Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird and the Scottsboro Case
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.
Investigating the similarities between the Scottsboro case and Tom Robinson’s trail, the first major parallel the shadow of lynching that menaces the accused in both. The threat of lynching occurs in the novel when after Tom Robinson is transported to the Maycomb city jail. That night a mob of people from nearby community called Old Sarum gather around the jail in an attempt to abduct him. This type of behavior is by all means very plausible for this time period. In a nearly identical event, as to that in the novel, on a cold night in 1931 after the Scottsboro boys were sentenced a scene right out of To Kill a Mockingbird seemed to come to life. That night Dan T. Carter, the court historian, accounts, “ farmers from the nearby hills began gathering, and by dusk a crowd of several hundred stood in front of the two-story jail.” (Carter 7) Just like the Old Sarum mob most of these people were poor white farmers seeking the blood of a black man. The connection of the southern society’s feeling toward a black man committing a crime against a while f...
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... connections with the Scottsboro case. In conclusion both the Scottsboro case and Tom Robinson’s case, whether it be fact or fiction, a human by flesh but not by la, was damned for a conviction that he could not control, he was black.
Works Cited
Carter, Dan T. Scottsboro: A Tragedy of the American South. New York: W.W. Norton,
1935.
Durr, Virgina Foster. Outside the Magic Circle: The Autobiography of Virgina Price. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1963.
Flynt, Wanye. Poor But Proud: Alabama’s Poor Whites. Tuscaloosa: University of
Alabama Press, 1933.
Hamilton, Virgina. Alabama: A Bicentennial History. New York: W.W. Norton, 1977.
Lee, Harper. To Kill A Mockingbird. New York: Warner Publications, 1982.
Tindall, George Brown. The Emergence of the New South 1913-1937. Baton Rouge:
Louisiana State University Press, 1970.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is one of the most successful works of fiction in American Literature. Although To Kill a Mockingbird is classified as a work of fiction, there is evidence to support the claim that To Kill a Mockingbird was modeled after the Scottsboro Trials of 1931. There are many parallels between the Tom Robinson trial and the Scottsboro Trials. The Scottsboro Boys were nine, young, African American men who were falsely accused of raping two white women while illegally riding a train in Alabama. Harper Lee was also about six years old when these trials took place.
Rennes a profit organization. The leaders of the organization start out with President of the organization, the vice-president, and two main administers that help run all of the Rennes in Wisconsin. At each Rennes there is a head administer, director of therapy, director of nursing and a director of social services. Under the administer is an assistant, and scheduling assistant. The director of nursing has an assistant and also works with the other nurses and certified nursing assistants. Director of therapy is in charge of occupational therapists, physical therapists and the speech therapist. The Social Services director has a part-time assistant. Figure 1 displays Rennes in Rhinelander’s organization.
The Scottsboro Trials, Brown v. Mississippi, and trial of Tom Robinson in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. The purpose of this essay is to compare three very similar cases, the Scottsboro Trials, Brown v. Mississippi, and the fictional trial of Tom Robinson in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird; and to prove why the defendant in the third trial never had a chance. Each took place in the rural South in the 1920’s and 30’s and involved the unfair conviction of young black males by all-white juries pressured by the threat of mob violence.
The Scottsboro and Maycomb trials took place in the 1930s, where the trials both have identical causes with the same conclusion, though its a tragedy event that happened however it have influenced the world today. The resemblance between Scottsboro and Maycomb leads the people into thinking about the Great Depression and the most infamous case that took place in Scottsboro, relating to Maycomb. Though there are no reasonable causes or hateful affairs between opposing characters, yet it seems like racism between white and the Afro-Americans had started the conflict. Coming to a white vs Afro-American cases, the jurors would always favor the white over the Afro-American for they believe its not right to do such thing as acquitting the Afro-American due to their old-fashion values and prejudiced mind. Such tragedy happening in the history has influenced the world today in many ways, the novel To Kill a Mockingbird is one project that’s inspired to be written. Though both Scottsboro and Maycomb seems like a loving town with nice people, however their dark sides are discovered through their actions.
When Scout complains about her teacher, Atticus tells her that “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee 33). In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch teaches his daughter moral values as he prepares to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, who has been charged with raping a white woman. Harper Lee was influenced by court cases that were based on the racial prejudice of blacks. One of those cases was the Scottsboro Trial of 1931, in which nine African American males were falsely accused of raping two white women while on a train to Memphis. The trial began on April 6, 1931, and lasted just three days. Eight of the nine boys were found guilty and sentenced to death. Because the Scottsboro Boys’ first trial was appealed, it was sent to the Alabama Supreme Court, and then sent to the United States Supreme Court. The Court ordered new trials because the Scottsboro defendants had not had adequate legal representation. (Gerdes 250). The case against one of the boys, Haywood Patterson, began in Decatur, Alabama, on March 27 with Judge James Horton presiding. During this trial one of the white girls, Ruby Bates, said they were not raped while two physicians concluded that the girls were not raped either. On April 9, 1933, the first defendant, Haywood Patterson, was sentenced to execution, but Judge Horton ordered a new trial because the evidence did not warrant conviction. Even though the novel is fictional and the court case is real, the trial of Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird, and the Scottsboro Boys trial were similar be...
“I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks” (Lee 304). Harper Lee is the renowned author of To Kill a Mockingbird which was inspired by the real events of the Scottsboro Trials. Throughout her novel, Lee indirectly references the case by creating characters, events, and symbols that resemble and contrast the case. These elements allow the novel to emerge with a more realistic and historic plot. In particular, the similarities and differences between Judge Horton and Judge Taylor, Victoria and Mayella, and the atmosphere of the courtroom are most prevalent. By examining these components one will be able to respect the historical features present in Harper Lee’s fictional literary phenomenon, To Kill a Mockingbird.
To Kill The Mockingbird was about a black guy named Tom Robinson who was accused of raping a young women by the name of Mayella Ewell. In the court, significant evidence was presented to the juror's that would prove that Tom Robinson was innocent. The evidence showed that a left handed male must have beat Mayella because the bruises were on the right side of her and Tom Robinsons left arm was disabled. Robinson could not have beat Ms. Ewell. Tom Robinson was still convicted and later on was shot at a prison fence while he was trying to run away. The juror's discriminated Mr. Robinson and was prejudice towards him because all though evidence was presented to them that would prove Tom innocent they ignored it because the guy was black and in the 30's discriminating blacks were heavily favored.
The Scottsboro Trial and the trial of Tom Robinson are almost identical in the forms of bias shown and the accusers that were persecuted. The bias is obvious and is shown throughout both cases, which took place in the same time period. Common parallels are seen through the time period that both trials have taken place in and those who were persecuted and why they were persecuted in the first place. The thought of "All blacks were liars, and all blacks are wrongdoers," was a major part of all of these trails. A white person's word was automatically the truth when it was held up to the credibility of someone whom was black. Both trials were perfect examples of how the people of Alabama were above the law and could do whatever they wanted to the black people and get away with it. In both trials lynch mobs were formed to threaten the black people who were accused. Judge Hornton tried many times to move the case to a different place so that a fair trial could take place and not be interrupted by the racist people. Finally was granted to move the case even though the lynch mobs threatened to kill everyone who was involved in the case if it were to be moved. In this essay the bias and racism in both trials are going to be clarified and compared to each other.
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 To Kill A Mockingbird Lee tells the story of a Mr. Tom Robinson who is an African American who is being charged with rape against a white women. Atticus is the lawyer who must defend Robinson in court. In the Scottsboro case a central figure was a heroic judge who overturned a guilty verdict against the young men. The judge went against the public in trying to protect the rights of the African American men. In reading the novel you learn that Atticus arouses anger in the small community when he tries to defend Robinson.
In 1960, a novel was written to outline injustices and racism against those who were innocent, though unfairly judged because of social expectations and prejudiced beliefs. This novel not only presented these issues, but is also considered a revolutionary piece of literature, still being read by many people today, more than 50 years later. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, has caused some controversy about the intents of the book and the way certain people or groups are presented. Whether To Kill a Mockingbird as a narrative outshines the issue it presents is a debatable argument. However, I believe that the narrative of the novel supports the concerns exhibited for numerous reasons. In what follows, some of these are presented: the historical
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee seems like a complete replica of the lives of people living in a small Southern U.S. town. The themes expressed in this novel are as relevant today as when this novel was written, and also the most significant literary devices used by Lee. The novel brings forward many important themes, such as the importance of education, recognition of inner courage, and the misfortunes of prejudice. This novel was written in the 1930s. This was the period of the “Great Depression” when it was very common to see people without jobs, homes and food. In those days, the rivalry between the whites and the blacks deepened even more due to the competition for the few available jobs. A very famous court case at that time was the Scottsboro trials. These trials were based on the accusation against nine black men for raping two white women. These trials began on March 25, 1931. The Scottsboro trials were very similar to Tom Robinson’s trial. The similarities include the time factor and also the fact that in both cases, white women accused black men.
This gave the southern culture, which already despised them, one more thing to add to their list of allegations. The Scottsboro Boys got into a fight with white hobos on the train they were traveling on. This spread to the conductor who stopped the train in Alabama and alerted the town of the exchange. Unlike To Kill a Mockingbird, this fight did not come up in trial, but it led to the mob of white men outside the train, and the accusation of rape from Ruby Bates and Victoria Price. In Lee’s trial, Mr. Gilmer questioned Tom Robinson further about his charges, “You were given thirty days once for disorderly conduct, Robinson?”(Lee 197) Scout later adds,”Mr. Gilmer would sincerely tell the jury that anyone convicted of disorderly could easily have the heart to take advantage of Mayella Ewell,” (Lee 197). Scout is explaining how the prosecutor made a point, and “played to the jury”. He made Tom Robinson look like the villain again. Put him back into the stereotypical box of black men at the time, and how they were bread to put southern womanhood in
To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee's only novel, is a fictional story of racial oppression, set in Maycomb, A.L. in 1925 to 1935, loosely based on the events of the Scottsboro trials. Unlike the story however, the racial discrimination and oppression in the novel very accurately portrays what it was like in the 1920's and 1930's in the south. Tom Robinson, the black man accused of raping a poor low class white girl of 19, never stood a chance of getting a fair trial. This can be supported by giving examples of racially discriminatory and oppressive events that actually took place in the south during the time period in which the novel is based. In addition to actual historical events, events and examples from the book that clearly illustrate the overpoweringly high levels of prejudice that were intertwined in the everyday thinking of the majority of the characters in the book supports the fact that Tom Robinson never stood a chance of getting a fair trial.
Induction motors by the name, are AC motors in which they rely on the induction that occurs due magnetic field to produce torque in order to generate motion. So there is no force intervention in the starting or while operating the induction motor, as the main purpose of the induction motor is to convert electrical energy to mechanical energy, in order to operate other machines or appliances. The three phase induction motors are easily constructed and easily handled. The induction motor was first introduced in the late 19th century by a scientist called Nikola Tesla, in the early days, the induction motor had the same principle of operation and construction as today, the difference is that, the technology introduced new materials to fabricate wires and shafts and housing of the motor, thus enhances its performance and efficiency greatly.