In his closing argument Atticus Finch made a statement about how most white people at that time saw black people,“... 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, an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber”. No matter how truthful or respectable Tom Robinson was on the stand and in his day-to-day life, no one would ever believe that he did not rape Miss. Mayella Ewell.
All around us and in the balcony on the opposite wall, the negroes were getting to their feet"(Lee 211). The quote shows how even though the case was lost, the black citizens of Maycomb still showed appreciation and thought that he did his best, rose to the occasion, and did a heroic act towards the civil rights movement. This establishes a fact that Atticus did persuade he town that racism is bad and should be stopped. Also the people who were being punished and on he bad side of racism, thought he deliberately tried to stop
In the book To Kill a Mockingbird the general idea is that Tom is innocent and should get justice for the lies created by mayella and her father. Instead they find him guilty and Atticus stands up for him and states his opinion. The focus statement is that Tom should get justice because he did nothing wrong and should not be found guilty. Harper Lees to Kill a Mockingbird shows that. Equality should be given to everyone, but obviously it’s not, Tom is confident in Atticus to bring a fair trial to the table.
“Remember it 's a sin to kill a mockingbird.” this is a quote from Harper Lee’s book, “To Kill a Mockingbird”. This book shows that how white people treated black people unfairly in that day, but Atticus still teaches his children the right way, and do the right thing. Atticus, as a justice lawyer, choose to help the poor black young man to prove the truth, even though he knew that this will not work, but he still choose the right thing. As a father and a parent, he chooses to teach his child the right thing, and treat his children as an adult.
Miranda Fricker dissects and examines the problems of testimonial justice and injustice, in her book, Epistemic Injustice, Power and the Ethics of Knowing. By using the characters of Marge Sherwood in The Talented Mr. Ripley and Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird, Fricker draws in her audience and succinctly identifies two critical components to testimonial injustices. After examining her work, I feel her view of testimonial justice is able to be defended because people are not born to be discriminatory. Rather a person’s community and social interactions shape their development of testimonial justice, but there are ways to lessen a person’s testimonial injustice. Fricker’s argues that familiarity with people of different social identities
"If it were not for injustice, man would not know justice. " This was a famous quote of Heraclitus, an ancient Greek philosopher from Turkey, and in some ways it’s still true today. Without having never been dealt with injustice, you may never get the feeling of true justice. This quote is just one example of how injustice and justice are common things. Injustice may be a common occurrence, but in some ways it is essential.
A hero is a person who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. While anyone could be considered a hero depending on the circumstance, in the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, one character stands out for his achievements and additions to the greater good of the society he lives in. Atticus Finch, a lawyer in the 1930s who was tasked with defending Tom Robinson, a black man accused of assaulting a young girl in a society that was pitted against him. Atticus demonstrates the qualities of a hero throughout the conviction and trial of Tom Robinson by taking on his case and defending him even though he knew he wouldn’t win it, standing up to those who wanted to intimidate him, and trying to better the legal system
A critical event in the book is when Atticus accepts to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, who is accused of raping Mayella Ewell; however, he is disfavored against by the town due to his race. In the book, Atticus says, “...The only thing we’ve got is a black man’s word against the Ewells’. The evidence boils down to you did--I-didn’t. The jury couldn’t possibly be expected to take Tom Robinson’s word against the Ewells’...” (Lee 117).
The justice system has always been the heart of America. But like this country, it has many faults. Prejudice has played a major role in the shaping of this system. In the 1930’s the way a courtroom was set up was completely different from how it looks to day. In the book To Kill A MockingBird, Harper Lee shows just how different it is.
I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more'n the rest of 'em-’.” (Lee pg.197). From this quote one can understand that Tom Robinson meant no harm and only did what he thought was right. Although he didn’t do any harm to Mayella Ewell, Tom is arrested and charged for raping and assaulting her. At his trial Tom Robinson is found guilty, even though by evidence and the defense of Atticus (Tom Robinson’s lawyer), the jury should have found Tom not guilty.
Discrimination is shown throughout To Kill A Mockingbird in numerous ways. Racism and prejudice are shown when the jury makes the ruling to convict Tom Robinson as guilty, despite all of the evidence to prove his innocence; Scout is known for being a tomboy. The lessons about discrimination that Scout learns throughout the novel are applicable to all types of prejudice, Atticus Finch, the father of Scout and Jem Finch, is judged for defending Tom Robinson, an innocent man accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a low class teenage girl. Since most of the community is racist, Tom Robinson’s case is very hard for Atticus to defend. They do not believe a white man should be defending a black man.
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”.
Because the jury did not favor black men, Tom Robinson did not receive a fair trial, although Atticus made a great case. Segregation directly disobeys the fourteenth amendment, “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.” Maycomb Alabama is where the story, To Kill a Mockingbird takes place. Tom Robinson’s trial out come was not based on factual evidence. Mayella was lying to the jury, while Tom was completely innocent.
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.
Another quote shows how wrong Mr. Ewell acts:”I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella!” Mr. Ewell (Lee, 92) In the novel he accuses an innocent man of raping and hitting his child Mayella however that is not the true story he because is lying, he hit her. While Atticus chooses the right moral dilemma and he also has humanity: "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. You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white.