Tom's Journal

After Tom Robinson was charged with raping 19 year old Mayella Ewell, he was taken to court and Atticus had to defend his case. On page 212 of the novel Tom Robinson states that he ran away from Mayella when she had kissed him because he was scared, Atticus asked him why and he said “ Mr Finch, is you were a nigger like me, you’d be scared, too.“ Tom said this because of the society that they lived in where all “Black” people were not to be trusted. Atticus did his best to prove to the jury that Tom Robinson was not guilty for the crime that he was charged for

Tom Robinson enters To Kill a Mockingbird accused of raping Mayella Ewell but leaves To Kill a Mockingbird dead. Atticus Finch the defendant in Tom Robinson’s case and the father of Jem and Scout, did not fail Robinson, Robinson’s family or his own because he tried his best to prove that Tom was not guilty. For example , Miss Ewell explained that the attacker in her testimony, Tom Robinson had force himself on her, began to hold to her by the neck and hit her repeatedly after she asked him to bust up a chiffarobe for her. Heck Tate, the sheriff and witness of the trial had said Mayella only had bruises on both the neck and right side of her face, this now raised a red flag for Atticus. For Robinson to beat Miss Ewell repeatedly on the right side of her face he would have to use his left arm which got caught in a cotton gin years before. The disability that Tom Robinson had created great evidence for Atticus’s defense but didn’t work because of the unjust community they both live in. Maybe it would have worked if the trial was held in a courtroom that is built on justice for all, not just for the white.

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

However, Atticus knows since Tom is a black man he will not get a fair trail since the jury is all white and since people back then didn’t favor or teach color people this is why Atticus had to defend Tom which was a man who was wrongly accused for raping a white woman which her name was Mayella Ewell ; she was a very poor white woman the oldest of many children which was in her family .

In To Kill a Mockingbird one of the big conflicts is a case trial between the white and black community. The person being trialed is a black man named Tom Robison. I characterize Tom as a Kind Respectable man. The book states that Tom is a respectable and kind man as evidence, and could not have commit the crime. First of all Atticus (town defendant and father of main characters) is one of the most respectable men in Macomb County (scene), and respects the black community including Tom Robison.

“When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.” This was the first sentence of the entire novel and a flashback of what had happened in the past. It sets up the problem and since Bob Ewell had had previous disagreements and conflicted moments with Atticus, it would only make sense that he would go after Atticus’s children. The flashback is foreshadowing something about the conflict. In addition to that, while in the courtroom during the trial, Atticus reveals that Tom Robinson has no use of his left arm because “He got it caught in a cotton gin, caught it in Mr. Dolphin Raymond's cotton gin when he was a boy...like to bled to death...tore all the muscles loose from his bones.” Which could be setting up the problem for the antagonists who in this book, are Bob and Mayella Ewell. Now that Atticus has proven that Tom has no use of his left hand, it means he most likely didn’t beat Mayella as it would have been too challenging for him to beat the right side of her face using only his right hand. Which overall means that Mayella and Bob have no clear evidence that it was Tom who beat Mayella. Bob Ewell, though, was shown to be left handed. Based on what you’ve just read, clearly Harper Lee included flashbacks in the story to set up the conflict which later came up in the

If the jury understands what really happened then there is a better chance they will make the right choice. “We don’t know, but there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led almost exclusively with his left.” Atticus says this in hopes of making the jury comprehend that there is no way Tom would have been able to beat Mayella with his left hand because he is crippled and Bob Ewell is left handed. This implies that Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father, was the man who beat her. Atticus speaks about how it is evil to think that all negroes are immoral beings and he states “Which, Gentlemen, we know is in itself a lie as black as Tom Robinson’s skin, a lie I do not have to point out to you.” The jury for Tom’s trial is incredibly biased and racist and Atticus points out that skin color does not mean anything about a person’s personality or

Mayella Ewell is living in a racist southern community in the 1930’s. During this time no one was treated the same because of their skin color or if they were intelligent. Mayella has one thing that makes her powerful, her race. Laws back then was harsh. Between white and Negroes, both were wrong and mean to each other. Whites had more power than the Negroes because of the history it has behind them. They were not considered to be equal citizens. Atticus even knows the trial should not be happening, he knew the jury was going to side on with Mayella because she’s white. As Atticus is closing his argument he says, “[The Ewells]....have presented themselves to you, gentlemen, to this court….confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption-the evil assumption- that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women…”as said in chapter twenty. Mayella only goes through all of this because of her father.

First Tom, a black man from the book, would be alive if people weren’t cruel. He would never have been blamed for rape and wouldn’t have got brutally murdered by 17 shots in the back. Tom was blamed by Mayella Ewell when she said, “Fore I knew it he was on me. Just run up behind me he did… he chunked me on the floor an’ choked me’n took advantage of me”(Lee, 180). She wanted to cover up the abuse that her father had done so she blamed the poor, kind-hearted, nigger down yonder. If she would have thought about Tom as a person and have been kinder Tom wouldn’t have gone to court and eventually got killed. Also if Mr. Ewell did the right thing and taken the blame for his actions he would have spared a man’s life. Instead he did what Mayella did and said, “I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin’ on my

Bob Ewell and Mayella both pointed out Mayella's wound the the right side of her face, a wound that would have to have been afflicted with someone's left hand and accused Tom of hitting Mayella. Atticus then asks Tom to sign his name and concludes that he is right handed. The jury thinks nothing of this, after all, most people are right handed and Tom could have just hit her with his left hand instead of his right, but that’s when Atticus asks Tom to raise his left hand, Tom’s left arm was limp and unusable, proving that he couldn’t have hit mayella with his left hand and stated that Bob Ewell had beaten Mayella because she had been with a black man and she tried to cover her embarrassment by saying that he had raped her. In the end of the hearing Tom was found guilty and sent to jail all because he was black and the “victim” of the rape was white. This case ties in perfectly with the theme of Equality because African Americans were sentenced in crimes that they did not commit, just because of the color of their

According to Bob Ewell, he witnessed what happened and made Tom so scared that he ran away. All of the white people already know who is going to win, based on the preference of skin color, so Atticus, the lawyer of Tom, decides to state his opinion of the unfair trial. “I shall be brief, but I would like to use my remaining time with you to remind you that this case is not a difficult one, it requires no minute sifting of complicated facts, but it does require you to be sure beyond all reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the defendant. To begin with, this case should have never come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white” (Lee 271). From the trial, we can infer from Atticus’ points that Tom Robinson is innocent. But since he is black, he doesn’t receive a fair trial and the jury just sides with Mayella Ewell even though the evidence that Atticus points out, clearly reveals that Bob Ewell actually harassed his daughter. “Our courts have their faults, as does any human institution, but in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are

When Mayella nodded at Atticus’s question it was clear that her father was “different” when intoxicated. When Mayella believed she made a mistake in her story she was scared. In the story it states that “When Atticus turned away from Mayella he looked like his stomach hurt, but Mayella was a mixture of terror and fury” (Lee 251). She could have been terrified of what might happen to her with her father. In addition to her father being abusive he was also portrayed as extremely angry and judgmental. Even in court Bob Ewell had no manners. A quote of him being angry would be “ Mr. Ewell turned angrily to the judge and said he didn’t see what left-handed had to do with it, that he was a Christ-fearing man and Atticus was taking advantage of him (Lee 237). He got really disrespectful to the judge and Atticus. Any evidence pointing to him beating Mayella would make him furious. When it was Tom’s turn on the witness stand he said when Mr. Ewell saw what Mayella was doing he screamed “ you goddamn whore, I’ll kill ya ” (Lee 260). Bob Ewell has a deep hatred against Negroes, and always judged them before knowing them. He hated the fact that his daughter was betraying him in that

The trial itself provides Harper Lee with the opportunity to examine the attitudes of people like the Ewells and the presumably more respectable members of the jury. Bob Ewell emerges as a drunken, bullying, child-abuser with little respect for the law and even less for truth and justice. But however low in the social order he is, Bob Ewell can still look down on black people. At the beginning of his testimony he complains about a 'nest' of them near him bringing down the property values of his shack by the town dump. Tom's account of Mayella's actions suggests that he may have indulged in some form of incest with his daughter, but the taboo against relationships between white women and black men is so strong that even Bob Ewell is shocked and horrified by it. He responds first by savagely beating his daughter and then by accusing Tom Robinson of rape.

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

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