To Kill A Mockingbird Trial Analysis

Trials and Tribulations In To Kill A Mockingbird, many prominent events take place in the courtroom during the trial of Tom Robinson. This location becomes the site of the most valuable scene to the meaning and theme of the book. The climax of the book, culmination of all the racism and prejudice felt in the town, and Atticus’ moral rigidity are all seen during the trial. The courtroom, and subsequently the trial, becomes the setting for many chapters of the book which allows it to contain many of the important elements that make To Kill Mockingbird the rich story it is. A few key events led up to the trial of Tom Robinson. First of these, and arguably the main conflict of the book, was the encounter between Tom brown and Mayella. In the

However, in the end the verdict was guilty despite of all the evidence to the contrary posed by Atticus. The delivery of the sentence was expected by most everyone but Jem, Atticus’ son. The verdict shows that the racist feelings of the Ewells was not confined to just them, but to that society as a whole. The jury knew that they couldn’t let Tom go because it was the word of a colored man versus the word of a white woman. At the same time, progress towards equality can be seen in the amount of time it took the jury to make the decision. Their hours long deliberation infers a conflict among the jury between making the popular decision and making the right decision. Since they went with the popular decision in the end, the nameless jurors still showed how even though progress was being made, there was still a strong sense of racism. The result of the trial had it’s own set of implications that helped flesh out characters and advance the plot. Jem cried that night because the verdict shattered his view of the town. He no longer saw the town and it’s people as best in the world. His child-like view of the town was striped away and his innocence was tainted. After the verdict, Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father, swore revenge on Atticus for defending a black man in the trial. The threats show how even though Tom lost the trial, Atticus’ morals meant that Tom received the best defense he could