustified discrimination.
In the courtroom that night it is revealed that the alleged crimes of Tom Robinson, a decent Negro man, most likely did not happen. As Atticus says in his closing argument, "The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence to the effect that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place. It has relied instead upon the testimony of two witnesses whose evidence has not only been called into serious question on cross-examination, but has been flatly contradicted by the defendant. The defendant is not guilty, but somebody in this courtroom is” (Lee 271). Showing the clear innocence of Tom Robinson due to lack of evidence, Scout thinks that the white jury will do the right thing only to find out that they still, unfairly, accuse him of being guilty. Scout and her brother, Jem, get very upset when they hear the verdict, however, it allows them both to learn the lesson that the county is unfair towards anyone who is not white. The county demonstrates this evil racism due to the social divisions in Maycomb between the whites and the blacks and because the whites see the blacks as unworthy of rights and freedoms. It was not just the trial itself that displayed evil in the world, but the comments and arguments surrounding the case did
Having grown up in the home of a lawyer, Jem understands the ways of the courtroom and recognizes Atticus’ behavior in court. When Tom Robinson is put on trial for being accused of raping Mayella Ewell, Atticus is appointed his attorney. As questioning continues, Atticus blatantly proves it was impossible for Tom to even commit the crime. Jem says to Reverend Sykes, "...don't fret, we've won it....Don't see how any jury could convict on what we heard" (Lee 279). Jem’s response to Reverend Sykes comment
All the while I can only imagine what Tom must be thinking. It is an awful situation, yet Mayella is white and he is black, and there is nothing anyone can do about that. More people start to flood into the courthouse, trying to snatch up the best seats as if they were fighting over one hundred dollars. After a half hour passes, I spot Tom and Atticus making their way to his table. This has been the most anticipated moment and day in Maycomb ever since Atticus decided to take the case. When I saw Tom it sent chills down my stiff spine. I need to be here, I have to be here for the town, for the sake of me knowing what happened. For a second, I caught a meaningful glimpse of Tom’s sorrowful eyes and saw that he wasn't a monster and that those were the eyes of an innocent
Racism presents itself in many ways in the town of Maycomb. Some are blatant and open, but others are more insidious. One obvious way that racism presents itself is in the result of Tom Robinson’s trial. Another apparent example is the bullying Jem and Scout had to endure as a result of Atticus’s appointment as Tom Robinson’s defense attorney. A less easily discernible case is the persecution of Mr. Dolphus Raymond, who chose to live his life in close relation with the colored community.
The novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee is a simplistic view of life in the Deep South of America in the 1930s. An innocent but humorous stance in the story is through the eyes of Scout and Jem Finch. Scout is a young adolescent who is growing up with the controversy that surrounds her fathers lawsuit. Her father, Atticus Finch is a lawyer who is defending a black man, Tom Robinson, with the charge of raping a white girl. The lives of the characters are changed by racism and this is the force that develops during the course of the narrative.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel about the coming of age by Harper Lee, in which she narrates the story through Scout Finch who describes her childhood. The novel begins with Scout living with her brother, Jem, and their widowed father, Atticus, in Alabama’s town of Maycomb during the time of the Great Depression, Atticus is a lawyer and the Finch family are rich in comparison to others. Jem and Scout befriend Dill, who came to Maycomb for multiple summers. They become fascinated with a house on their street called the Radley Place and the mysterious and spooky character of Boo Radley. Scout goes to school for the first time and hates it. Scout