Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird has been one of the classier novels in American Literature. To Kill a Mockingbird is the only book that Lee has gotten published, and it has brought her tremendous fame. Harper Lee’s motivation behind writing her novel was to show the various real life events that American’s struggled with over the Civil Rights Movement. One of Lee’s most recognizable characters is Scout Finch. To Kill a Mockingbird is told through the perspective of the main protagonist, which is, Scout Finch. Most people do not know that Scout was written with many specific characteristics that is shared with her and Lee. “When Lee was six years old one of the nation’s most tarnished trials was taking place, the Scottsboro Trials. On March 25, 1931, a freight train was stopped in Paint Rock, a tiny community in Northern Alabama, and nine young African American men who had been riding the rails were arrested (Adams 2). …show more content…
The shared commonalities of the two trials include both are Africans, both are indicted when neither had sufficient evidence to be convicted, both accused of rape, and both are from a southern part of Alabama. Chura stated, “The list of similarities could for on eventually extending into minor surface details, such as the fact that Emmett was killed August 31, the date is practically identical to the date of Tom’s death, which took place when August was on the brink of September” (Chura 2). While reading the novel certain information comes out about how Atticus provokes rage in the small County when he tries to defend Tom. However, when Tom Robinson was convicted without convincing evidence it was a surreal experience to all the citizens that showed any interest in the
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
Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird was published in the year of 1960, and is one of the few American classic novels awarded the Pulitzer Prize. The racism that is prevalent in many southern American towns in the 1930s is brought to life with profound imagery in To Kill a Mockingbird. There are several characters in the book, yet the true main character is the narrator's father, Atticus Finch. He is a man of great integrity and intelligence. A very heroic figure in more ways than one, Atticus possesses traits like being principled, determined, and, more importantly, he teaches others. When looking at To Kill a Mockingbird, one can see that Lee uses lots of description, dialogue, and actions to portray Atticus as a heroic individual.
Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, Harper Lee's, To Kill a Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior, to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, and the struggle between blacks and whites. Atticus Finch, a lawyer and single parent in a small southern town in the 1930's, is appointed by the local judge to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, who is accused of raping a white woman. Friends and neighbors object when Atticus puts up a strong and spirited defense on behalf of the accused black man. Atticus renounces violence but stands up for what he believes in. He decides to defend Tom Robinson because if he did not, he would not only lose the respect of his children and the townspeople, but himself as well.
In the courtroom that night it is revealed that the alleged crimes of Tom Robinson, a decent Negro man, most likely did not happen. As Atticus says in his closing argument, "The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence to the effect that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place. It has relied instead upon the testimony of two witnesses whose evidence has not only been called into serious question on cross-examination, but has been flatly contradicted by the defendant. The defendant is not guilty, but somebody in this courtroom is” (Lee 271). Showing the clear innocence of Tom Robinson due to lack of evidence, Scout thinks that the white jury will do the right thing only to find out that they still, unfairly, accuse him of being guilty. Scout and her brother, Jem, get very upset when they hear the verdict, however, it allows them both to learn the lesson that the county is unfair towards anyone who is not white. The county demonstrates this evil racism due to the social divisions in Maycomb between the whites and the blacks and because the whites see the blacks as unworthy of rights and freedoms. It was not just the trial itself that displayed evil in the world, but the comments and arguments surrounding the case did
One physician stated that two of the men were so badly crippled that they were incapable of committing such a crime. This was almost exactly like the trial of Tom Robinson, who had a crippled arm and seemed incapable of doing the crime that he was convicted of.... ... middle of paper ... ... The protagonists were alike as well, both Atticus Finch and Judge Horton fought to make the trials fair and make the courtroom a place where racism was unheard of.
Harper Lee wrote the novel To Kill a Mockingbird in the mid-1950. The narrator, Scout, grows alongside her brother in Maycomb County, Alabama. Growing up in a time of extreme racism, they face many struggles dealing with discrimination. In the novel, their father, Atticus Finch, defends a black man who was falsely accused of raping a white woman. Lee grew up in a time where situations happened that were similar to those in the novel. She grew up in a small town that was much like Maycomb County. Like Jem and Scout, Lee’s father was also a Lawyer. In her novel, Harper Lee uses many examples of symbolism, themes, and motifs to tell the story of Scout growing up and learning life lessons in a sleepy town in Alabama.
Tom Robinson, the defendant, was accused of raping and beating a local, white girl. Although Atticus is quite positive his client didn 't commit the disturbing crime, Tom 's race and history are not in his favor. Nevertheless, Atticus proceeds with the trial and skillfully uses persuasive techniques, such as diction, imagery, and tone, and rhetorical appeals to fight for what he presumes is morally right.
In the 1930’s the case of the Scottsboro boys caused a large amount of talk among the United States citizens. The book To Kill A Mockingbird was written by Harper Lee and has many connections to this case. Harper Lee showed many similar characteristics between the people involved in the trial and characters in the book such as Mayella Ewell, Tom Robinson, and Atticus Finch.
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.
Tom Robinson’s trial had a huge impact on the Finich’s family. Tom Robinson is a black man who was accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Mayella Ewell is a girl who comes from a disrespected family “The Ewells”. Before the trial started Jem was worried about Atticus. Jem and Scout started to get separated because Jem started enjoying his alone time and Scout was irritated because he was not doing anything exciting anymore. Jem also started refering to himself and the adults as “we” and that annoys Scout. He also tells Scout not to antagonize their aunt, and that leads to Scout asking him madly who he thinks he is to tell her what to do. They get into a physical fight and Atticus separates them. Before the trial started, Scout got lost in the
The Scottsboro Trial and the Tom Robinson Trial are almost identical in the forms of racism and prejudice shown and the the actual trial and the trials outcome. The racism and prejudice is clear and is a key factor throughout both cases, which took place in the same time period. Both trials are very common when it came to the time period, the time the trials have taken place in, those who were persecuted and lastly, why they were persecuted in the first place. “All blacks were liars, and always was not to be trusted was a major part of all of these trails” was the thought during this time. Someone that was white was believed no matter what when it came to a black mans word. Both trials were perfect examples of how the white people of Alabama were above the law. They showed that they could do whatever they wanted to the black people and get away with it. Examples in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Portrayed similar factual evidence that the Tom Robinson trial and the Scottsboro Trial are similar.
Nearly the whole last half of the book is about racism. The attitude of the whole town is that Tom Robinson, because he is black and,"…all Negroes lie,…all Negroes are basically immoral beings,…all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women…"(Lee 207), will be found guilty regardless of how good a case Atticus makes for him. There was substantial amount of evidence that suggests his innocence. Even the prosecution's two witnesses' stories contradicted each other. The jury did not give a guilty verdict it gave a racist verdict. Not a verdict based on fact, but a verdict based on the color of a man's skin. This is important because the author was not making this racism up; it was what it was like in those times. She is trying to show how ignorant and blind people can be just because of differences between them, as well as how society treats racial minorities.
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.
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