To Kill A Mockingbird Atticus Closing Argument Analysis

The people who make up society tend to overlook the reality of what the world once was and what it continues to be. To Kill a Mockingbird is not just a novel that tells a story of what a young girl’s life was like as a child, but also tells the story of the violations of humanity. Mayella Ewell, a white woman, kissed Tom Robinson, a black man. Feeling ashamed of her actions, she accused him of rape. Because he was a black man accused of rape, he was found guilty and sentenced to death in prison.

Killing a mockingbird is a sin in many cultures because of the animal’s innocent nature; in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird she immaculately illustrates this. To Kill a Mockingbird is about the Finch family, which consists of: Scout (Jean), Atticus, Calpurnia, and Aunt Alexandra. They reside in the modest town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. The father of the family, Atticus, is defending a colored person, Tom Robinson, in a court case regarding rape.

In a movie, music sets the tone and mood and also gets the watcher’s attention also have different emotions. To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the 1930s’ during the Great Depression. The main character Scout Finch has a father named Atticus Finch. He is a lawyer who decides to take a case involving a black man named Tom Robinson who is being accused of sexually assaulting a white girl named Mayella Ewell. Mayella Ewell comes from a poor family who is viewed in the Maycomb society as “white trash.”

Tom Robinson, an innocent black man falsely accused of rape by Bob Ewell and his daughter, represents Lee’s message about justice for African-Americans in American society, specifically in the South, in the 1930s. She gives explicit proof as to the fairness of the court system when Reverend Sykes tells a confident Jem, “I ain’t never seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man” (Lee 279). This indicates that justice in court trials was not properly served and was unfairly favored towards whites. Robinson’s trial also reflects the motif of killing a mockingbird. Scout is told in the story that “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird,” because they “don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy” (Lee 119).

The person speaking is Atticus because he is giving his final statement in his trial with Tom Robinson,”’She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man. Not an old Uncle, but a strong young negro man. No code mattered to her before she broke it, but it came crashing down on her afterwards.’” (272)

Mark Twain’s main argument of racism and slavery is apparent in the citation, being the crowd is discriminating and treating Jim harshly solely based on his color and without knowing, or taking consideration any information the Doctor is about to exclaim about the righteous act Jim did in order to save Tom Sawyer’s life. Not to mention, Twain’s argument of racism is evident in the Doctor’s exclamation, being he stated to not treat Jim any more harshly than you're “obliged” to, thus reveals, the natural racism and tendency to discriminate against African Americans based on their race during the time period in the novel. Furthermore, Twain’s argument of slavery and racism is apparent in the Doctor’s perception toward Jim by stating although he

Disease of Prejudice Maycomb 's usual desease is the desease of prejudice. Prejudice can be defined in many ways, one definition is law verb: Harm or injury that result or may result from some action or judgment. Another is verb law: Cause harm to (a state of affairs), with these definitions I would say the noun makes perfect since because everyone is racist (judgement of color). In this state of confusion of the case black verse white Atticus hope 's that Jem and Scout never turn out to have Mayconmb 's usual desease of prejudice. As Mayconmb is full of prejudice against African Americans the case has made life for Atticus, Jem, and Scout a little more observant.

In an 1890 interview with The Voice, Frances Willard vocalized concern over the value of black voters, asserting stereotypes about black men as being drunken rapists, and therefore a threat to white womanhood. In the interview, she claims not only that "the colored race multiplies like the locusts of Egypt." but "the grog shop is its center of power. The safety of women, of childhood, of the home is menaced in a thousand localities at this moment so that [white] men dare not go beyond the sight of their own roof-tree" Because of Willard's statements, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), of which she was the president of, has been frequently dismissed by historians as racist. In spite of Willard and historians, the organization was placed in a position of importance by many black women of the time, viewed as one of the best institutions to establish interracial cooperation (Gilmore

In Race Prejudice II, Hubert Harrison argues that racial prejudice is not innate. He explains that if it were innate, then the white people would not be able to be around the black people. He

The conflict perspective describes a theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of groups that are competing for scarce resources . Since the title of the book is “To Kill a Mockingbird” Mockingbirds are used to represent innocent creatures that are mistreated or “Killed”, which relates back to the main theme of the book which is the destruction of innocence. the author gives some examples of mockingbirds such as Tom Robinson. Though he was blantly innocent, since Tom was a negro man accused of raping a white woman he loses. A substantial amount of evidence and witnesses proved that he did not commit the crime, however he was still found guilty.

When trying to convince someone to believe what you believe, what you say and how you say it can affect the out outcome. In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Atticus uses this to his benefit for his closing statement in the trials. Atticus Finch is a respectable lawyer who chose to defend Tom Robinson, an African-American who was accused of raping a white woman. Tom is innocent, but in the 1930s the word of a black man 's against a two white peoples was not worth much. Mayella, the girl Tom supposedly raped, asked Tom to come inside and help with a broken door.

Therefore, if one was colored the trial wouldn’t be in their favor. The trials either would end in the conviction of death or the least likely, time in prison. In the Scottsboro Case and the book To Kill a Mockingbird the victims lived hard lives and were influenced by others. Aside from that the physical evidence was weak as well as the testimonies. The Scottsboro Case was the only crime in American History to produce many trials, convictions, and retrials as the alleged rape of two white girls by nine black teenagers on March 25, 1931 (Linder).

Atticus’s statement is one that will be around for a long time, and is often used today except in different forms. Atticus said “you never know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them”. Just like in the Bible when is says not to judge by the outward appearance but by the inner appearance. If we follow this statement, we will experience life from a whole different perception.

Though many people think that emotion helps make rational resolutions, often times it hurts one’s ability to do so. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout, the protagonist, and her family discover the need for logic when her father takes an important court case. Sadly, most of the people of Maycomb in the 1930s became corrupt because they do not use rationality in their lives. Throughout the novel, Scout and the reader both learn that one should not let their emotions rule their reason when making decisions. Even before the court case began, Scout learns about the recurring theme of logic being more effective than her feelings when forming opinions of others and in communicating.

Institutional racism was depicted in Marissa Alexander’s case. Marissa Alexander had stopped by Rico Gray’s house to visit him. She gave her phone to Rico, letting him view the pictures of their baby daughter and then noticed text messages from her ex husband. The argument had started and she headed into the garage, armed herself, and then shot a warning shot near her husband. Alexander tried to use the ‘stand your ground’ law, which had failed and was later sentenced to prison for 20 years.