In both “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee and “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, Tom Robinson and John Proctor become victims of the justice system even though they were considered innocent. These novels show the biases of the justice system and misbehavior that a formal jury would follow at that time. While the convictions and trials are different, the theme of injustice is similar. In this essay, I will explain how the justice system is biased in a way that favors what they want, regardless of evidence or simple reasoning. The relationship in the justice system from 1692 to the 1930s changed greatly and the question whether Proctor or Robinson would be found guilty today may be different. In “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Tom Robinson, an African American, is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman. Despite evidence proving Robinson’s innocence, he was convicted of rape because of his skin color. The Justice System in the 1930s was extremely racist and prejudiced. To support this, in the text, Atticus Finch talks about how the …show more content…
Proctor was accused by fearful townspeople and a justice system filled with bias and unlogical solutions rather than evidence and reason. The Court in Salem, fearful of exorcisms and witches, understands and accepts unlogical accusations by dropping the gavel on the wood and saying if they admit to being witches, let them live but if not drown them, and if they float kill them, but if they drown they are not guilty. Proctor concludes his hearing saying he is innocent, as he does not want his last name to be in vain. To support this, John Proctor says “I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (Arthur Miller, 114) He says this, meaning he will not sign anything to hurt his last name. Proctor's eventual execution highlights the dangers of a corrupt and biased justice system, where fear takes over justice and truth in all
In the book, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a lawyer named Atticus Finch attempts to convince a jury that a Negro should be found innocent in a case of lies and prejudice. The Negro, Tom Robinson, was sent to court because a man, Robert Ewell, accused Tom of raping his daughter, when in fact, he beat his own daughter for trying to kiss Tom. Atticus strives to change the stereotypical minds of the jury by looking past race. Atticus uses ethos, connotation, and a simile to challenge the jury’s pre-existing minds about race.
“I have given you my soul; leave me my name” (Miller 133) screams the belligerent John Proctor, confronted with the very real possibility of his execution. Being accused of witchcraft, a crime he did not commit, John Proctor is threatened by the religiously controlled courts in the 1692 Salem Witch Trials in an allegorical story for Senator Joseph McCarthy’s Red Scare. However, in the face of persecution by religion, John Proctor demonstrates immense resolve against the aggressive power figures of the Puritan Church. Throughout the story, John Proctor clashes with the religious authorities in his town. His main goal: trying to protect his family and friends from personal attacks, comprised entirely of fabricated evidence, by the church establishment.
On March 25 1931 a group of nine boys were charged with raping two girls aboard a train traveling from Paint Rock Alabama across the state’s border. The trial of these boys had become collectively known as the Scottsboro case. Several years later Harper Lee wrote her famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird. In this story a young male Tom Robinson is charged with raping a white female. It is by understanding the parallel between Tom Robinson’s case in To Kill a Mockingbird and the Scottsboro case that can be understood that a fair trial was unlikely and that because of Tom Robinson’s race he was presumed guilty before his trial.
In To Kill a Mockingbird this crucial part in the novel tells us that 1930’s justice is prejudiced, so no black person had a fair trial, until Atticus Finch is chosen to represent Tom Robinson. “This case is as simple as black and white” (Lee 171). He tells the reader this to show that it is clear as a crystal ball that Tom did not rape Mayella Ewell. He shows us that it is symbolism, the quote declares that blacks have the disadvantage, while
Proctor’s prideful personality does not let him baptize his third son because he dislikes Reverend Parris (168, l. 516-520). Proctor withholds his affair with Abigail because of his pride, he was unable to confess it until his wife was accused. Before he confessed he stated that “a man will not cast away his good name,” this statement suggest that a man has a lot of pride in his name and therefore his confession must be true (189, l. 845-847). In addition, after confessing to witchcraft Proctor takes pride in his name and refuses to have his name nailed in the door of the church showing everyone that he confessed to witchcraft (207, l. 894-897). “You will not use me! I am no Sarah Good or Tituba, I am John Proctor! You will not use me!,” Proctor beliefs he is better than Sarah good and Tituba hence he would not sign his name (207, l. 899-701). Towards the end, Proctor thinks better of his action and rips the signed paper after declaring, “Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (207, l. 725-730). Proctor compares himself with the brave people that are about to hang and takes pride in his name by refusing to keep on lying and ripping the paper with his signature; he bravely accepted death with the thought that his name is not tainted by
In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, racism is a major theme. Atticus Finch, the narrator’s father, defends a negro, Tom Robinson, in the court of law against a white man, Bob Ewell. Robinson had reportedly raped a young white girl, Mayella Ewell. But according to Robinson he had gone to help Mayella, as he often did, with work around the house. As he starts helping Mayella, she tries to get Tom to kiss her and will not let him out of the house. Bob Ewell sees this and chases Tom out of the house and accuses him of raping his daughter. Atticus goes against almost everyone in Maycomb County’s opinion in defending Tom Robinson. Throughout the course of the novel, racism effects many characters such as Tom and Helen Robinson, Scout and Jem Finch, and Mayella and Bob Ewell. All these characters had there lives
One of the major events in Harper Lee’s award-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird is Tom Robinson’s trial. It is based on the Scottsboro Case that took place in 1931 in Alabama, in which several black men were accused of raping two white women. Both the Scottsboro Boys and Tom Robinson are unfairly judged, however, because of prejudice against colored people. The racial discrimination makes whites’ testimony more believable even when it contradicts itself. The same happens in To Kill a Mockingbird. As we delve deeper into the case and get increasingly closer to the truth, it is quite suprising to see that Mayella Ewell is the true villain rather than a victim. She shall and must bear full responsibility for her actions because she makes the decision to tempt Tom Robinson, gives false testimony in court that directly leads to Tom’s death, and has been well aware of the consequences of her behaviors.
?What is left when honor is lost?? Publilius Syrus' quote, though dating from 100 B.C., still seems pertinent to our era (Quotations). Many people still feel that once integrity is lost they are nothing and many are willing to stand up to keep their integrity. Without integrity, we are nothing. During the time that Arthur Miller wrote his most famous play, The Crucible, innocent men and women are accused of having Communist leanings. Their whole lives are ruined in a short amount of time because they refuse to compromise themselves by selling out their friends. Miller tries to make a statement about these unfair trials by comparing them to the Salem witch-hunts and trials of 1692. The main protagonist of his play is a man named John Proctor who is accused of witchcraft but stands up to maintain his name and his honor, even though he is hanged for it. During the H.U.A.C. trials some took stands for their beliefs with the knowledge of possibly being shunned by society. Knowing this, instead of taking the cowards' way and giving the names of their friends, they refuse to tell the committee anything in the same way that John Proctor stands up against a court that is ruining the lives of innocent people.
In the 1930’s, many African American men were wrongly accused of rape and murder. The issue of racism is brought up in the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” when Scout overhears her teacher saying that it’s a great thing that this is happening to Tom Robinson because the black men are getting too comfortable thinking that they’re mighty. Racism didn’t only affect Tom Robinson, but it also affected those who supported him. The lives of Scout and her family are changed when Scout's father, who is a lawyer, steps in and defends Tom Robinson. Atticus’ lawsuit affects Scout and his children in several ways.
Throughout history, racism has played a major role in social relations. In Harper Lee's novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, this theme is presented to the reader and displays the shallowness of white people in the south during the depression. The assumption that Blacks were inferior is proved during the trial of Tom Robinson. Such characteristics served to justify the verdict of the trial. In this trial, Tom Robinson is accused of raping Mayella Ewell and is found guilty. Many examples from this novel support the fact that Tom Robinson was in fact innocent.
Although John Proctor was tempted to confess to black magic, he choose to to die with his name in tact, even if that meant death. Mr. Proctor believes that his name should stand with integrity and claims that “ how may I live without my name” (Miller1256). In this example, Proctor strongly communicates that he couldn’t continue to live with lies connected to his name; but he rather be known as a man who died for his morality. The town of Salem dominated upon accusations, allowing humans to confess to false accusations. Since Proctor didn’t confess, his honestly carried a legacy down to his
In Harper Lee’s fictional novel To Kill A Mockingbird, an African American field hand is falsely accused of raping a white women. Set in the 1930’s in the small town of Monroeville Alabama, Addicus Finch an even handed white attorney tries to shed a light on the injustice of this innocent black man’s conviction. Atticus feels that the justice system should be color blind, and he defends Tom as an innocent man, not a man of color.
In a desperate attempt to save his client, Tom Robinson, from death, Atticus Finch boldly declares, “To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white” (Lee 271). The gross amounts of lurid racial inequality in the early 20th century South is unfathomable to the everyday modern person. African-Americans received absolutely no equality anywhere, especially not in American court rooms. After reading accounts of the trials of nine young men accused of raping two white women, novelist Harper Lee took up her pen and wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, a blistering exposition of tragic inequalities suffered by African Americans told from the point of view of a young girl. Though there are a few trivial differences between the events of the Scottsboro trials and the trial of Tom Robinson portrayed in To Kill a Mockingbird, such as the accusers’ attitudes towards attention, the two cases share a superabundance of similarities. Among these are the preservation of idealist views regarding southern womanhood and excessive brutality utilized by police.
Can justice be found in the courtroom or is human corruption bound to spill in the courtroom? Arthur Miller writes about the Salem Witch Trials in his book The crucible. He gives us a behind the scenes look of the trials and uncovers the motives of the instigators of said trials. In the book, we see the characters accuse innocent people to gain land, protect themselves, and act upon hidden vengeance.Self-interest is a driving motif in this novel that is the basis for many of the accusations, evidence, and testimonies brought before Salem’s court.
In the novel, “The Heir,” there were many situations that caught my attention. A problem from the story was that, Baden, a member of the Selection, had a fight with Eadlyn, a princess. So, how the problem started was that, Baden basically asked Eadlyn out. Eadlyn was friendly to Baden for about an hour and then, she walked away, as if nothing happened. The next day, Baden showed up at Eadlyn’s front door, explaining to her how he wanted to leave the palace and how he felt when Eadlyn “shot him down” the night before. To elaborate, that was when they got into a fight. Eadlyn tried to explain herself to Baden, about how she was extremely busy and she never really said “no” when Baden asked her out. After a while later, Eadlyn decided to give