Praying For Sheetrock By Ben Alston

During Tom Robinson’s trial, the strong prejudice of Maycomb County and the negative effects of its social stratification were clearly demonstrated. Whilst Tom Robinson is innocent of the crime of rape, he gave the Caucasians more reason to convict him on the basis of daring to feel sorry for a Caucasian - it is not expected that a negro (considered as being a part of the lowest class of society, event lower than the ‘white trash’) could feel sorry for a Caucasian and the Caucasians could not accept such a presumption.

During Mr. Rosenberg’s leave we learned different dramatic elements such as script analysis, stasis and intrusion, dramatic conflict, etc. This helps us to understand the different elements so one day when we have to apply the elements we will already be mindful of them. Additionally, we also learned about the beginning of theater dating back to ancient Greece and their different ways of displaying theater.

The town keeps its prejudices after Tom’s death by blaming him for it,”To Maycomb, Tom’s death was typical. Typical of a nigger to cut and run. Typical of a niggers mentality…”(Lee,322). The town does not care about Tom’s death except for a few people. “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed”(Lee,323). Tom has no chance. Even though he is innocent he is still convicted, killed, and forgotten because racism and prejudice run to deep.

First of all, there is always a right way to treat someone and the way you treat someone shouldn’t be depended on what color of skin they have. “It couldn’t be worse, Jack. The only thing we’ve got is a black man’s word against the Ewells‘. The evidence boils down to you-did—I-didn’t. The jury couldn’t possibly be expected to take Tom Robinson’s word against the Ewells’—are you acquainted with the Ewells?” (48). This shows that Tom Robinson has no chance at winning the case because of his color. Even though, the one place that should respect any color and treat everyone fair is the courtroom, but judges carry their feelings right into there. Since the Ewells are white they are going to get respected more and treated better and more trustworthy, so when they say Tom Robinson is guilty, they all believe them over Tom’s word. Tom wasn’t being cruel

During the trial, Mr. Gilmer begins to question Tom and his actions. Mr.Gilmer does so by asking, “Were you... scared of arrest, scared you have to face up to what you did? No, suh, scared I have to say something I didn't do,” (Doc D). Privileges are only given to those who are born into them. In most cases, it would be white people. White people will always be given priority because they are seen as innocent human beings. Preconceived notions have caused white people to devalue the lives of blacks and allow them to formulate assumptions that are not necessarily precise. This affected Tom because he had no power to get himself out of the lies that the Ewell has thrown upon him. Tom comprehends that in a dark, corrupted society there is little to no chance to achieve justice. This trial was self-contradictory because racism was utilized to cloud their judgment. Mayella’s filthy white skin has poisoned the eyes of justice. In addition to that, Tom Robinson was yet again demeaned and belittled. Mr. Gilmer emphasizes, “You felt sorry for her, you felt sorry for her? ”(Document E). Tom’s sympathy for Mayella leads him into more trouble. Blacks and whites are not socially equal. Therefore, they should not assimilate accordingly. White people have blind spots that cause them to misinterpret Tom’s actions. Thus, Tom’s acts of innocence were taken as

The short story On The Bridge by Todd Strasser is about two boys, Adam and Seth, who are hanging out after school on a bridge that overlooks the highway. Seth was the character that demonstrated maturity towards the end of the story. He showed some examples of this when Adam got them into some trouble. For example, when Adam flicked his cigarette onto the windshield of a car below the bridge, the drivers came up behind them. “But suddenly he [Seth] noticed that all three guys were staring at him. He quickly looked at Adam and saw why. Adam was pointing at him.” It was this point where Seth started to question his friendship with Adam, because they had gotten into trouble because of Adam, and then he blamed it on Seth. After the men left, Seth

This books overall message about racial relations at the time was that the way that people who came from Africa were treated was incredibly immoral. This is shown in many cases throughout the book, like in chapter 42, when despite the fact that Jim helped keep Tom alive, he is chained, treated roughly, and only left alive because no one wants to risk having to compensate his master, and only treat him well after they find out not only that he’s free, but are also told that he helped keep Tom alive after being shot. This chapter also shows how generally willing humans are to manipulate anyone they consider inferior, and even begin to take offence at others doing the same. "They hain't no RIGHT to shut him up! SHOVE!—and don't you lose a minute. Turn him loose! He ain't no slave; he's as free as any cretur that walks this earth!" (42.45.) This quote shows that in the fact that Tom just made Jim go through painstaking efforts to get out of the barn and trick everyone, but the moment the other adults try the same thing to a lesser extent, Tom becomes furious and decides to finally tell everyone that Jim is free.

Rhetorical devices are used by writers to have an effect on its audience, they use words in specific ways to convey meaning. In the book “The Presence of Others” they introduce two essays that deal with identity, “Guys vs Men” and “Reptile Dreams” (Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz). In the essay by Dave Barry “Guys vs Men” he uses several rhetorical devices to describe what he believes, is the difference between guys and men (405). One rhetorical device Barry uses is tone. He creates a humorous tone to get his message across to readers; his message is that people should relax and not take things so seriously. In contrast, in Keith Bradsher’s “Reptile Dreams,” Bradsher creates a morose tone to express his opinion on what vehicles say about a person’s identity (471). While the two authors are telling very different stories, both use some of the same rhetorical devices to convey their feelings. Dave Barry’s “Guy vs. Men” and Keith Bradsher’s “Reptile Dreams” both use rhetorical devices of tone, anecdote, and hyperbole to influence the reader.

Maycomb's unjust beliefs on race determined the outcome of Tom Robinson's trail. Atticus´s defence was more than enough to set Tom free, but Maycomb's ignorance and narrow-minded view on African Americans set an innocent man to jail. Atticus told Jem "If you had been on that jury, son, and eleven other boys like you, Tom would be a free man" (Lee 295). The jury members had been affected by the ignorance of society. They convicted Tom because when they grow up they learned racists beliefs and they do not know any other way. In Maycomb, racism is a normal part of everyday life. When kids at Scouts school call Atticus a n***** lover. Atticus explains to Scout what it means, "Scout," said Atticus, "n*****-lover is just one of those terms that don't mean anything—like snot-nose. It's hard to explain—ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody's favoring Negroes over and above themselves.¨ (144). The racists views and attitudes determined the guilty verdict of Tom. In Atticus closing argument, he says "She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man¨(272). Society has a set of rules which are not written but known, these rules tend to be ignorant and impartial. When it comes to race and the misguided beliefs about race, there is a profusion of ignorance. The expectations on race set by society affect the actions and events of life.

The citizens of Maycomb county believe that a white man such as Bob Ewell cannot commit a crime that Tom Robinson was apprehended with charges of rape (even though he did not commit it) and that only a black man can commit these crimes because they are beneath a white man. In chapter 15 of To Kill a Mockingbird it shows how Tom Robinson represents a mockingbird when a group of local Maycomb county citizens formed a mob and went to the jail to take Tom away and give to him what they think he deserves (to be hung). Atticus knew that this trial would upset the townsfolk, so he stayed with Tom Robinson within the jail and sat his chair right outside his cell to protect him from being lynched. Fortunately for Tom Robinson and Atticus, Scout, Jem, and Dill had followed Atticus to the jail interfering with what the mob was set to do. Scout spoke out into the angry mob to Mr. Cunningham when she states, "Hey Mr. Cunningham. How's your entailment gettin' along?... Don't you remember me, Mr. Cunningham? I'm Jean Louise Finch. You brought us some hickory nuts one time, remember?"(pg. 174). This is important because the lynch mob that showed up to harm Tom and anyone who got in their way, such as Atticus was set on their plan to obtain Tom, but a child made one group member come to his senses. Scout speaking out to Mr. Cunningham reminded him that he is also a father and that because children were involved, it

Tom Robinson’s case, in which we see in that time period how a white man’s word goes against a black’s, is perceived as unfair by Scout, Jem, Atticus, and many of their neighbors. As Atticus says to Jem, “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 trash.”(295) This quote explains that there is great injustice and extortion for personal gain. This is disturbing in its own right; The fact that Atticus needs to even make a comment like that is disturbing in its own right, let alone that any person would do that to another, also tells Jem this: “So far nothing in your life has interfered with your reasoning process. Those are twelve reasonable men in everyday life, Tom’s jury, but you saw something come between them and reason. You saw the same thing that night in front of the jail. When that crew went away, they didn’t go as reasonable men, they went because we were there. There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads–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) Even a man like Atticus, a sort of rebel in that time period, accepts that the system is

In To Kill a Mockingbird there are many Caucasian people who are racist towards African Americans. There is an African American man, Tom, who is treated differently on the stand because he is a different race and because a Caucasian man is accusing him of committing a crime. Tom, has a Caucasian lawyer who is also treated differently because he is defending an African American. The Caucasian lawyer, Atticus, is named called by many people but this doesn’t affect Atticus to stop helping Tom. Atticus keeps helping Tom and while doing this he is being praised by the African American community and this helps him to keep going. Atticus knows that Tom did nothing wrong and he wants the Caucasian community to see this too. After the

The theme of social injustice due to racism is demonstrated by Mr. Gilmer’s actions. Tom is being cross-examined by Mr. Gilmer and Dill becomes upset and exits the courtroom with Scout by his side. “‘Well Mr. Finch didn’t act that way to Mayella or old man Ewell when he cross-examined them. The way that man called him ‘boy’ all the time and sneered at him, an’ looked around at the jury every time he answered-’”(Lee 226). Mr. Gilmer talks down to Tom because he is black, and is considered lower in social class. Mr. Gilmer is treating Tom as if he were in a lower social class; this is what he wants to portray to the jury. The class system in Maycomb is wrong and Dill sees how Tom is being treated unjustly. Tom is seen as trash just because he is black; he has a lot more character than Mr. Ewell, but because he is black, Mr. Gilmer is painting Tom to be lower than the lowest of whites. Because of Tom’s skin color, he is treated like he is less of a man. People in Maycomb cannot see how wrong they are because the citizens are stuck in a mindset where white people act like they are superior. The citizens see no problem with Mr. Gilmer belittling Tom in the way he is speaking to

In the very beginning of the book, we see how Uncle Tom has already proven to his master that even black people were capable of being honorable and trustworthy. Mr. Shelby even defends Uncle Tom to Haley who scoffs at the idea of a slave being capable of such traits. Mr. Shelby tells

In the 1950’s the melodrama genre came to age and there is no better example than Douglas Sirk’s All that Heaven Allows. The melodrama followed some basic characteristics which can be identified in the film. First and foremost the narrative of the melodrama focused on the family. All that Heaven Allows follows the narrative of the typical melodrama but at the same time also challenges the social conventions. While Sirk follows many of the key themes he does so in a more detached fashion. The protagonist Cary is bound to her community by her social class. Change was occurring in society and the melodrama displayed people’s restraint to this. In All that Heaven Allows Sirk began his focus on the female and her desires in contrast to the more conservative male focused melodrama. As with the melodrama the legibility of the story, displayed through the plot, is simple and easy to follow. “Our engagement with the story depends on our understanding of the pattern of change and stability, cause and effect, time and space” (Bordwell and Thompson, 2008). The linear time flow of the film allows for it’s simple understanding. This is added to by the expressiveness of the melodrama, where everything is brought into the open and nothing is left unsaid. The expressiveness of the melodrama is also represented in the highly expressive mise-en-scene. Sirks use of colour, the human figure, camera work, lighting and music allow him to portray suppressed meaning and significance.