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Character development to kill a mockingbird
Growing and learning lessons to kill a mockingbird
Growing and learning lessons to kill a mockingbird
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At the courthouse for Tom Robinson’s trial, the witnesses, the defendant and the victim all had different testimonies, which was really hard for the jury to make a decision because they didn’t know who to believe. The differences between Mayella’s and Toms testimonies is that Tom testified that she had asked him to do tasks for her on numerous occasions, so that had not been his only visit. Mayella testified that Tom Robinson only once came to their house. That was when she asked him to chop up the chiffarobe for firewood. Also Tom testified that there had been no screaming at all, only that he had tried to get away from Mayella. He had pushed her and asked her to let him pass. However Mayella testified that she had been screaming, fighting
The Scottsboro Trials, Brown v. Mississippi, and trial of Tom Robinson in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird
The Scottsboro Trial and the Tom Robinson Trial are almost identical in the forms of racism and prejudice shown and the the actual trial and the trials outcome. The racism and prejudice is clear and is a key factor throughout both cases, which took place in the same time period. Both trials are very common when it came to the time period, the time the trials have taken place in, those who were persecuted and lastly, why they were persecuted in the first place. “All blacks were liars, and always was not to be trusted was a major part of all of these trails” was the thought during this time. Someone that was white was believed no matter what when it came to a black mans word. Both trials were perfect examples of how the white people of Alabama were above the law. They showed that they could do whatever they wanted to the black people and get away with it. Examples in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Portrayed similar factual evidence that the Tom Robinson trial and the Scottsboro Trial are similar.
The historical Scottsboro Trial and the fictional trial of Tom Robinson in the book To Kill a Mockingbird have striking similarities that may or may not be coincidence. Both trials took place in Alabama during the same era of relentless prejudice and bias, which is a major factor in each of these cases. In both cases, the accusers were white women and the persecutors were black men; therefore the black men were immediately considered liars and “wrongdoers”, unlike the word of the white women, which was essentially the truth above the word of someone who was black. Even when the persecutors in these cases had a possible chance of being declared innocent, mobs of citizens formed to threaten them, many of whom were simply racist against blacks. As is evident in these trials, most white people could easily accuse a black person of a crime whether they committed it or not and unjustly get away with it.
The trial of Tom Robinson v. Mayella Ewell, the evidence is pointing towards innocence, but the jury is made up of white men in the south, and the verdict is guilty. The case in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee shows how Atticus tells the readers how narrow-minded people can be towards other races.
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.
Courtroom Assignment Post 1 We have a packed courthouse here in Maycomb county today folks, for the Tom Robinson trial. Tom Robinson is on trial for rape charges. He is a black male in his late 20’s. The layer who will be defending Tom is Atticus Finch.
...a white man harming a black man, the black man would be guilty of assaulting the white man. Thusly, there was little to no chance that the jury would believe anything Tom Robinson said. Mayella used the town’s racism to her advantage to get out of her sticky situation.
As further evidence is procured, this is proven to be false. The truth is that Mayella’s father beat her for making romantic advances towards Tom. Mayella is unlike the rest of the Ewells in the sense that she likes to keep herself tidy, and lives in a more sophisticated manner than the rest of her family. This makes me infer that she is quite taciturn, and a kind-hearted person who wouldn’t lie about what happened that day if it weren’t for something taking over her conscience. Being threatened by her acrimonious father to lie about what really happened set aside what she knew to be right and pushed her to lie in the trial. Both pressure and fear make people do what they know is not the right thing to do, even though their conscience tells them otherwise. Doing the wrong thing may dispel fears or pressure that is put on for a certain instance. There are many reasons why people do what they know isn’t right even though their conscience tells them not to, but sometimes this can help them construct their values, and improve on how susceptible they are to their
To begin, In To Kill A Mockingbird, Mayella, a girl who claims she was raped and beaten by Tom Robinson is considered a bystander. “I don’t recall he hit me. I mean yes i do, he hit
After a long fought case, Tom Robinson was found guilty and was sent to the local jail. Tom knew he wasn't supposed to be their and tried to escape. He was shot and killed as he seeked freedom. Mr. Underwood, a newspaper writer, compared,"...Tom's death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds..." (Lee 241). There was no reason to kill Tome, he didn't harm anyone or caused any trouble. Tom was guilty because of race and the fact that whites rule this era. In this time period, the 1930's, segregation was a huge problem for colored people. It was obvious he didn't rape or do any harm to Mayella Ewell. Tom was just judge on the beliefs of all colored people being criminals and cowards. After Mayella won the court case, her father, Bob Ewell was after Jem and Scout to punish their father for defending Tom Robinson. As Scout and Jem make their way home one night, they were attacked by Bob. Lucky, Boo Radley protected the child and murdered Bob. After Scout realized Boo saved their lives, she stated, "...our neighbors image blurred with my sudden tears" (Lee 270). At that moment Scout knew she had mistaken Boo Radley her entire life. The children aren't to blame though, Maycomb judged Boo as an evil and crazy person based on uncertain stories. Boo Radley accepted the fact that many believed he was psycho, forcing to keep his life on
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galations 3:28
Level Headed- It has been a few days since poor Tom’s trial, and I had an encounter with Mr. Ewell today. I was leaving the post office when he approached me. He was really mad and he started cursing at me, he then proceeded to spit on me, and then he threatened to kill me. I just sat there and took it, he needed to get his anger out somehow, so why not let him. I understand why he was angry, who wouldn't be in his situation.
Dubose. Tom is a black man who was 25 years old, married and has three children. He was accused of rape, and sent to jail. Tom had supposedly raped a girl by the name of “Mayella Ewell”. Little did everyone know that Mayella was making up the whole story, to cover up the fact that she kissed a black man, which was not tolerated at the time. Tom appeared in the county court, and was clearly not guilty, judging by the things that he said, and the very little and irrelevant evidence that Mayella gave. Mayella’s father claims that Tom had beaten her, and specifically said that she had injuries around her neck and on her right eye, basically the right side of her body. This, however, doesn’t tie in with Tom Robinson’s characteristics. Tom has a crippled left arm, due to a childhood accident, and that arm in nearly useless to him. Therefore, if Tom had beaten Mayella, her left side would have been injured, not her right. The following proves that Tom’s left arm is indeed of no use. “His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side. It ended in a small shriveled hand, and from as far away as the balcony I could see that it was no use to him.” (188). Here, Scout is confirming that Tom is in fact innocent in the case, because of his left arm deformity. Tom would be unable to cause damage to the right side of Mayella’s body, proving that he is in fact innocent, and not the “violent” person that the people of Maycomb see him as. In reality, Tom was actually a very nice and helpful person. He would actually help Mayella complete her chores on a daily basis until the incident, and the following quotation proves this. “You did all this chopping and work from sheer goodness, boy?” “Tried to help her, I says.” Mr. Gilmer smiled grimly at the jury. “You’re a mighty good fellow, it seems— did all this for not one
Despite the unwavering dedication of Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird”, the absence of evidence, and a moving courtroom speech, Tom Robinson is convicted of a crime that he did not commit. What would have been the outcome if Tom Robinson's trial was held in the 21st century? A jury today, presented with the same evidence, would find Tom Robinson not guilty. Atticus did a good job and proved that Tom could not have beaten Mayella because his left arm was injured. The only eye witness was Mayella, whose own statements were conflicting; she claimed that Tom both did and did not assault her. Her testimony also differed from that of her father. There was never any specific testimony concerning the rape, only assault. The prosecutor would never have been allowed to repeatedly refer to Tom as "boy" during this trial with the lack of tolerance held for racism in today’s society. The most obvious form of discrimination in To Kill a Mockingbird is racism; however, there are other types of prejudice and discrimination that typify relationships among the novel’s characters.
Dear ladies and gentlemen of the jury I urge you to bring back a verdict of guilty. There are many reasons for you to find Tom Robinson guilty. Tom has the strength to hurt Mayella, he ran away very fast, and there is evidence to prove Tom had a crush on Mayella. There is no reason Mayella would want Tom and Tom felt sorry for her. This is a case of who to believe and I am going to convince you that you should believe Mayella and Bob Ewell and not trust Tom Robinson.