Scottsboro Trials In To Kill A Mockingbird

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The Scottsboro Trials were a very important historical event that took place in May of 1931 and changed many racial prejudices and rules forever. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, many similar cases are exhibited. To Kill a Mockingbird is said to be based on the Scottsboro trials. As a child, Harper Lee was influenced by the Scottsboro Trials which is clearly reflected in her book ("Scottsboro Boys"). The major points of the trials are that two white women, Victoria Price and Ruby Bates, accused nine black men of assaulting and raping them on a train (Kaplan). This can be seen when Mayella Ewell’s character is evidently based on the two women involved because they all convict innocent black men of crimes they obviously did not commit. Mayella embodies both people to create a shy, hostile, and emotionally unstable person. They all act out in such a way due to the fact that they had racial power over the men and because they could get away with these unreasonably racist remarks. In Lee’s novel, Mayella is a …show more content…

They both stand up for what is right while knowing that they would not succeed. Atticus undoubtedly symbolizes Samuel Leibowitz in the book because he defends Tom Robinson out of respect and Tom Robinson’s basic rights call for a fair trial. Both of these men show that race does not matter and that equality is important in the government, specifically in courts. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus explains to Scout why he took Tom’s case by saying, “...every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally. This one's mine, I guess” (Lee, 62). Also, Samuel Leibowitz chose to take the Scottsboro case for similar reasons to Atticus. Mainly because he knew it is morally right to do and to provide these men some support through the tough case

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