Moral Chaos in Harper Lee's Maycomb Essay

Atticus brings to light the town’s issue of racism through utilizing reason in his summation speech. Atticus starts by noting that, “The state of Alabama has not produced one iota of medical evidence that shows that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place” (Lee 271). Atticus causes the jury and the people in the courtroom to consider the facts rather then making a prejudgement based on race. Atticus describes disparity and suspicious evidence in the case:“It has relied instead upon the testimony of two

There was no room at the public hitching rail for another animal, mules and wagons were parked under every available tree. The courthouse square was covered with picnic parties sitting on newspapers.” (Lee, 160). The Ewells, Negroes and the defendant, Tom, represent the lower classes, the trial made it clear that when a black man’s word is against a white, the white, no matter the social status, always wins. Atticus understands the fact that winning the trial is very slim to none and he explains that you just can’t give up “They’ve done it before and they’ll keep doing it again and when they do it-seems that only children weep.” (Lee, 213). Despite the man Tom is, the jury must accuse someone of the crime and choose the easiest man to blame, Tom Robinson.

In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, she shows us the level of unfairness between justice and injustice. In this essay the unfairness between justice and injustice will appear through the racism seen in Maycomb, Bob Ewell’s abusive behavior, and the treatment of Boo Radley by the whole town.

Because of this prejudice, Tom’s ideas, actions, and life is affected. In Chapter 23, when Atticus and Jem talks about how the jury chose Tom’s sentence, Atticus explains why Tom had gotten such a harsh sentence and relates it to how Ewell used Robinson and knew how it would work in his favor. In addition, Lee writes, “ ...they couldn’t be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life” (295). In this quote, it is seen that Ewell knew the jury would see Robinson as inferior and subordinate compared to him because of this color, which means the jury send would send Tom Robinson to jail. This is unfair because Robinson has a better character and personality than Ewell, but society will prefer Ewell over Robinson because of his skin color. This prejudice against African Americans like Tom Robinson affects them in many ways and in Tom Robinson’s case, sends him to jail and death. The prejudice against Robinson makes him desperate to a point where he sees no future to himself and tries to escapes, but dies. This quote also shows how the white men in this story and this time period can be as fair as they can, but they can’t truly fair. This is because racism and its ideals are rooted into them from a young age and it can be hard, or even impossible to get rid of these ways. Next, in Chapter 6, Atticus explains in the same conversation to Jem that how white men cheat others out of things and that they are trash. To support this, Atticus says, “As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don't you forget it—whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is

Though the black community is sad that Tom Robinson was found guilty they are still faithful that Atticus will protect and defend the black community. Bob Ewell is not happy at all with the way Atticus questioned him and his daughter and the way he defended Tom Robinson. Miss Stephanie says that"this morning Bob Ewell stopped Atticus on the post office corner, spat in his face, and told him he'd get him if it took the rest of his life"t Jem's reaction to the verdict is that he leaves the courtroom and cries because he didn't think Tom would be guilty and he feels that it is an unfair verdict and he sees the town in an unfair way. I personally thought that this judging was just a way to seem like society was fair by giving a black man a “trial”. However, I think that they were going to say Tom Robinson was guilty either way.

Firstly, Tom Robinson is just one character that is prejudged in the novel. He is accused of raping a white girl named Mayella and it is a problem to the jury that a black man is trying to defend himself in court. Atticus realizes how Tom is being treated unfairly and that it is uncommon for African Americans and white people to associate with each other. During Atticus’s speech, Mayella is accused of lying in her testimony when “she kissed a black man [which is] something that in our society is unspeakable” (Lee 272). The black man who Atticus refers to is Tom. He is ridiculed and judged by several people in the book and he gets all this

Lastly, a black man named Tom Robinson is also destroyed by racism. Tom Robinson is falsely accused of raping Mayella Ewell who is a young white women. In the novel he is accused of raping Ewella simply due to his skin colour. Mayella’s abusive father, Bob Ewell uses Tom’s ignorance as an advantage, he proclaims that Tom Robinson is the guy who sexually assaults his daughter. Atticus decides to defend Tom Robinson because he believes that he is innocent. As he provides strong evidences that proves that Tom is innocent. At the trial, Atticus closes his argument with an outstanding closing statement that expresses his feelings towards the white jury’s view. He declares “ ‘(…) The witnesses for the state, with the exception of the sheriff of Maycomb County, have presented themselves to you gentlemen, to this court, in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption--the evil assumption--that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber.’ ”(Lee 273) Atticus speech illustrates what the mind set of the people in Macomb is.

As the United States “progresses” in economic, educational and technological advancements we still are fighting for racial equality. With more than 50 years since the brown vs. board of education case there is still incidents like Ferguson, Baton Rouge, and Phiando Castile where many questions are still unanswered. However, Harper Lee dealt with these same problems in 1960 when she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee created an emotionally confronting story. Lee writes through the eyes of “Scout” a lawyer’s daughter in a small sleepy town of Maycomb in Alabama during the great depression. Throughout the book “Scout” learns coming of age lessons from Atticus and her own experiences. But when Atticus takes on a case defending a black man (Tom Robinson) convicted for rapping a white woman (Mayella Ewell) and is found guilty. “Scout” her brother Jem begin to understand the effects of the prejudices in society. Therefore, Lee applies the literary concepts of diction and tone to revel the truth that prejudices in society negatively affect the way people treat each other in To Kill a Mocking Bird.

Life is like a thrill ride; one never knows what will be in store for them. Many characters in the story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee feel the same way about life, having experienced many surprising and unexpected turns of events. This story is about a sleepy southern town filled with prejudice, and a lawyer’s quest, along with his children Scout and Jem, to take steps in ridding the town of its prejudiced attitude. Despite being a white man, a lawyer named Atticus, defends an innocent black man accused of raping a white woman. However, everything does not go as was hoped, and the mindset of the society overpowered Atticus’s fair-minded argument. From this emerges a theme regarding the bigotry and bias overwhelming Maycomb: A

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the narrator, Scout, finds truth and compassion through personal encounters and through using the ethics that her untraditional yet wise father, Atticus, has taught her. She gradually strays away from the preconceptions that her town of Maycomb has planted into her mind and understands the world from a more broad perspective. Harper Lee demonstrates the way prejudice is encouraged by being part of an isolated group, the way it is resisted through individual experience, and the way it is overcome by acting with moral courage. Maycomb, Alabama is filled with social people, who have held the same views of the world for years because of their lack of exposure to outside influence; consequently, they spread

The people of Maycomb accused this innocent black man of raping a girl, solely based on the color of his skin. Furthermore, they sentenced him as guilty not because of the truth or evidence, but because they thought of the black as inferior. When Atticus explained to his brother, Uncle Jack, the court situation, he explains, “It couldn’t be worse, Jack… The jury couldn’t possibly be expected to take Tom Robinson’s word against the Ewells” (100). Despite evidence that proved Tom innocent, the jury denied Tom’s honest word and clear evidence, simply because a black man’s word did not have impact against the white’s.

Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. Jean Louise Finch, nicknamed Scout, recalls her experiences as a six-year-old from an adult perspective, describing the circumstances involving her father Atticus and his legal defense of Tom Robinson, a local African American male falsely accused of raping a white woman. This novel takes readers to the roots of human behavior and challenges the racial prejudices shown to colored folks in Maycomb, by integrating Robinson’s court case into to the plot. Atticus Finch is one of the few residents of Maycomb committed to racial equality, and with his strong convictions, wisdom, and

<br>Tom Robinson's trial is another travesty of justice. For most of Maycomb county, his guilt never comes into question during the trail. Atticus says that the trial had: "An inevitable verdict (pg. 222)" The mob that wanted to lynch Tom also assumed his guilt. They do not wait until he can have his day in court, they want to execute the punishment they deem acceptable -- a lynching. The leader of the mob challenges Atticus: "You know what we want ... Now get aside from the door Mr. Finch" (pg. 151). In the 30's, blacks were assumed to have committed any incidents the white members of society accused them of, without looking at evidence or hearing the blacks' story. In Tom's case, the mob believes Bob Ewell's story of Tom raping Mayella Ewell, without having any hesitation about the truth, and they are unwilling to look for any proof indicating Tom did not commit such a heinous crime.

Harper Lee's ‘To kill a Mockingbird’ explores the prejudicial issues which plague over the town Maycomb. Harper Lee uses the trial of Tom Robinson a black man accused of rape on a young white girl, Mayella as a central theme to portray the prominence of racial discrimination in Maycomb. The racial prejudice is also widely shown through the characterisation of Atticus. Having Scout as the narrator allows Harper Lee to highlight the gender inequity through a youthful unbiased perspective. The chauvinistic attitudes and prejudiced views of most of the town’s folk leaves Maycombs social hierarchy in an unfair order, victimising many of the town’s people due to their socially non-conforming habits some ‘socially unaccepted people’ including Boo

Mr.Robinson is a kind, honest, and hardworking man who has never hurt anyone in anyway, shape, or form. Tom Robinson is also referred to as a mockingbird also because of his innocence. Before he was accused of raping Mr. Ewell, He would help anyone with whatever they needed without asking for anything in return especially with Mr. Ewell chores. Ever since the trial begun the town assumes that he is guilty because of his skin color. Even after his death the town assumes that it's "typical of a African American to cut and run"(Lee 276).