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Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

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Racism has been a hot subject for many years. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, it is the central theme of the novel. When Atticus Finch is asked by Judge Taylor, to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, Atticus accepts and defends Tom to the full extent of the law. Atticus even makes the plaintiff, Mayella Ewell, question how the incident involving herself and Tom Robinson, actually happened. Nevertheless, when Atticus made the case proving that Tom Robinson did not commit the crime he was accused of, a jury of white men all ruled that he was guilty. Furthermore, what does this say about the jury, the defendant, the plaintiff, and the lawyers involved in the trial? Did the jury decide guilty because of the information provided by the lawyers or was it because of the color of Tom Robinson’s skin? When Mayella Ewell is questioned by Atticus Finch during the trial, her story changes several times during the questioning. When Atticus questions Mayella about the night Tom Robinson supposedly beat and raped her, she contradicts herself on multiple occasions. Atticus states when he is questioning her “You seem sure enough that he choked you. All this time you were fighting back, remember? You kicked and hollered as loud as you could.’ Do you remember him beating you about the face?” (Pg 185). Mayella ponders the statement and then admits that she really couldn’t remember being beaten around the face, but quickly changes to yes, yes Tom Robinson had hit her. Mayella changes her

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