To Kill A Mockingbird depicts the daily occurrences in Maycomb County, an Alabama town in Southern USA. The story is set in the 1930s, when the people are mostly poor as a result of The Great Depression. Set in a time before the implementation of racial and sexual equality, the story provides insight on the mentality of the county people and their discriminative practices, which are aggravated by their difficult financial situation. Maycomb County is a white peoples town; the black community live on the outskirts of the town. Racism is so rampant that people do not even realise it happening. The blacks are deprived basic rights; they are not allowed proper jobs and are separated from the whites in every occasion. The blacks are even …show more content…
This shows how Judge Taylor wants to maintain Tom Robinson’s rights. With his every will and resource, Atticus attempts to provide Tom with the most just form of defence, meriting his honest and non-discriminating behaviour. He does this while he is aware of the opposition and downgrading he will face. Word of the “rape” soon spread out, and the people of Maycomb County are out for “justice”. Mr Cunningham, a man under the legal aids of Atticus, leads a furious mob with the intention to lynch Tom Robinson for his alleged crime, without even considering his innocence. This is does not only indicate the unfairness of the social system - because a white man being accused of the same crime would not face such torment – but is also cruel as the idea involves torture and death. The men never end up lynching Tom, but his nightmares are not over. As Tom is brought to trial, it is obvious from the start that he has no hopes in winning. Being in the presence of an all-white-male jury, it is clear that they have already convicted him purely because of his race, proving the unfairness of the judicial system. Segregation between the two races is clearly seen in the courtroom; the black attendees are placed on the court balcony – away from the whites that sit comfortably in the superior courtroom. On the witness stand, Tom Robinson admits to have been in the Ewell’s residential premise, but declares that his presence was merely to assist
There was no room at the public hitching rail for another animal, mules and wagons were parked under every available tree. The courthouse square was covered with picnic parties sitting on newspapers.” (Lee, 160). The Ewells, Negroes and the defendant, Tom, represent the lower classes, the trial made it clear that when a black man’s word is against a white, the white, no matter the social status, always wins. Atticus understands the fact that winning the trial is very slim to none and he explains that you just can’t give up “They’ve done it before and they’ll keep doing it again and when they do it-seems that only children weep.” (Lee, 213). Despite the man Tom is, the jury must accuse someone of the crime and choose the easiest man to blame, Tom Robinson.
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
Tom Robinson’s case, in which we see in that time period how a white man’s word goes against a black’s, is perceived as unfair by Scout, Jem, Atticus, and many of their neighbors. As Atticus says to Jem, “As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it–whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.”(295) This quote explains that there is great injustice and extortion for personal gain. This is disturbing in its own right; The fact that Atticus needs to even make a comment like that is disturbing in its own right, let alone that any person would do that to another, also tells Jem this: “So far nothing in your life has interfered with your reasoning process. Those are twelve reasonable men in everyday life, Tom’s jury, but you saw something come between them and reason. You saw the same thing that night in front of the jail. When that crew went away, they didn’t go as reasonable men, they went because we were there. There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads–they couldn’t be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life.”(295) Even a man like Atticus, a sort of rebel in that time period, accepts that the system is
To KIll a Mockingbird, a novel written by Harper Lee, is set in a small fictional town of Maycomb Alabama in the 1930’s. The story emphasizes the horrors of prejudiced and its impact on a small southern community. In this novel, Harper Lee introduces the reader to many themes, one of them being that courage is doing what’s right even when the odds of succeeding are poor.
‘Mr Gilmer seemed ready to rise to the ceiling. The witness realized his mistake and shifted uncomfortably in the chair. But the damage was done. Below us, nobody liked Tom Robinson’s answer. Mr Gilmer paused for a long time to let it sink in.’ (Chapter 19, page 218)
To begin, "The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box" (Lee 224). Tom Robisnon becomes a victim of racism when he is wrongly convicted. Tom is wrongly convicted of raping Mayella Ewell because of the color of his skin. Jury members only convict Tom because he is black, not because of the evidence presented in the trial. Secondly, "If I hear one more peep outa my girl Helen about not bein able to walk this road I'll have you in jail before sundown" (Lee 253). This is important because Mr. Ewell harasses her on her way to work for Mr. Deas, he does not even let her walk in front of his house, he even threatens her to not go to work. This shows that Helen has had a hard time finding work because she is associated with Tom. If Tom had not been wrongly accused of raping Mayella, then Helen would not face the harsh discrimination from the Maycomb community. All in all, Helen and Tom Robinson have a really hard time because of the effects of racism on them.
The fascinating story To Kill A Mockingbird takes place in a sleepy, southern county of Maycomb in the 1930s. Although this town has a variety of pleasant and honorable citizens who have set morals, there are also people who live in Maycomb County who are unfair, possibly evil, and lack morals.
Today’s society is damaged with the results of people doing terrible things to each other. Peoples actions can make or break lives.The novel To Kill A Mockingbird, is about a little girl, her Brother, their Dad, and the negro they all fight to defend. The main character scout and her older brother Jem, get into all sorts of dilemmas in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. As they learn new valuable lessons about life, they also pick up that the small town they grow up in is not as clean and safe as it seems. The father, Atticus Finch is a kind hearted soul who was given the case of Tom Robinson, a negro accused of Raping a white woman. As soon as Atticus was given the case he aimed to defend Tom but a faulty jury made sure it did not happen.To
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.
The trial of Tom Robinson is central to our understanding of racial and social prejudice in Maycomb. Harper Lee uses Tom Robinson's 'crime' to bring tensions in the town to a head and the author uses the trial as a way of making the ideas behind such tensions explicit for the reader.
To Kill a Mockingbird is set in Maycomb County, Alabama in the 1930s. There is a myriad of families in this small county. Blacks, farmers, businessmen, and strong single women all call Maycomb County home. The book is told from the point of view of a little girl named Jean Louise Finch, or as many of the townspeople call her, Scout. Her father, whom they call Atticus, raises her with her brother Jem. A majority of the book deals with the trial of Tom Robinson, during which Scout begins to understand that not everybody is as fair as Atticus, raised Jem and her to be.
Robinson was being accused of doing to Mayella. The jury took one look at Tom, and voted
Atticus shows true courage by defending Tom Robinson, a black man charged with the rape of a white woman. Atticus continues to fight for justice despite knowing he can’t win the case because he is
Atticus and Mr Ward are dedicated to supporting people who are subjected to racism. Atticus and Mr Ward and Mr Anderson stand for the justice of blacks. Atticus defends Tom Robinson, a black man, to try to prove him innocent even though people call him a ‘nigger lover’ and also has the disadvantage in the trial. “The only thing we’ve got is a black man’s word against the Ewells… The jury couldn’t possibly be expected to take Tom Robinson’s word against the Ewells.” With the odds against him, Atticus still persist in giving Tom Robinson the fair trial he deserves. Mr Ward is also the same, he believe in justice for all. “You don’t have the guts.”(Anderson)…”Not only do I HAVE the guts, I have the AUTHORITY!”(Ward). Mr Ward was willing to change his own ways to help the black people of Mississippi. They both made a significant attempt to give the black people of Maycomb and Mississippi justice, they both had to overcome hardships to do what they believed what was right.
'To Kill a Mockingbird' is a novel that was written in the 1960s, but Harper Lee decided to set the novel in the Depression era of the 1930s in a small town in Alabama. Lee provided her readers with a historical background for the affairs of that time and in doing so she exposed the deeply entrenched history of the civil rights in South America. Like the main characters in this novel, Lee grew up in Alabama; this made it easier for her to relate to the characters in the novel as she would have understood what they would have experienced during the period when racism, discrimination and inequality was on the increase within the American society.