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To kill a mockingbird describing justice
Notions of justice and fairness in “to kill a mockingbird” by Harper Lee Murder
Examples of justice in killing a mockingbird
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Dave Willis states, “Do not treat people the way they treat you. Treat people the way God treats you.” A special element about the United States Judicial System is it includes a law that states everyone is given a fair trial. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the character Tom Robinson was convicted of rape by Bob and Mayella Ewell. Tom was not given a fair trial for a various amount of reasons during his trial. Tom Robinson is deserving of an appeal considering that he was not given due process. During the time of Tom’s trial, the biased jury ignored the evidence that was provided that proved Tom did not rape or harm Mayella Ewell. For instance, during the trial, Heck Tate, the town sheriff, testified that Mayella was beaten on the right side of
In To Kill a Mockingbird, a conflict that connects to the theme innocence should be protected is the death of Tom Robinson. Once found guilty, Tom Robinson was placed in prison. Because of his race, Robinson knew he would be sentenced the death penalty. Soon after being convicted, Robinson tried to escape. He knew that he didn’t deserve to be punished. While trying to escape, he was shot 17 times by p...
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.
I could see that it was no used to him.” (Lee 248). The sole evidence of this apparent attack was a beaten up mayella Ewell- which, the bruises had vanished by the time of the trial. Her injuries concluded a left-handed assailant, which proves that Tom was incapable of assaulting her. The three Witnesses called for mayella ( herself, her father, and Heck Tate) all blamed him without coherence storylines that did not add up.
Tom Robinson is at the stand being questioned by Mr. Gilmer. Dill starts to feel sick because of how Mr. Gilmer is treating Tom. The narrator explains, “Well, Dill,after all he is just a negro” (Lee 266).This piece of evidence shows that prejudice is used as an antagonist in the novel by giving an unfair trial to Tom Robinson. The quote states “he is just a negro,” which shows that the trial is unfair just because of the towns racial views on people of color. The jury is all white and the case is black versus white. The jury is very biased towards the case. The prosecuting lawyers and defending lawyer are giving their closing statements. Atticus ends with a powerful speech that prove Tom is innocent and his views on race. The jury thinks over all the evidence for a long time and come to a verdict. The author of To Kill A Mockingbird quotes, “Guilty...Guilty...Guilty...Guilty…” (Lee 282). This quote shows the jury is very prejudice. There is more than enough evidence to prove Tom did not rape Mayella and that Bob Ewell beat her. Even though there is enough evidence to proves Tom’s innocence the jury’s verdict is guilty just because of their hate and their prejudice towards African Americans. Ultimately, prejudice is being used as an antagonist is very thoroughly shown throughout the entirety of the
Guilty, those were the only words that came Out of Judge Taylor’s mouth that night. Everyone in the court room knew who had committed the crime, and it wasn’t Tom. All that he could do now was let it sink in. The fact that he had just been convicted for a crime he never did was unthinkable. The thought of that happening to someone would nearly drive a man mad, but not Tom. The only thing Tom did was sit in his chair, and learned to live with reality. The fact that Tom didn’t react with violence is astonishing. Not only does he not make a fit when he gets convicted, but he also has the patience to listen to Mayella’s made up story. He knew that her whole story is one big scam but didn’t even react with violence and frustration. Listening to someone trying to accuse you of crime that never happened would turn a normal person crazy. Tom used to act very nice towards Mayella. Before the trial he would walk past her house every day to and from work. Time to time Mayella would ask Tom if he could help her with simple chores to do around the house. For example, he helped her chop up an old chiffarobe. Being the gentlemen Tom was, he never charged her a
I asked myself while I was reading To Kill a Mockingbird was Tom Robinson only convicted because of the color of his skin? I think this is true because Atticus even stated that Tom was only convicted because of the color of skin. Also I think he was accused because Bob Ewell didn’t like a black man helping Mayella and finally I think the whole jury were a bunch of racist old guys that’s why I think Tom Robinson was convicted and that is because of his skin color.
The justice system is meant to uphold strong morals and promote fairness and equality for all. However, often times the justice system fails to meet those standards. Examples of this can be seen not only in fiction but in the real world every single day. From the case of Tom Robinson in the fictional 1930s Maycomb county to the courts in Washington D.C. to this day, cases of injustice run rampant. This leaves everyone wondering what the cause of these injustices are, who or what is to blame, and how it can be fixed. The justice system is still flawed in different ways just as it was in the 1930s when Tom Robinson took the stand.
Throughout the trial, I believed (and still do) that Mayella’s father, Bob Ewell, beat her (Lee 187). When I cross-examined Mayella, I tried to get her to admit to this, but she still insisted that Tom Robinson raped her (Lee 187-188). If a person would look at the evidence on hand, they would know that this was not the case. First of all, Tom’s left arm was crippled from being caught in a cotton gin (Lee 186). Considering the fact that she was bruised and beat on the right side of the face, this was not possibly an action from Tom. However, Bob Ewell was left handed, meaning that when he was hitting Mayella, he hit her along the right side of the face (Lee 177). Second of all, Tom was only trying to help Mayella with her chores around the house because no one else in the family would help her (Lee 191). Thirdly, why on this particular day, November 21st, were the children out of the house? Mayella told Tom that she had saved money for a whole year so she could treat them to ice cream (Lee 193). Also on that day, she asked him to come inside for the first time to fix the door hinges that did not need to be fixed (Lee 193).
The trial of Tom Robinson v. Mayella Ewell, the evidence is pointing towards innocence, but the jury is made up of white men in the south, and the verdict is guilty. The case in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee shows how Atticus tells the readers how narrow-minded people can be towards other races.
I was infuriated to hear the verdict when the jury convicted Tom Robinson. What made it even worse is the fact that it was a grueling one by one read out of each juror's verdict. I know that Tom is innocent, and so does everyone else in that room. Though it fought with what had long been considered just another human moral, a part of everyday life. I knew that day in my heart and mind that what happened to Tom was morally wrong, and inside my soul, I decided not to allow that to happen ever again. I don’t want to live my life just putting up with the same assumption that had been placed on blacks since we first had contact with them. They should be treated as equals with whites, and not judged based on the color of their skin, because that
Tom Robinson, the African American, was a man of innocence who was accused of rape, a crime that he did not commit. If the jury had realized that they were treating Tom unequally and unfairly the verdict and outcome of the trial would be utterly different. In the trials of Tom Robinson and OJ Simpson, the amendment of the bill of rights seemed to be only considered for OJ. These two trials demonstrate how race, social status, and money have an effect on the current law system of the United
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.”
In the court, the director leaves out the systemic racism that Harper Lee claims is the reason Tom Robinson is convicted of rape (Dave). The racist community, and a mob of white men, make up the deciding factor of the court. However, for someone watching the movie it would not be understood that the hatred expressed towards Atticus is for supporting a black man ("Overview: To Kill a Mockingbird"). The only reason Tom loses the case is because he is black and the movie underplays this as the reason.
In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the mockingbird as a symbol for vulnerable and
To be a mockingbird is to be a honest, caring person, like Boo Radley, Tom