Tom Robinson's Racial Injustice

Robinson was being accused of doing to Mayella. The jury took one look at Tom, and voted

When someone drinks too much they tend to lose control of their faculties and behavior; considering Maycomb’s socioeconomic status, the Ewells are known for drinking alcohol and way too much of it. Inferring from her silent nod, Mayella may have been nervous to speak with her hand on the bible and for telling the truth by assuring the court Bob Ewell aggressively attacks her: Consequently the jurors will grasp the idea of Bob Ewell assaulting his daughter, revealing Tom’s innocence. Injured and in pain, Mayella’s cries attract her father as well as a friend, but they both insist on not calling for help. Supposedly with Mayella bruised up and with a black eye comin still “[no one] called a doctor”(224). Without consulting a doctor, the Ewells have no evidence their eldest daughter was injured or even raped by Tom Robinson, creating suspicion and an extremely dubious assumption. The Ewell family may have convicted Tom since it was reasonable because of his color or they did not want to incriminate themselves by calling a doctor because the entire truth would emerge, and the gullible, stereotypical people of Maycomb would be proven wrong. Empathetic towards Mayella, Tom boldly guides her through the arduous

The book, To Kill a Mockingbird, is an American classic and has been a staple in high schools for many years. The main storyline that this novel follows is of Scout, a young girl, living in the sleepy town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. It follows the case of Tom Robinson, an African American man, and how he was accused and convicted of rape. In prison, Tom was shot and killed because he was said to have tried to escape. While Mayella is the one who is saying that Tom raped her, the real person who should be to blame is her abusive father. As is quite apparent, Bob Ewell is the person who is most responsible for the death of Tom Robinson.

Mayella Ewell is often mentally, physically, and sexually abused by her father Bob Ewell. Even though Mayella takes care of her siblings each day, she is lonely most of the time, considering nobody wants to be around her. Her father abuses her and beats her often, and Mayella wants the abuse to come to an end. Mayella comes up with and fulfills a plan to end the abuse coming from her father. Her plan involved a Negro man named Tom Robinson. Mayella accuses Tom of beating and raping her, and brings Tom to court, and goes up against him in a trial. Her plan was successful and came out in her favor because she was manipulative, and she knew what it took to win the trial. Mayella Ewell, a poor, white woman, who lives on a dump, is seen as

POINT ONE: Tom Robinson is an innocent man who was charged for rapping a young girl named Mayella. Mayella Ewell and her family lack the hygene that the others in Maycom have. The Ewell’s live in a old slave shack and or known to a be as good as dirt. Although this is true, they are still a higher ranking in maycomb then Tom Robinson a black man.

Bob Ewell most likely threatened Mayella so she would not say anything about him. If the abuses from her father are told, Mayella will most likely be beaten by her father. Mayella does not know what to decide. The possible beatings of her father outway the necessity for Mayella to tell the truth. Mayella getting beaten would not be the only outcome of truth. Tom Robinson would become free and would not end up dead. Mayella has found herself in a tight situation. If she tells the truth, she will get hurt. But if she doesn’t, then Tom Robinson will get hurt. Only one of these aftereffects are right. Mayella is guilty, Tom is not. Not all abominable results that come out of situations like these are causes of threats and embarrassment. Other times they can be results of constantly living with, controlled and taught racist notions. One student’s father, from the documentary Prom Night in Mississippi, shares his thoughts on why he is racist: “Blacks have always taught blacks to hate whites. And the whites have always taught their kids to hate blacks. My daddy did it. My granddaddy

innocents. This sad characters life would have continued without incident but was ended by a false allegation. Tom Robinson doesn’t change, because he really doesn’t have time to change. We dont know as much as we would like to about Tom. Although he is wrongly accused for raping Mayella Ewells, the jury doesn’t see that he is hard working, gently, and kind person.

Bob Ewell the father of the Mayella (the woman who was raped) was not a kind, innocent person. The Ewells were ranked just above coloured people in Maycomb’s status, when Bob beat his daughter for kissing a black man he made the conscience decision of framing Tom Robinson. “ We do know in part what Mr. Ewell did: he did what any God-fearing, persevering, respectable white man would do under the circumstances - he swore out a warrant, no doubt signing it with his left hand, and Tom Robinson now sits before you” (Lee 272). Bob Ewell attempted to convict another of his crimes, although he won in court his actions caught up with him, and during his attack towards Jem and Scout the children of Atticus, he ended up dead. The two rapists James Louis Willard and Billy Ray Cobb executed a heinous crime when they targeted a 10 year-old girl.

Tom Robinson or your father?’ No answer. ‘... Why don’t you tell the truth, child, didn’t Bob Ewell beat you up?’” (Lee, 187). Mayella Ewell did not want to say who really beat her.

Bob Ewell firmly believes that the death of Tom Robinson was caused by his daughter, Mayella Ewell. “I didn’t wanta harm her, Mr. Finch, an’ I say lemme pass, but just when I say it Mr. Ewell yonder hollered through th’ window.” (221). Tom was suggesting that Bob was yelling at Mayella and not himself. Again in the text it says, “Tom Robinson swallowed again and his eyes widened. “ Some-thin’ not fittin’ to say- not fittin’ for all these folks’n chillun to hear-” (Atticus) “ What did he say Tom? You must tell the jury what he said.” Tom Robinson shut his eyes tight. “ He says you g**d*** w****, i’ll kill ya”” (221) Bob wants everyone to think that he doesn’t harm Mayella in anyway and that Tom did.This shows that Bob Ewell blames his daughters attraction towards a crippled black man. Bob wanted Mayella to only love him, and only want him. Bob does want someone to be blamed for what’s happened to Mayella and he doesn’t want that to be himself even though

So when Bob had seen what Mayella had tried doing, he beat her. A reason he may have beat her was that he may have been drunk, jealous and angry at the fact that his white daughter was trying to seduce a black man who on top of that had resisted her. Bob and Mayella Ewell had blamed everything on Tom Robinson saying that he had beat and raped Mayella because people would wonder where Mayella's bruises had came from. Tom Robinson was blamed because Bob Ewell had found a way to get rid of Tom to keep such things from happening again and also because he was an easy target by nature being a black man and in trial a black man would have no hope of winning a trial with an all white jury. Mayella had to testify against Tom, or face brutality from her father.

When she seduces Tom Robinson and her father finds out, he makes her feel so ashamed that she helps Bob, her father, to get away with his perjury. The likelihood that the jury would acquit Tom is almost imaginary. The reason for Mayella's outburst during Atticus' cross-examination, is that she wishes to put an end to the audience's and jury's conclusions of what really happened, by pointing out to them that Tom Robinson is a black man, and that black men are not to be trusted around white women. She comes out with this outburst, also, because there are evident cracks in her story which threaten to expose the truth. She feels that the prejudice of the community is a 'get out of jail free' card for her and in her opinion, this is more important than the life of an innocent, respectable black man, who has done nothing other than be kind and helpful to her in contrast with her father's neglect and abusive ways. In a way, she is inadvertently integrating the community and throwing aside her prejudices when she seduces Tom Robinson.

Tom Robinson, a once happily married black man and father of three children, now a victim of prejudicial judgement, was accused of raping and beating Mayella Ewell on his way home from his work. After a long period of conversing, the jury concluded that Tom Robinson was guilty of his crimes, which he struggled to accept until he was standing at the gates of the afterlife.

They are unable to find seats nearer to the white community, so they sit in the colored balcony with the town’s black citizens. They do not mind that they are there at all, for they have not been corrupted by the racism against colored people. During the trial, Bob Ewell, Mr. Heck Tate, Mayella Ewell, and Tom Robinson testify. Bob Ewell, is Mayella’s father and the person who has filed for the case; Mayella Ewell is the 19 year old female, who is the eldest of the Ewell’s many offsprings, who is the supposedly raped by Tom. The Ewells are part of the poorer citizens of Maycomb. Mayella’s story of her rape was that she asked Tom to do some work for her and when she turned her back, Tom jumped on her and raped her. She also states that she has not asked Tom to help her before, and that the incident was the first and last she had ever asked help from him. However, Tom’s testimony was a different story. He has stated that the incident was not the first time that Mayella had ever asked him to help her with something. He also says that it was Mayella who jumped him and Mr. Ewll saw Mayella embracing Tom. In fear, Tom runs out of their place, never turning

“Hypocrisy is the mother of all evil and racial prejudice is still her favourite child” (Don King). To Kill a Mockingbird was written by Harper Lee and tells about a small town called Maycomb, Alabama where the novel’s narrator, Scout, lives. The plot of this novel centers around a court case involving a man who is black, Tom Robinson, as the defendant and a girl who is white, Mayella Ewell, as the victim. This court case takes place because Mayella Ewell claims Tom Robinson raped her. Typically in Maycomb when a charge goes against a man who is black, he is prosecuted without a trial ever taking place. This occurs as a result of the largely present racism in Maycomb. However, in the case of Tom Robinson, he did receive a trial because.. Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, does not believe the town of Maycomb, Alabama is a just community because she has Atticus teach his children, Scout and Jem, about his anti-racist beliefs, and she has him oppose the citizens of Maycomb who have racist views.