The 1930's were a turbulent time for race relations in America. The book To Kill A Mockingbird takes place during this time period. Written by Harper Lee To Kill A Mockingbird is a story that is set during the times of the 1930s in Maycomb, AL. The story is a flashback told through the perspective of Scout Finch, the daughter of Atticus Finch, a successful lawyer, and the sister of Jem Finch. In a part of Scout’s flashback, she recalls the trial of Tom Robinson, who was defended by her father. Tom Robinson was an African American who was accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell, daughter of Bob Ewell. Unfortunately, this trial is unfair and biased with an unjust outcome because of the jury and racism. During the trial it was obvious to see that the jury played a huge impact on the result of the trial. An excerpt from …show more content…
Reasons people believe Bob is responsible for the outcome of the trial are: Bob took the stand and lied about the whole situation between his daughter, Mayella, and Tom, and because he was influential on Mayellaś testimony, whether it was to make the testimony true or not. Next, it is understood when Mayella took the stand the whole testimony was a fabrication, so it is understandable how people believe that Mayella is responsible for the outcome of the trial because her testimony is what the jury uses for their final verdict. The people formed through opinions through faulty reasoning and cannot be totally accurate. Understandably people use the reason that Mayella changed the mind of the jury on whether Tom was guilty or not, but Mayella did not force the jury to change its mind. Ultimately, it was the jury who made the final verdict, outcome, not Mayella. For Bob, one uses the same argument that is used for Mayella, so the counter remains the same. Understandably there are different views on what caused the outcome of
Keeping this in mind, we need to come to an understanding that being in a jury carries a lot of weight because a decision we make will bring forth life changing consequences. The prosecutors in this case believe that Katherine was beaten by Michael in an act of malice. In an effort to support their case, they have presented evidence that
One of the most widely watched trials in Maycomb history ended Tuesday December 9th when a jury found Tom Robinson, 25, guilty of raping Mayella Violet Ewell, 19, daughter of Robert Ewell. The guilty verdict hinged on the testimony of Robert Ewell, who claimed to have seen the crime. Tom Robinson’s Attorney, Atticus Finch put up a strong defense, but was unsuccessful in convincing the jury of twelve white Maycomb county residents that Robinson, a black man, was innocent. Finch has stated that he was disappointed in the outcome, but will appeal the verdict. The prosecutor for the state, Horace Gilmer said “he felt Robinson had gotten what he deserved.” Robinson was taken into custody following the verdict. Any appeals will take several
However, not many jurors think the way he does and how he approaches the trial. In act 1 of the trial, Juror 8 claims “There were eleven votes for ‘guilty.’
During Tom Robinson’s trial to prove he was innocent from the Ewell’s lies, Link Deas spoke out from the crowd. Mr. Deas, a businessman in the town of Maycomb, was justified in speaking his mind because he knew the truth, was overcome with emotion about the outrageous conviction, and desired to prove that Atticus wasn’t the only decent person in the courtroom. This made him well qualified to stand up during Tom’s trial and declare, “I just want the whole lot of you to know one thing right now. That boy's worked for me eight years an' I ain't had a speck o'trouble outa him. Not a speck.”
The residents of Maycomb have mixed feeling about the Tom Robinson trials outcome. The majority of the town is behind the verdict while the children were disgusted by it. Poor Atticus was heartbroken by the verdict but not at all shocked by the outcome.
The first reason that Bob Ewell is the most guilty for the death of Tom is because he was the one who forced Mayella to prosecute in the first place. If Bob weren’t a drunk, then he would not have hurt Mayella, and he would not have to blame the bruises on Tom. Atticus said, “...it’s
Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, shows how life was for those in the southern part of the United States, during a time when racism ran rampant throughout the land. Many injustices were committed to those of “Negro” descent, and it was up to those behind the law to protect them as well as those who lived by the law. Atticus, attorney at law, defender of the people, and father to Scout and brother Jem is safeguarding Tom Robinson, accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. As the story continues though, Mayella’s accounts of the facts aren’t quite as how they actually happened. Together, Scout (Jean Louise Finch), Jem and Atticus show courage to stand up for what is right, defend the innocent until proven guilty, and how to remain
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a wonderful classic; in Part 2, it focuses on a trial of a black man who is accused of beating and raping a young white lady. The name of said man is Tom Robinson, and the name of the young lady is Mayella Ewell. Let’s start at the beginning of this story. The narrator of To Kill a Mockingbird is Jean Finch, a young girl at the age of 6 who goes by Scout. Scout and her brother Jem, at the age of 10, live in a southern town called Maycomb. Their father, a man named Atticus Finch, is a lawer. When Jem was 13, Scout 11, and a new friend, Dill, was 11, a trial was held for Tom Robinson. Tom walked by Mayella’s house on his way to work in the fields, and Mayella often asks him for simple favors. The event occurs
In 1960 Harper Lee published the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. The book takes place during the 1930s in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Great Depression. The main character “Scout” (Jean Louis Finch) and her brother Jem befriend a boy named Dill over the summer. Together, they learn more about the town and engross in their favorite pastimes such as interacting with the Radleys. Their father Atticus who is a prominent lawyer takes the case to defend Tom Robinson in court, a Negro man who is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman.
To Kill a Mockingbird is an acclaimed novel written by Harper Lee. Within the novel, Lee portrays the thematic idea of prejudice and injustice against African Americans in the South during the 1930s. A character in the novel, Tom Robinson, a black man, is accused of committing a treacherous and horrendous crime . However, Robinson is innocent but due to the town’s prejudice against African Americans, he is convicted of the crime anyway. The town’s bigotry towards people of another skin color allows them to accept the injustice dealt to Robinson. Through Bob Ewell’s dialogue during the trial, Lee illustrate the prejudice through and the injustice toward African Americans, that runs rampant in the fictional town of Maycomb in To Kill a Mockingbird.
The literary novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, explains subjects going on in the 1930s from the perspective of a white little girl in Alabama. In the divided town of Maycomb County, Alabama, contains Jean Louise Finch, her older brother Jem, and their father Atticus. The town became even more divided as Atticus, a lawyer, defending a black man accused of rape. In the coming of age scene where Atticus explains to the jury how Tom Robinson, a black man accused of rape, life is in their hands, which shows the children the differences between knowledge and ignorance.
First, Juror 8 stood his ground. In the beginning the Foreman called for a vote and eleven men raised their hand for guilty while Juror 8 raised his hand for not guilty. “There were eleven votes for guilty. It's not so easy for me to raise my hand and send a boy off to die without talking about it first.” said Juror 8 for justifying his actions. Later, when the other jurors were trying to convince Juror 8, he was quick with his arguments. To Juror 2 he said, “Nobody has to prove otherwise. The burden of proof is on the prosecution. The defendant doesn’t have to open his mouth. That’s in the constitution. You’ve heard of it.” To Juror 10 he said, “You don’t believe the boy. How come you believe the woman? She’s one of “them” too, isn’t she?” When Juror 6 brought up the motive for the murder, Juror 8 remarked with, “…I
Several pairs of eyes trail the prosecutor as he puts forth his reasons as to why the defendant should be guilty. Several pairs of ears listen intently in a trance like mode, also cautious of every detail. The prosecutor presents the facts with great gusto, painting a picture of the defendant in a bad light. Once he is done, the defendant’s lawyer takes the stage and he too, with great effort, puts forth reasons as to why his client is innocent. In the end, when everything is said and done and it time for the verdict, only one voice answers to the court clerk out of the 12 men and women. These 12 people are the jurymen and they play an equally important role as the lawyers and judges of a court trial. In fact, a jury is the sole decider, based
In the riveting masterpiece of a novel To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, the small town of Maycomb is awakened by the events that occur in the juvenile years of the main character who goes by Scout. Formally known as Jean Louise Finch, Scout leads readers through roughly a third of a decade in the sleepy old town in which she inhabits. Through this time frame, there is one event that reveals the true personalities of the townspeople. The event that caused such a powerful awakening in the town is the trial of a man named Tom Robinson. The reason for the improvement of the existence of the trial is due to the fact that Tom Robinson is a black man who is accused of raping a young white girl. The steps taken to resolve the case
The jurors were perceived expertise; therefore, their decision was taken as correct. These jurors were influenced by time constraint. The first moment of eleven jurors voting guilty, showed conformity in the jury room where there was a heated debate. The fear of the decision appearing deviant due to having majority influence led to making it conform to the idea of the minority. Many of the jurors had some commitments, and they felt that the jury impeded their progress in life. This time constraints had influence to conformity. This made the majority of the jurors to vote guilty. In the initial stage, some jurors followed the majority because they feared to look deviating from the idea of the majority which was perceived to be right. The six men who raised their hands for the first time to vote for the boy being guilty pressured the other five men to follow them; thus, this forced them to conform to the majority. The informational social influence made them conform to the minority that the boy was not