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The, Mississippi Trial, 1955, By Chris Crowe

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“It was Jem’s turn to cry. His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd. ‘It ain’t right,’ he muttered…” (Lee 284). The realistic fiction novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and the historical fiction novel, Mississippi Trial, 1955 by Chris Crowe, both share many characteristics. Both novels take place in the Civil Rights Era American south and revolve around the unjust trial of an African American character. By the events that take place in the two novels, a universal theme is revealed: “Changing Attitudes Through Knowledge”. Through common experiences in Southern towns, both Jem and Hiram exhibit similar views on the treatment of African Americans, experience comparable changes in the way they view their role model, and are forced to surrender their optimistic attitudes towards justice and individual integrity. Hiram of Mississippi Trial, 1955 and Jem of To Kill a Mockingbird both show a dislike towards the prejudice and poor treatment that some people give to African Americans. They do not understand how white people can treat Negroes with so much contempt and hatred. After the trial of Tom Robinson, in which a guilty verdict was announced in spite of the utter lack of incriminating evidence, Jem shows disagreement with the verdict. The outcome deeply affects him, and he is profoundly afflicted by the injustice of the verdict. “Jem was suddenly furious. He leaped off the bed, grabbed me by the collar and shook me. ‘I never

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