Imagine, you are with friends. You are a rich, white, 16 year old boy in Texas. You smoke weed, get high and drunk. You get into the car with friends even though you already cant drive but you still have your own car. Then while driving in texas you kill three people. When you get to court, the punishment is you get to go got to a huge on parole with Xbox, PSP and flat screens, and much more. Now imagine the same scenario, with the same judge around the same time, but you are black.. You go to jail for ten 10 years only because you are not rich or white Unfair right? Well in the Ethan Couch case, this inequality happened and it happens often,even in fiction stories like in the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. In this book, a black …show more content…
The town of Maycomb is a mostly white with a class system. The class system is show by how much money you have but it was the great depression. With the Ewell's and then the black’s on the bottom, and then the Finches and Radley's on the top. The family we follow in the book is the finch family. Whites were better off but it was still the Great Depression, so most families were poor and not well off. Tom Robinson a black man with a family he had to take care of. Who would walk by the Ewell’s house on the way home from work. Tom had only one working hand which was his right because when he was young his hand got stuck in a cotton gin. was accused of rape ,which was a crazy thing for a black man to do to a white women, by Mayella and her father, who was the only one who “Saw what happened that day”. Mayella was nineteen and had to take care of her siblings because her dad would always go out drinking. She only had a 3rd grade education too. During the trial Atticus Finch, Tom’s lawyer, pointed out flaws such as, that Mayella’s story was changing every time they told it in both Mayella and Mr.Ewell’s story, also that Mayella had hand marks around her neck and a black eye on her right eye. Tom would have to had punch Mayella with his left hand but his left hand didn't work. But Mr,Ewell was left handed. but in the end the the people in the court didn't care and Tom was found guilty. Then later, after the case, police took him back to …show more content…
He was drinking, smoking and driving, all things that ethan could do at his age or any age. He even killed people while driving but in the courtroom he was found innocent. Also with Tom Robinson it was clear that he didn't do anything to Mayella because off where thee hand marks and black eye were. Tom couldn't have hit mayella because of his hand injury on his left hand. Also the whole case was based off of who do you believe in Tom’s case. For Example In Mayella’s story she said that Tom beat her up then raped her/. But in Tom’s story he said the Mayella “went down” on him till her father came in yelling at Mayella. Tom’s story did have more evidence for it, But the court room over all decided in mayella's story. Which we know can't be true because Tom’s hand. In Ethan's case there was plenty of evidence showing what he did was wrong, Including the crash itself Ethan was still in the car passed out with police came finding the dead bodies he killed while behind the wheel. That is how both cases so one side winning the trail that you thought would lose their
One of the storylines in the novel is the Robinson-Ewell trial. Tom Robinson is an innocent African-American, accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a lower-class white girl. At the trial hearing, everyone is able to tell his or her side of the story before Tom is allowed to speak. All stories, however, offer two different versions of Tom and Mayella’s relationship. Moreover, Mayella and Bob Ewell tell the jury what they expect to hear, about Tom being a monster. They explain that there was no reason for his actions against Mayella. According to them, along with the rest of Maycomb, it's just expected that a black man would rape any white woman if he had the opportunity. The Tom spoken of by the Ewells shows the stereotypes that justify whites to be superior to blacks. However, Tom tells the jury about his innocence. He pr...
In recent times, it has become very evident that wealth plays a major factor in the judicial system. There have been many cases that display the wealthy being given less of a punishment than the lower classes. In one particular case a teen, Ethan Couch, was driving under the influence after stealing beer from Walmart and he swerved off road, killing four pedestrians. The judge sentenced him to 10 years’ probation; this outraged many people because the usual punishment is a life sentence. Mr. Couch claims he suffers from “Affluenza”, which is a psychological problem that is caused by children being extremely privileged. Ethan Couch should not have received probation because of his family’s status, because he was driving under the influence,
A second testimony that supports the opposite of the verdict, was the fact that Mr. Ewell never called a doctor after learning of Mayella's injuries. Following the incident, there had not been any physical examination performed by a certified physician. If indeed Mr. Robinson had committed the crime, Mr. Ewell's first instinct would have been to get his daughter checked out. Upon finding his daughter 'assaulted';, he would have wanted to have her injuries treated including the injury that might been caused by rape.
The dominating theme of racial discrimination is clearly evident throughout the book. Unfortunately, the society itself is the ultimate cause of such dilemma. Maycomb County is segregated into the hardworking, honest black people, and the privileged and prejudiced white people. The long hold racist attitude towards the black people are unforgiving as they have not been recognised as human beings, and are treated inhumanely. When Tom Robinson; a respectful black man is wrongfully accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, Atticus is assigned to fight for Tom in the trial. Due to Atticus being a white man ...
The white community in Maycomb is very racist. When Atticus agreed to defend Tom Robinson a black man accused of raping a white women named Mayelle ewell, his family is subjected to abuse from other children and the white community even to the extent of ruining their Christmas celebrations. However, because the Finches black...
Within today’s world and all the way through history, everyone is either defined as a girl or boy. A simple concept known as a person’s sex or gender. Gender has established roles for each of the different sexes in which people are pushed in a guideline. As society advances there so often comes up with outliers, challengers, or rebels that propose against society’s gender rules. Harper Lee or the author of How to Kill a Mockingbird mentions the topic of gender and how people discriminate on it frequently. Even in times people push their children or even peers to being what they don’t personally feel like they are, as some transgender parents often due. Harper Lee wants to inferences that gender is a defining society rule.
The tight-knit sense of community created by the citizens of Maycomb leads to the same values and beliefs of the whole town. As a result, the town has put many expectations and judgements towards people who are not the same. In particular, the black community is used as a scapegoat because they are black, therefore they are viewed lower than the white community. Tom Robinson, a member of the black community is imprisoned for most of the book. When Tom is put on trial, the community voted against him by the reason that he’s black- he is an outsider. Although he did nothing wrong, the community continues to blame him. During and after the trial Tom is thrown in jail and imprisoned. Knowing that he cannot do anything about the situation, Tom loses all signs of hope of freedom. As a last straw of hope, Tom attempts to escape from prison but fails to do so, and is shot seventeen times. Tom faces the injustice of Maycomb County due to the fact of judgements and lies formed from society. The lies and judgements has lead into the separation and segregation of the black community. Segregation and separation brings the black community into vulnerable position leading into psychological and physically imprisonment. Lee demonstrates that segregation and separation increases the sense of
Long ago, everyone lived in harmony. Then everything changed when people from Europe took slaves from Africa which ended up in America. Only Harry S Truman, angry from lynching events, could stop inequality in the 1930s. But when he was needed the most, his term hadn’t started yet. “I believe in brotherhood….of all men before the law….if any (one) class or race can be permanently set apart from, or pushed down below the rest in politics and civil rights, so may any other class or race……and we say farewell to the principles on which we count our safety…….The majority of our Negro people find but cold comfort in our shanties and tenements. Surely, as free men, they are entitled to something better than this” (Harry Truman and Civil Rights). To
During the trial, Tom Robinson lawyer Atticus proves that Bob Ewell was left handed and the one who beat his daughter. The way Mayella bruises lined up, someone that was left handed would have had to commit the crime. Tom Robinson cannot do anything with his left hand because a while ago, he had all the muscles in his left hand ripped out therefore he couldn't have done anything forcefully with his left hand. The Ewells story changes and seems exaggerated at times while Toms story stays the same. Even though it is quite clear to us who is telling the truth, Tom is still declared guilty in the end going to prison to later be killed by a guard. Although Tom may have been one of the kindest person Mayella ever meet she ended up costing him his
In the novel, ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee some characters suffer in the hands of justice and fairness more than others. Many characters in the novel are discriminated against such as Calpurnia, Dolphus Raymond, Helen Robinson, Burris Ewell and more. However I will be focusing on the discrimination against Tom Robinson for his race, Walter Cunningham for his low socioeconomic status and Boo Radley for the rumors and supposed mental instability he holds. I chose those three because they are the most prominent and I will discuss how the discrimination against the characters therefore leads to their injustice or unfairness.
How would you like it if someone walked up to you and berated you based on the color of your skin? A characteristic like that isn’t even something you can control, so an insult of that nature can leave one furious and oppressed. Discrimination is inevitable in any culture, throughout history, in modern times, and even in ancient times. For example, the oppression and murder of 6 million Jewish people during the Holocaust, the African Slave Trade which occurred for multiple centuries, and more recently, the “ethnic cleansing” of Rohingya people in Myanmar, brought on by the government of the Asian nation, all of which are tragedies doomed to happen when history repeats itself and people do not learn
Tom Robinson was just a “respectable negro” with a kind nature who was accused in absence of wrong. Mr Robinson is immediately seen as an enemy by most in town of Maycomb. Is it because of his malicious personality? Is it because of his hair colour? Is it because he is arrogant? No, all of these are false he is instantly convicted because he is of a different ethnicity. It seems foolish but this is the reason why Maycomb has discarded a man who is of higher quality than the majority of the town. “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella opened her mouth and screamed.” As soon as the trial began Tom’s opportunity for victory grew slimmer and slimmer and Maycomb knew that Atticus was fighting an unwinnable battle. But Atticus was determined to defend the ‘ultimate mockingbird’ right up until the end; even after the court case Atticus defends Tom at the jail. A final act of Tom’s innocence to prove his mockingbird status was whilst in court, he still didn’t want to accuse Mayella because “she seemed...
In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird it follows the story of a small town family known as the Finches. One father Atticus, a son Jem, and one daughter Jean Louise “Scout”. Throughout the story events unfold until one black man is accused of rape by a white woman. Atticus being a defense attorney is appointed to defend the black man in prison.
To Kill A Mockingbird is a dramatic story about human behavior- cruelty, love, compassion, and hatred. The sweet family of 3 lives in the Southern town of Maycomb County. Atticus, the father, Scout Finch, and Scout’s brother, Jem. The Finch family lives in the time period of the Great Depression. Atticus still has his job as a lawyer and that’s when he realizes one of the greater themes of the story- The Existence of Social Inequality.