To Kill a Mocking Bird Newspaper Project

Tom is defended by Atticus no matter the trouble or cost Atticus has to take, whether it be putting his children or himself in trouble. Atticus believes every man is equal in the courtroom including the people who do wrong including Mayella and Mayella’s

Atticus is appointed to defend a black man named Tom Robinson who has been accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman. She is a member of the Ewell family, who is looked down upon by Maycomb society and referred to as "white trash." Atticus knows that Tom has almost no chance because he is black and will be tried by an all white jury. Nevertheless, he wants to help him reveal the truth.

This can be seen when Atticus announces to the judge, “I have nothing but pity in my heart for the chief witness for the state, but my pity does not extend so far as to her putting a man’s life at stake, which she has done in an effort to get rid of her own guilt” (Lee 271). Atticus is almost positive that Mayella is trying to cover up what she did, but Atticus does not poke around too much. Atticus reveals what is necessary to help his case and nothing more. While Atticus could have targeted Mayella to get her to reveal more information, he simply infers what he thinks happened. Atticus is very fair to Mayella in the fact that he doesn’t destroy her reputation by continuing on further with his idea of the way things went one night when Tom was at her house. Atticus believes that Tom and Mayella need to be treated equal, regardless of whether Mayella is going to hurt Tom or not. Atticus says that he has no sympathy for Mayella, but the rest of the book says otherwise. This shows how Atticus treats everyone equally, whether it be Tom Robinson, Mayella, or even the

Tom Robinson had been accused to raping Bob Ewell’s daughter, Mayella. Although Atticus provided all the evidence that proved he was innocent, the jury declared him guilty and he was sent to a prison. There, he was shot dead by the guards after allegedly trying to escape. But this is all suspicious since Tom knew that he might still have a good chance of being released. It is also skeptical because the guards shot him seventeen times, an unnecessary amount, Atticus said “seventeen bullet holes in him. They didn’t have to shoot him that much” (Lee 268). Atticus realizesDill dares Jem to run up to the Radley’s door and touch it, which is a big deal to them. Scout’s comments and reactions aided in triggering her older brother to accept Dill’s dare. Scout teases and mocks him about being scared. She says that “in all his life, Jem had never declined a dare”, and he wasn’t about to now (Lee 14).When he hesitates, she laughs at him. He can’t admit that he’s scared, especially not to his little sister who would never let him live it down.

Atticus was assigned Tom Robinson in the case against Bob Ewell, and in the process he was an example to both his children and the town as an honorable lawyer. When Bob Ewell brought a case to court claiming his white daughter had been raped by black Tom Robinson, almost everyone assumed the jury would charge Robinson guilty; however, Atticus hoped for a different outcome. Atticus firmly believed his client was innocent, contrary to the public’s beliefs. Because Atticus was highly respected as a lawyer, this case caused a riff between the town. As Tom awaited his trial in the county jail, Atticus spent the night guarded the door to the cell. A group of perturbed men soon ambushed Atticus and demanded to see the prisoner. “You know what we want,” another man said. “Get aside from the door, Mr. Finch (153).” In this situation, Atticus displayed honor through risking his life so an innocent black man was not killed. Even though he lost respect among his some neighbors, Atticus was honorable in his actions and stayed true to

“she became what she was, a thick-bodied girl accustomed to strenuous labor” (page 239, Scout Finch) is how Scout describes Mayella. During her testimony, she says that Tom beat her and raped her. She said she invited Tom to come into her yard to help her chop up an old chiffarobe. She said she would pay him a nickel, but when she turned to face the house, Tom grabbed her and started strangling her. “and I turned around, and ’fore I knew it he was on me” (page 241, Mayella Ewell). She said she screamed, and the next thing she knew, her dad was standing over her, and then she blacked out. When Atticus starts asking her personal questions about her house and her dad getting drunk, she becomes scared and seems to soften up, like she’s going to admit something, but then she screams that Tom is most definitely

She is a female living with her father and six siblings. Her father is an alcoholic and can be extremely abusive when he is drunk around her. He has raped her and mistreated her throughout her life, and she has no power because she is a female and she is his daughter. At this moment Atticus almost made Myella spill the truth but, “Mayella looked at her father, who was sitting with his chair tipped against the railing. He sat up straight and waited for her to answer” (Document B).

“Thomas Jefferson once said that all men are created equal, a phrase the Yankees and the distaff side of the Executive branch are quite fond of hurling at us.” A quote from Atticus Finch, a firm believer of equal rights for all races. A lawyer, Atticus has taken up the case of Tom Robinson, who has been charged with the rape of Mayella Ewell. A jury, made up by white men of the southern county of Maycomb, listens to Atticus’ argument that Tom Robinson, a black man, is not guilty of Mayella Ewell’s wrongful accusation of rape. Atticus Finch attempts to persuade the jury to find his client innocent of a heinous crime through employing devices such as repetition, similes, sincere tone, and a strong appeal to pathos all of which contribute strongly to Tom’s case. .

Whatever respect or sympathy the reader might have had for Bob Ewell is dispelled by his behaviour in the courtroom and the evidence that Atticus produces that he was the cause of Mayella's beating. Not only is he a self-righteous bully but he is prepared to sacrifice Tom Robinson's life for his own selfish ends. The reader is more likely to feel sympathy for Mayella as the trial progresses. Her loneliness and need for simple human contact are made painfully evident as Scout comes to understand that she is 'the loneliest

When Atticus asks Mayella ‘who are your friends?’ (p.245) she is perplexed by the question demonstrating to us how she must be ‘the loneliest person in the world’ (p. 256). Furthermore, Lee clearly explains to us she is accustomed to being treated poorly as when Atticus refers to her as ‘ma’am’ and speaks to her politely she believes initially that he is ‘mockin’ me’ (p.243). Reflecting on how Mayella is trapped in her improvised, friendless state with nobody who respects her, we realise it would not have been difficult for her to become fixated on and fantasise about Tom Robinson, as he ‘was probably the only person who was ever decent to her’ (p.257). We are also able to understand why she lies about Tom raping her during the trial when we take into consideration that Mayella is living in fear of what her drunk and abusive father, Bob Ewell, would do to her if she was truthful. As she has already been ‘beaten savagely’ (p.272) and possibly raped by her father, after she ‘kissed a black man’ (p.272), her trepidation is unsurprising. By climbing into Mayella’s skin and walking around in it we see Lee is helping us to learn the importance of considering people’s circumstances before judging their actions.

Even though he knew Jem and Scout would find out on their own, he wants Scout to know in advance what he believes will be the outcome of the trial. Atticus knows of Scout’s presence when he is talking to his brother about how the outcome of the trial, and how the people of Maycomb will react. The last sentence of chapter 9 is Scout stating, “But I never figured out how Atticus knew I was listening, and it was not until may years later that I realized he wanted me to hear every word he said.” At the end of the book, after Bob Ewell attacks the children and is killed, Atticus believes Jem did it. Even though he wants to protect his own son, he knows the right thing to do is take it to court and tell the truth. All of these events convey

Atticus questions Mayella: “‘I mean, is he good to you, is he easy to get along with?’He does tollable, ‘cept when—’‘Except when?’ Mayella looked at her father, who was sitting with his chair tipped against the railing. He sat up straight and waited for her to answer. ‘Except when nothin‘,’said Mayella. “I said he does tollable.’ Mr. Ewell leaned back again’” (Lee 18). Mayella is being abused with power by her father since her father has more power than her which makes Mayella afraid to even speak. While being questioned, Tom Robinson states what Mayella told him: “She says what her papa do don’t count” (Lee 18). Mayella is shown being abused by her father again since Mayella has no power in regards to gender. Mayella is powerless in regards to gender since she is a powerless woman in her time period. Although Mayella is powerless in gender, she is powerful in

Scout is very confused about the case and is asking Atticus why he is doing this. She tells him that people and very controversial about it and doesn't understand why he would risk losing friends and other people in his life. In the novel, Lee stated, “but before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself.” (Lee 142). Atticus did not care about who he would and wouldn't keep as friends. He knew that this was the right thing to do if he wanted to follow what he believes in. Atticus was sure that the people that supported him as a person even if he was supporting Tom and they didn't agree with the case would stay as very loyal friends and family. The town of Maycomb for the most part did not support the case and that meant that their views on Atticus changed, but he didn't care. After the case had been settled and Tom was found “guilty”, the kids and Atticus headed home. After they got their, Jem confronted Aunty about the case and why Atticus was having such a hard time dealing with Tom loosing. Aunt Alexandra says that the case took Atticus by surprise and was “a little too strong” for him. Atticus was having a hard time dealing with the fact that he wasn't able to win the case. He knew he had a very good argument, but he was feeling a lot of doubt

At the trial there is also another lesson to be learned. It was clear that Mayella falsely accused Tom Robinson of raping her. She claims that he raped and beat her. Tom on the other hand said that she kissed him not the other way around, nor did he rape and beat her. We all believe Tom because he didn't regret or double check any of his answers, unlike Mayella. She wrongfully blamed him and he got punished for her actions and her lies. You won’t fix anything with blame. You only hurt others or possibly even yourself when you blame another for your actions. We all are human and should admit to our own mistakes. Another thing that you learn from “How to kill a Mockingbird” is that we can’t be afraid to stand up for what we believe is right. Scout fought others when they said names about her father and she believed it would support her dad. Did she handle the situation correctly? No, however she wasn’t afraid to stick up for her father and what he was doing in terms of the

Atticus continues to remain calm and collected as the town continues to harass him for defending Tom Robinson. Once Tom returns to town for his trial Atticus decides to stand guard at his house knowing that trouble will arise. Low and behold, a crowd of angry racist men show up with rifles to kill Tom. Scout, Jem, and Dill arrive just as the trouble does. Atticus tries to send the children away but they refuse to leave. Scout recognizes Mr. Cunningham and goes up to him. Mr. Cunningham then calls off the mob. The next morning after the incident, marks the first day of the trial. The kids attend the trial. As the trial unfolds Mayella provides a very inconsistent recount of what happened the day she was allegedly raped. Atticus wittingly proves she is lying based on the fact that Tom cannot use his left hand due to a cotton gin incident, but coincidently her father is left handed. Tom recounts that he did help Mayella with her chifferobe, but that he helped her many times because he felt bad for her and always refused payment. Until one day she grabbed him and tried to get him to kiss her which Bob saw and threatened to kill her for it. The prosecutor questions him about how he could possibly feel bad for a white woman and gets him to admit that he is indeed strong enough to cause great harm. As the lawyers give closing remarks, Atticus shares that there is a gross lack of evidence to prove that Tom committed this crime. He does