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Racism in the town of maycomb
Racism in the town of maycomb
Racism in the town of maycomb
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To Kill a Mockingbird - Racism The rigid class structure and social stratification of Maycomb County had a profound effect on the events in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The impact of this class structure and the underlying prejudice was especially evident in the trial of Tom Robinson, a Maycomb black man. Because of the strict class system of Maycomb County and the extreme prejudice of the town, Tom Robinson was unjustly convicted of, and sentenced to death for, a crime he did not commit. The society of Maycomb County had a definitive structure containing four classes. The first and upper class consisted of white collar Caucasians who were considered "rich" in the post-depression years. Characters who fit into this class were Atticus Finch, a wealthy, highly respected lawyer and citizen in town, and Judge Taylor, the justice of Maycomb County and presiding judge at the Robinson trial. Other characters who belonged to this upper class were Miss Maudie Attkinson, an open-minded, kind woman, and Miss Stephanie Crawford, the renowned gossip of the town. The second class in Maycomb County included the blue collar, white workers, and primarily farmers who struggled to make ends meet. The Cunninghams, Dolphus Raymond, and the mysterious Radley family represented this group. The third class of Maycomb County was the " white trash.² The Ewells, who lived at the dump and relied on welfare for survival, were members of this group. It is important to note that the difference between the second and third class was not a financial one. Both were "poor.² The difference, however, was in the way they interacted in society. The Cunninghams, unlike the Ewells, refused to accept charity and they paid their debts with what little they had. The Cunninghams were also different from the Ewells because they didn't take advantage of Black men. The fourth and lowest class in Maycomb included all the blacks that lived in this small county of Alabama. Prejudice ran deep in Maycomb County. Although several social levels existed within the Black community, a person of color was always in the lowest class of society in general. Therefore, the Blacks lived apart from the whites in their own section of town and seemed to have a society separate from the whites. The strong prejudice of Maycomb County and the negative effects of its social strata were demonstrated by the trial of Tom Robinson. Tom was a hard-working, warm-hearted Black man who went out of his way to be kind and helpful to some poor white trash. He helped Miss Mayella because he felt sorry for her. His major shortcoming was the fact that he was black. Bob Ewell, a white drunk, who was an eyesore and a problem for the town, accused Robinson of raping his daughter Mayella. Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson's lawyer, made it immensely clear to the jury that Tom was innocent. It was actually Mayella who made sexual advances towards Tom, and as a result was beaten by her father for kissing a Black man. However, despite the obvious, undeniable facts of the case, the all white jury found in favor of the Ewells and sentenced Tom Robinson to death. Tom eventually died when he was shot in an attempt to escape from prison. In examining the case, one can see how the four classes in Maycomb were involved to varying degrees. The first two classes were represented at the trial by the presiding judge and attorneys and many jurors. It was the responsibility of all these people to see that Tom received a fair trial despite the cord of prejudice that had a stranglehold on the townspeople of Maycomb. However, this had to be a difficult task because they would have to challenge the attitudes of the townspeople and Atticus alone seemed to be willing to do that. ³The older citizens, the present generation of people who had lived side by side for years and years, were utterly predictable to one another: they took for granted attitudes, character shadings, even gestures, as having been repeated in each generation and refined by time²(Lee page#). Instead of these people taking an interest in seeing that justice was done, they treated the trial as ³Ša gala occasion. There was no room at the public hitching trail for another animal, mules and wagons were parked under every available tree. The courthouse square was covered with picnic parties sitting on newspapers, washing down biscuit and syrup with warm milk from fruit jars. It was a crime that the upper classes of Maycomb condoned and even participated in this kind of behavior. The litigants, the Ewells, and the defendant, Tom Robinson, a kind, black man, represented the two lower classes. The jury's decision proved one sad, undeniable fact: when a black man's word went against a white man's word, the white man, regardless of his background or his character, would always be victorious. Despite the jury's doubts pertaining to the Ewells' accusations against a Black man, they had to find in favor of Mayella because she was white. In spite of the jury's knowledge of Tom Robinson's character, they could not allow Mayella 's accusations to go unanswered. To do so would have made the two races equal, an idea which was unconscionable at that time. There was no justice or mercy for a Black man, even one as upstanding as Tom Robinson. Atticus may have stated this point best when referring to the jury's decision, "They've done it before and they did it tonight and they'll do it again and when they do it, seems that only children weep" (Lee page #). The strong prejudices and social strata of Maycomb County had a negative effect on the events in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. This fact was evident in the trial of Tom Robinson, an innocent black man unjustly convicted of rape. Atticus is correct. Many atrocities will be committed in the name of justice until we ³learn to be compassionate and understanding of the problems and conditions of life faced by other people.
Harper Lee wrote, “when Atticus turned away from Mayella he looked like his stomach hurt.” during the trial. Chapter 18: People tried to force their way into prison and kill Tom Robinson. A group of white men, including Mr Cunningham, really wanted him killed as the town believed the ‘white family’. They chose the Ewells over Tom Robinson because he is black.
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...
“Beneath the armor of skin and bone and mind, most of our colors are amazingly the same.” This quote by Aberjhani is very relatable to “To Kill A Mockingbird”. The novel by Harper Lee was published in 1960. The book involves racism, rape, and inequality. A major theme in the book is unfairness. Maycomb County is a small, prejudice town in Alabama. The town is divided between racist Whites, and innocent Blacks. African Americans had no rights and no power in the 1930s. Whites had a lot more rights, and had power over the Black community. From innocent Blacks being killed, court siding with Whites, Maycomb is a very unfair town.
It was clear based on the evidence that Tom was innocent, but with the jury consisting of only white men in 1930's Alabama, they decided to convict Tom only because it was a white man's word against a black man's. This upsetted Jem and Scout as they were sure that Tom and Atticus would win the case. It made them realize that people with prejudice will make unfair decisions, even when it's clear that they are making the wrong decision: "...but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed." (Lee 323). Seeing this changes Jem and Scout's perception of the people living in Maycomb, as they start to question whether the people of Maycomb were as good-hearted as they thought. Nowadays, there would not be racial prejudice in a courtroom, however the jury that was biased during Tom's trial could be the modern equivalents of people who use racial profiling, racial bias, and stereotyping. The kids and the reader learn that people who make judgements and decisions based on prejudice are people who should not be considered
Taser International (2006). Instructor Certification Lesson Plan (Version 13.0 ed., Rev.). Scottsdale, Arizona: Taser International.
Not all of Maycomb, Alabama residents agreed with the town’s prevalent racism and segregation. Atticus, a white lawyer in the town of Maycomb, was providing voluntary legal representation of a black man accused of committing a crime against a white woman, which was frowned upon by many of the town’s white residents. Atticus respected other people’s opinions “...but before I can live with other folks
Less lethal weapons are tools, which are available to police officers that have a reduced likelihood of producing great bodily harm or death (Young, 2004). These tools are classified, through third party testing, by measuring the mass, velocity and payload delivered when they are deployed (Young, 2004). The most commonly found less lethal weapons are, olio capsaicin (pepper spray), impact weapon (baton) and stun guns (Tasers) (Young, 2004).
...very affectively. They say getting hit with just one rubber ball from a sting ball is equivalent to being hit with a 100 MPH pitch from a major league baseball pitcher (“Sting-Ball”). Another law enforcement device that is mostly used for hostage situations and used mainly by S.W.A.T. is the flash bang. The flash bang causes an extremely bright flash of light and a very loud bang and temporally blinds the person or persons in the area and also causes temporary deafness. These devices are a safe and effective alternative to using lethal force. (“Flash-Bang”)
Law enforcement officers have searched for an effective non-lethal technique to control unruly teenagers and criminals that are noncompliant with the law; as a result, police officers resorted to the use of non-lethal force--Tasers. Tasers and stun guns are very similar to one another. Tasers are thought to be a non-lethal alternative to firearms, but in actuality, it has caused more deaths in teenagers than the use of batons and pepper spray which are also another non-lethal alternative to firearms. Law enforcement officers often use Tasers on troubled teenagers when teenagers often pose a threat to themselves or to others around them. Police officers believe that Tasers will control these unruly teenagers causing no harm to the human body. Tasers were invented in 1969 by an Apollo Moon landing scientist named John Cover. Taser International is the only manufacturer of Taser guns. Tasers are hand-held devices that law enforcement officers began to use in the 1990s. Tasers discharge two thin wires with probes attached to it (Plouffe Jr., 2009). Once the probes are in contact with the person’s clothing or body, it penetrates electricity, debilitating the human body by minimizing muscular activity (Nanthakumar, 2008). The Taser delivers an electrical impulse of 50,000 volts through the discharged wires. Once the probes are darted in the human body, it results in immediate loss of the individual’s neuromuscular control and ability to perform coordinated movements for the duration of five seconds of electrical shock (“United States of,” 2004). As of 2007, Amnesty International USA, states that there has been an estimate of 250 deaths due to the fact that law enforcement officers are resorting to the use of Tasers (Plouffe...
A black man is on trial during the novel, but it’s the white folk of Maycomb that come out most affected. Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird details the coming-of-age of both Scout and her brother Jem as they start to realize that the town that they have grown up in is not as nice as it may seem. This all starts when their father, Atticus, who is a lawyer, takes on the case of Tom Robinson, an African American man who is accused of raping a white woman. Since this is the 1960’s not too many people take to kindly to Atticus defending Tom, and because of it his family comes under fire from the community. Even though it was Atticus who took on the Tom Robinson case, it was his family who suffered the most: from the harassment of the townsfolk,
Tom Robinson’s trial, and in fact his entire life, was badly affected by racism. It is truly a testament to the corruption of society when a person who has earned a bad reputation is held in higher esteem than a person who was born with it, as is the case with Bob Ewell and Tom Robinson. Even though Tom was obviously honest in his testament, the jury sided with Bob Ewell because he was white. They made this decision despite the fact that the Ewell family was widely known to be a worthless part of society. Jem, not being racially prejudiced, could not understand this mentality. As Atticus pointed out, “If you (Jem) had been on the jury, son, and eleven other boys like you, Tom would be a free man.”
Koury, Renee, and Dan Reed. "Berkeley May Ban or Limit Police Use of Pepper Spray" San Jose Mercury News 28 October 1997. Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services. 25 pars. Online. Internet 19 April 1999. Available HTTP: www.inspire-indiana.net
There's no denying that it's a dangerous world out there. While it's not a good idea to become paranoid, it's always a good idea to be prepared. That is why stun guns have become a popular self-defense choice for many people. Stun guns work by using electromagnetic impulses to hinder the workings of the attacker's muscles and nerves. When a stun gun hits the attacker, a sudden jolt of pain will surge through their body and the electromagnetic pulses will render the attacker paralyzed for a few moments. This allows the victim to escape unharmed to find help or call the authorities.
... the society has accepted the great creation of tablets for their needs and wants, the popularity of tablets are increasing and users are constantly hoping for newer IT advancement.
In today’s technology marketplace, PDAs are obsolete. However, one device that has replaced the PDA is the tablet computer. The tablet computer is a powerful learning tool. Students may use tablets to manage their schoolwork, communicate, conduct research, take notes, create multi-media projects, and practice skills. They are highly portable and apps available for every learning need. A computer tablet is defined as, “A general-purpose computer contained in a single panel. Its distinguishing characteristic is the use of a touch screen as the input device.” (Encyclopedia, n.d.)