How Does Tom Robinson Have A Fair Trial

Tom Robinson would have lived if it were not for the citizens of Maycomb. This situation is shown by the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which is set in the 1930s in Maycomb, Alabama. Tom was charged with raping a 19-year-old woman named Mayella Ewell. Through this trial, the different social standings of white and colored people make themselves known. Tom was given an unfair trial simply due to people’s beliefs that they are unwilling to change.

This past week has been rough for the Robinson family. After a racist jury choose to make an innocent man guilty things went from bad to worse. Atticus Finch was chosen to defend Tom Robinson. This particular case was against Mayella Ewell, a white woman. As a black man Tom was already at a disadvantage.

For instance, the town of Maycomb treats one of its members, Tom Robinson, poorly without a valid reason based on his skin colour rather than any actions he has done. Especially Mayella , she hands in a false complaint against Tom Robinson. As she utters, “‘I turned around an ’fore I knew it he was on me. Just run up behind me, he did. He got me round the neck, cussin‘ me an’ sayin‘ dirt—I fought’n’hollered, but he had me round the neck.

“People generally see what they look for and hear what they listen for” (Lee ) The people of Maycomb are constantly caught up in the racist mindset of their upbringing. The Tom Robinson case is a huge example of some of the injustice or prejudice that took place. Tom was put on trial for a crime he didn’t commit, and was unfairly convicted due to the all white jury. When an entire system seems to be turned against you, it can be hard to hold on to hope for a positive outcome.

Tom Robinson was a black man that was falsely accused of raping a white woman named, Mayella Ewell. Mayella begins to be questioned by a suspicious Atticus about whether or not Tom Robinson could have hit her in the face and strangled her. Atticus brings up the fact that Tom Robinson’s left arm does not work and Mayella says, “That nigger yonder took advantage of me an‘ if you fine fancy gentlemen don’t wanta do nothin’ about it then you’re all yellow stinkin‘ cowards...” (page 188). Mayella was panicked and her lack of morals bleed through when, with her back against the wall, she still lies to the judge, jury, and entire courtroom and even takes to insulting the jury.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, prejudice is noticeable because Tom Robinson is a colored man fighting against a white man’s alleged words. What makes it worse is that the jury is made of all white folks. The plaintiff, Mr. Ewell, claimed, “I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella!” (231). Every individual, when trying to earn people’s trust, will try their best showcase what they have in common.

In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the story is set in the 1900’s, Maycomb, Alabama. During this time there was racism in the south and segregation which separated the whites and blacks from everything. There was also the Great Depression, the whole country was poor and people living in the country had to trade and do other jobs for people to either pay them off or to buy something from them. The trial in this book is about Mayella and Bob Ewell, two white people, claiming and arguing that Tom Robinson, a black person, raped Mayella Ewell. This trial is really important because at that time in the south, white people took advantage of black people and their kindness and thought they would take that or shut up just because they were black.

The twentieth century was filled with racial problems. However in the south racial tensions seemed to be consistently growing. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee describes what it would be like to grow up in the 1930’s in Maycomb Alabama. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson’s court case shows that the racial tensions in Maycomb Alabama were very extreme.

Tom was accused of raping a white woman who was Mayella Ewell, Mayella said he raped her while he was helping her with chores. She later on tells the readers that it was false allegations. The reason why she didn 't tell the truth at her first trial was because, Mayella was afraid of being embarrassed because she kissed a black male. She rather have an innocent man get charged with a crime than that. “However, Robinson was transferred from the state prison to Maycomb 's county jail on Saturday, two days before he stood trial on Monday, and Atticus had to defend him against a lynch mob”.

In a small town in Maycomb, Alabama, there was a rape trial where a lawyer named Atticus defended Tom Robinson, a black man. Mayella Ewell was the woman who claimed she was raped and Bob Ewell was her father. In the end, Tom Robinson was convicted of rape and was shot and killed when he tried to escape prison. Even though Tom Robinson was convicted, Bob Ewell was still bitter toward Atticus because he defended Tom To get back at Atticus, Bob Ewell attacked Jem and Scout and tried to kill them. Bob did not succeed at hurting the children because Arthur Radley saved them and killed Bob Ewell by stabbing him with his own knife.

Tom Robinson is a young African-American who's been accused of raping and abusing Mayella Ewell, a young and closeted white woman. Racial discrimination is hinted throughout Tom’s trial as Atticus Finch explains to Jem that a white man’s word will always win over that of a black man’s - "... 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" (220). Atticus explains to Jem that in the courts of Maycomb, a black man’s state of innocence or guilt is truly determined by a white man’s testimony.

A novel called To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. There is a case between an African American named Tom Robinson and a white woman named Mayella Ewell. She accused him of raping her. Tom was always kind to Mayella by helping her with things to do because he felt bad that she was always working. He passed one day and she asked him to get the box on top of the chiffarobe, so he got on the chair and got it then she put her hands around his leg, but she claims that he threw her down and raped her.

The testimonies reveal how deep-rooted the racism within Maycomb runs, as it is present even in court rulings and how casually present it is. The court is taking place, and the order of prosecutor’s witnesses who are: Mr. Heck Tate, the sheriff; Mr. Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father; and Mayella Ewell, the one who is accusing Tom Robinson of raping her. When it’s Mr. Ewell’s turn to speak, he does so with many racial slurs and slang embedded in his accusations. When relaying what he saw to the jury, he points at Tom and yells “―I seen that black n*gger yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella!” Mr. Ewell, who, although, has never been a part of a court case or viewed one, doesn’t truly care, or notice, that so far into the formal case, not one person has used racial slang to talk about Tom, and uses the term n*gger quite casually.

In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee teaches us about the town of Maycomb County during the late 1930s, where the characters live in isolation and victimization. Through the perspective of a young Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, readers will witness the prejudice that Maycomb produces during times where people face judgement through age, gender, skin colour, and class, their whole lives. Different types of prejudice are present throughout the story and each contribute to how events play out in the small town of Maycomb. Consequently, socially disabling the people who fall victim from living their life comfortably in peace. Boo Radley and his isolation from Maycomb County, the racial aspects of Tom Robinson, and the decision Atticus Finch makes as a lawyer, to defend a black man has all made them fall in the hands of Maycomb’s prejudice ways.

Paragraph One TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD----------------- (Title of your book) Written by HARPER LEE (author’s name) was first published in 1960 (year). This story occurs during/in MAYCOMB, ALABAMA, during the great depression. (When? What time period).