“We know all men are not created equal in the sense some people would have us believe . . . some people have more opportunity because they’re born with it” (Lee 233). A real trial depicted in a fictional book is what is seen within To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee shows the reality that is racism and the advantages that one race has over another. The use of racism to hide one’s criminal actions is seen within both trials. The lengths people will go to, not caring what their actions will lead to is clearly seen within both trials. In To Kill a Mockingbird there are distinct similarities between the main characters of the trial and the figures in “The Scottsboro Boys”. Both trials have unjust outcomes and questionable physical evidence. The …show more content…
First off, nether case provided evidence for any alleged rapes taking place. Dr. R.R. Bridges examined the girls and stated that nothing indicated a rape taking place. “The vagina was not torn in any way . . . When I examined this woman, her pulse was not fast; it was in the bounds of normal. The respiration was about normal, too” (Linder, “The Trial Excerpt of Dr. R.R. Bridges”). In To Kill a Mockingbird the Ewells also had no evidence to provide for Mayella being raped by Tom Robinson. Atticus begins to ask Mr. Ewell questions,“’Mr. Ewell . . . Did you, during all this running, run for a doctor?’ ‘Wadn’t no need to. I seen what happened’” (Lee 199). The evidence provided also leads to anything, but rape, happening. Dr. R.R. Bridges already stated that he had found no indications of rape, but any wounds pointed to other activities. “I knew these women were taken off a freight train. I heard that; I didn’t know it. I did not find any lacerations of any kind outside the scratches on the wrist and forearm” (Linder, “Trial Excerpt of Dr. R.R. Bridges”). These scratches can easily be justified by their dangerous hoboing or by them being pulled off the train. In the novel Atticus, the lawyer goes to prove that Tom Robinson didn’t rape or harm Mayella in any way. Atticus ask to have the Sheriff’s testimony repeated, “’Up on that side of the face …show more content…
For starters, Ruby Bates and Mayella Ewell both have similar lifestyles. Ruby Bates father was a drunk and after he was put in jail Bates and her family moved from town to town. Bates was also a hard worker, she worked at a cotton mill at age 15 (Linder, “Ruby Bates”). Mayella faced some similar issues, since she did do most of the chores in the house and dealt with everyone’s problems. Atticus says, “’Do you love your father, Miss Mayella?’ . . . ‘I mean, is he good to you is he easy to get along with?’ ‘He does tollable ‘cept when-‘. . . ‘Except when he’s drinking?’ asked Atticus so gently that Mayella nodded’” (Lee 209). Mayella herself is saying that her father is good except when he’s drunk. It’s starting to sound like Mayella is having some trouble at home as well. Victoria Price and Mayella are both haunted by the label of prostitutes. Victoria Price was actually convicted of this claim. “Were you ever convicted of the crime of adultery? . . . Where you ever convicted of vagrancy and drunkenness?” (Linder. “Trial Excerpt of Victoria Price”). Leibowitz, the lawyer of the defendants, is bringing up Price’s past. Price, while married, was prostituting herself, as each reworded question suggests. Mayella herself was called a prostitute during Atticus’ closing
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 trial of Tom Robinson 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. This is the reason why Harper Lee chose to write her novel through the eyes of a six year old. The trials inspired her to write To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper
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 had identical causes with the same conclusion, though its a tragic event that has 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, it seems like racism between whites and the Afro-Americans has started the conflict. Coming to white vs Afro-American cases, the jurors would always favor the white over the Afro-American because they believe its not right to do such thing as acquitting the Afro-American due to their old-fashioned 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.
One of the things that Atticus says to the people of the court is that “ she tried to put away her evidence of her offence away for her but in this case, she was no child hiding stolen contraband: she struck out her victim of necessity she put him away from her -he must be removed from the presence of the world.” What Atticus is trying to say here is that if Tom was not a black man then this case would not be going on but because he is black there is a case on to prove he really did rape Mayella Ewell. Another thing that Atticus said is that “her father saw it”. What Atticus is trying to say here is that if Bob Ewell saw the rape then why would he not chase after Tom Robinson or call the doctor before he even called the cops. If she had been raped the first thing that Bob should have done would be to call the doctor for the bruises she got during the attack. This case should not even be going on here because both of the people that say that Tom Robinson raped Mayella Ewell where both racist so you can’t really tell if they are really telling the truth about if Tom Robison really do this horrible crime
Harper Lee sheds light upon the controversy of racism and justice in his classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. The notion of equality in accordance to the law and the pursuit of justice are hindered by racial discrimination. The essential essence of human nature is pondered. Are we inclined to be good or in the wrath of evil? The novel reflects on the contrasting nature of appearance versus reality.
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.
To begin, parallel and conflicting characteristics can be realized by exploring the judges of the two cases. Judge Horton and Judge Taylor both presided over the cases. Judge Horton was the second of three judges in the Scottsboro cases, and Judge Taylor was the fictional judge in To Kill a Mockingbird. The two both exhibited undeniable sympathy to the defendants in the cases. Judge Horton sympathizes with the nine Scottsboro boys by declaring, “You are not trying whether or not the defendant is white or black … you are trying whether or not this defendant forcibly ravished a woman” (People and Events). It is obvious that Judge Horton was unprejudiced and believed the boys should be treated with equality. This attitude is akin to the one of Judge Taylor; Taylor assigned Atticus Finch, a notable lawyer, to the case of the fictional black character Tom Robinson. Maxwell Green, an inexperience rookie, should have been assigned the case; however due to Taylor’s empathy, Tom obtained a decent lawyer who would do h...
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Twelve Angry men by Reginald Rose and The Scottsboro Trial are all about unfair trials containing discrimination towards different people and people being prejudice .The peoples action towards the defendants affected them for the rest of their life. Many of the people that came into the court brought in their own social problems and that influenced the verdict.
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.
The Scottsboro trial is about nine young, black men who were falsely accused of rape by two white women. Harper Lee did not want the story of the Scottsboro boys just to be something people watched on the news, and did nothing about. She wanted to write her book off of this trial because it makes her book so much more real and meaningful. The Tom Robinson Trial in the book To Kill a Mockingbird and the The Scottsboro Trial have so many similarities, the weak evidence shown in both trials, how it affected Tom Robinson
Innocent or Guilty? Mayella’s Hidden Crimes in Trial Mayella Violet Ewell plays victim when she falsely accuses a black man for rape. Mayella Ewell is a child of Bob Ewell, a poor alcohol addict, along with seven other children of varying ages. Mayella and her father were the only two people that were related to the case, and they were the ones who accused a black man, specifically Thomas Robinson, for rape. In a shocking twist, however, we hear that Mayella is actually one-hundred percent responsible for what she’s done.
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.
Harper Lee historically criticizes the Scottsboro trials with her book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee uses factual information as well as altering certain aspects of the trial in order to convey her theme, how the southern culture heavily protects its white womanhood. She accomplishes this by going into detail about how badly black men were stereotyped, about racial discrepancies, and disregarding contradictory evidence.
The story of the Scottsboro boys is very similar to the case of Tom Robinson in the story To Kill a Mockingbird. In The Scottsboro trials, nine boys were accused crime toward white women. Six of those boys were accused of raping the two girls, and two were accused of assault to those two girls. Victoria was the one to point out the six boys who had raped her. Tom Robinson was also accused of raping a Mayella Ewell, a white girl. Just like in the case of Tom Robinson, this town is just a racist as Maycomb. Over a hundred men stood outside the jail hoping for a good time beating and killing the men, which can be compared to the few who were outside of Maycomb’s jail. Harper Lee made To Kill a Mockingbird, an autobiography using her childhoods trial, The Scottsboro Trial, with the trial in the novel, the Tom Robinson Trial.