Analysis Of To Kill A Mockingbird: The Tom Robinson Trial

The coming-of-age novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is set in the fictional town of Maycomb County, Alabama around the 1930s. Vile racial discrimination in Maycomb is what lead to the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman. Atticus, the father of Scout, was assigned to defend Robinson in court. Atticus organized his argument to be successful by using rhetorical devices- ethos, pathos, and logos.

Furthermore, Atticus wishes to portray Tom positively and the Ewells negatively. Atticus’s pathos appeal attempts to do this as shown when he says, “...there is … evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell is beaten savagely by someone who led almost exclusively with his left” (272). This insinuates that Mr. Ewell is the true perpetrator of Mayella’s injuries as he is left hand dominated. Tom on the other hand, has a useless left arm, making the accusations directed at him very unlikely. This takes the feeling of indignation the jurors have for Tom and places it on a new

Yesterday, Tom Robinson was fatally shot after he attempted to escape county jail. According to Atticus Finch, defense attorney, Tom Robinson suddenly charged at the prison fence and started to climb over. The guards first asked Robinson to stop and they then fired several warning shots before finally shooting him seventeen times. He was proclaimed dead at the scene.

The historical Scottsboro Trial and the fictional trial of Tom Robinson in the book To Kill a Mockingbird have striking similarities that may or may not be coincidence. Both trials took place in Alabama during the same era of relentless prejudice and bias, which is a major factor in each of these cases. In both cases, the accusers were white women and the persecutors were black men; therefore the black men were immediately considered liars and “wrongdoers”, unlike the word of the white women, which was essentially the truth above the word of someone who was black. Even when the persecutors in these cases had a possible chance of being declared innocent, mobs of citizens formed to threaten them, many of whom were simply racist against

The residents of Maycomb have mixed feeling about the Tom Robinson trials outcome. The majority of the town is behind the verdict while the children were disgusted by it. Poor Atticus was heartbroken by the verdict but not at all shocked by the outcome.

In the classic novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, the novel depicts a Southern town with a crisis of conscience and race. The story takes place in Maycomb, Alabama in the early 1930s, while poverty and unemployment were at their peak due to the Great Depression. Maycomb like any other town has its agriculture, buildings, and people. With people come injustices, judgmental views, consciences, crimes, etc. Due to this there are law enforcers, courts, lawyers, judges and those accusing or being accused. One of the town lawyers is Atticus Finch. Atticus is a level-headed man who has faced many dilemmas with his profession as a lawyer, family and town. Atticus has a daughter, Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch, and

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a realistic fiction and coming of age story. The book takes place in 1932 in the deep south of Alabama in a small town called Maycomb County. Maycomb County is suffering through the Great Depression during this time in the story. The story follows Jem, Scout, and their father Atticus Finch. In the book, there is a big trial at the courtroom about Tom Robinson, who was accused of raping Mayella.

The 1930's were a turbulent time for race relations in America. The book To Kill A Mockingbird takes place during this time period. Written by Harper Lee To Kill A Mockingbird is a story that is set during the times of the 1930s in Maycomb, AL. The story is a flashback told through the perspective of Scout Finch, the daughter of Atticus Finch, a successful lawyer, and the sister of Jem Finch. In a part of Scout’s flashback, she recalls the trial of Tom Robinson, who was defended by her father. Tom Robinson was an African American who was accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell, daughter of Bob Ewell. Unfortunately, this trial is unfair and biased with an unjust outcome because of the jury and racism.

Francis Jeffrey once said, “Opinions founded on prejudice are always sustained with the greatest violence.” This cannot be closer to the truth, especially in regard to the treatment of black people in the United States during their fight for equality in the 1900’s. To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during the early 1900’s. The story is told from Scout’s point of view and follows the lives of her, Jem her brother, Atticus their father, and their friend Dill. Atticus is a lawyer and is defending a black man, Tom Robinson, against charges of beating and raping a white girl. Jem and Scout witness and are subject to prejudice on account of race, gender, and social class. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, fear, gossip and stereotyping play a major role in the creation of discrimination and unjust prejudice between people, but these same people seek out common ground with others despite differences which is often times found by creating a common enemy which is observed and developed throughout the story by the main character, Scout.

The novel ¨To Kill A Mockingbird,¨ written by Harper Lee, was based in the 1930´s. The main family , the Finch´s, are a wealthy white family. The town of Maycomb in this novel was based off of Harper Lee's childhood hometown, which was divided by racism. When Harper Lee wrote this novel in the 1950's and 1960, the Civil Rights movement was very big. Black and white people were segregated from each other in many Southern states. This caused her to write about Atticus Finch, a lawyer who took over a case of a black man named Tom Robinson. Not a whole lot of people in the town approved of him helping Tom. A mob even tried to kill Tom for allegedly raping a white girl named Mayella Ewell. Atticus knew the jury wouldn't favor a black person over a white, but he tried

The case is only a few days away and it is more serious than I initially thought. Mayella is accusing Tom Robinson of rape, a criminal offense that is punishable by death in the state of Alabama. Our side only has one witness, Tom Robinson himself. He has told me his perspective on the incident, admitting that he had visited her numerous times for jobs that she appointed to him. On the day of the incident, Tom claims that Mayella jumped onto him, hugged him and kissed him. Mayella will claim that Tom Robinson used unreasonable force upon her. However, Tom Robinson had an accident at a young age and has completely lost his ability to use his left hand. Tom will testify this upon the Court of Maycomb County. This should create a sense of

Furthermore, Mr.Finch revealed that the attacker would have to have lead dominantly with their left hand. It was uncovered that Tom Robinson’s left hand remains useless from when he damaged it in a cotton gin as a boy. Not long after, Atticus called Mr.Ewell up and requested that he write his name on a slip of paper. Bob’s haughty behavior was on full display for the duration of his time on the stand. Not long after, Mr.Gilmer’s impertinent attitude towards Tom Robinson came out as well. Dill Harris, a local boy, had this to say, “That old Mr. Gilmer doin' him thataway, talking so hateful to him..It was the way he said it made me sick, plain sick.” Although it is revealed that he is left handed, Mr.Ewell refuses any involvement in Mayella’s attack.

Many people believe that Americans should nullify its racial past. Although that is our past, as Americans we can’t change events that happened in history. In Tom Robinson’s trial it is shown how a little town like Maycomb can be with the town fold and their prejudices. Less than 100 years ago, African Americans were still slaves. The period of time this book was based on was when racism was supposed to be over although it still remains, MANY African Americans were slaves in the book To Kill a Mockingbird. Tom Robinson, although a good man, was imprisoned for his skin color.

A closer look at the ways of the South during the time period 1925 through 1935 reveals the accurate representation of society in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. Many of the fictional events occurring in the novel are closely related to actual historical events that took place in the South during the time period in which the book is set. Most importantly, the trial of Tom Robinson illustrates how life was for a black man in a world dominated by white men. Tom Robinson’s trial can be paralleled to the trials of the Scottsboro boys, the horrific lynching that occurred in the South, and the general attitude of white society towards black society during the time period.

One particular warm summer day, just a few hours after noon in the “tired old town” of Maycomb, the Finch household was unusually quiet(6. Lee). So quiet you can hear a pin drop1. Atticus had gone out, the children were nowhere to be seen, and even Calpurnia was away visiting family claiming they could live a day without her. That left ”Aunt” Alexandra Hancock in the house all alone.