ipl-logo

Tom Robinson's Death Essay

724 Words3 Pages

The Death of the Mockingbird Books can be one way of handling difficult topics, and that is just what happened in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. To Kill a Mockingbird was written in 1960 and set in the Great Depression, around the 1930s. The central conflict of this classic is when Tom Robinson, an innocent colored man, is accused of the rape of a white woman, Miss Mayella Ewell. The case is brought to court, where Atticus Finch is appointed to defend Tom Robinson. Although Tom Robinson should have been more guarded and not have helped Mayella as much, the community was at fault because of the blinding prejudice that caused them to rule an honest, law-abiding, colored man guilty.
Tom Robinson was found guilty of Mayella Ewell due to …show more content…

He was extremely optimistic that Tom would be set free immediately. However, Reverend Sykes provided a more realistic opinion on the matter, “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man” (Lee 238)... In this time where racial inequity ran high, a black person winning over a white simply would not happen.
Colored people at this time did not have hope of a fair trial in any court, and when Tom was convicted his last shard of hope …show more content…

Ewell and seven children on the place, boy?”
“Well, I says it looked like they never help her none--”...
“Yes, suh. I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more’n the rest of ’em--”
“You felt sorry for her, you felt sorry for her?” 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” (Lee 224).
For a black person to feel sorry for a white person was unheard of, and Mr. Gilmer deliberately paused here to let Tom’s words sink in. This should not have swayed the jury, however, as stated above, this was practically a taboo. Another thing to note, that a person of color, someone looked down on by the community was the only person willing to get close and help Mayella. This just proves how prejudiced this community is, against people of color and people who aren’t like them.
Despite all of the evidence pointing away from Tom and to Bob, Tom was convicted. He was sentenced almost exclusively because of his skin color. This concludes the community was ultimately to blame for Tom Robinson because of the inequity that landed him in jail, the stigma that reduced the guards’ guilt in shooting him, and the lack of community support for the Ewells that caused Tom to step up. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch said that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. This sin rests on the shoulders of the Maycomb

Show More
Related

  • How Is Mayella Ewell A Sympathetic Character

    486 Words  | 2 Pages

    Furthermore, Tom is showing regard for Judge Taylor’s preferences. Specifically, he prefers witnesses to keep their accounts “within the confines of Christian English” (Lee 198), which discludes

    Read More

  • Essay On Tom Robinson Trial

    824 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gilmer starts his cross-examination of Tom Robinson by asking him about a previous case he had when he got in a fight with another guy. Mr. Gilmer asked, “what did the guy look like when you got through with him” (Lee 223). Mr. Gilmer starts with this by putting a bad picture in the jury’s mind of Tom by making a false statement that Tom beat the guy up and hurt him when in reality Tom was the one that got beat up. Then Mr. Gilmer goes on to tell the jury “anyone who was convicted of disorderly conduct could easily have had it in his heart to take advantage of Mayella” (Lee 223). Mr. Gilmer says this claiming Tom is a bad guy and he did it, just because Tom has had a questionable history does not mean he is a bad guy anymore.

    Read More

  • Tom Robinson Trial Essay

    954 Words  | 4 Pages

    Mayella was white so the jury believed her more than Tom, and the obvious evidence that was given. The community of Maycomb was responsible for the imprisonment of Tom Robinson. This just shows how the color of your skin affected how people saw and treated them during this time period. Luckily today’s society strongly pushes for equality for all people which is what was the problem during this specific time period. Times have changed for the better and some things have changed for the

    Read More

  • Tom Robinson Trial Essay

    894 Words  | 4 Pages

    Tom Robinson is trying to do the right thing by helping out this lady by the name of Mayella Ewell. Tom was not wanting anything bad to happen, but unfortunately, Mayella tempted Tom to kiss her, so Tom did everyone found out about it and was mad because white women are not supposed to kiss black men. Bob Ewell Found out about it and beat Mayella then blamed it on Tom to get him in trouble because he is black. Tom Robinson is not at fault. Mayella Ewell is taking advantage of the situation and the community.

    Read More

  • Tom Robinson Biased Trial

    526 Words  | 3 Pages

    The community of Maycomb is at fault for the accusations of Tom Robinson because many people were raised to treat black people differently and many people don't care how they make black people feel. However, Tom is also at fault because he should've used his context clues. Many people in the town of Maycomb were raised to treat black people differently. For

    Read More

  • Tom Robinson Research Paper

    905 Words  | 4 Pages

    Atticus Finch, Tom’s representative, shows in the story how Tom being sentenced to life in prison is the county's fault. They also demonstrate real-life accusations made against the people who supported Tom and his family. Tom Robinson was pronounced guilty, because

    Read More

  • How Did Tom Robinson Deserve The Trial

    1069 Words  | 5 Pages

    These men, due to their personal beliefs, decided to go against the rule of law and what they knew to be false evidence to convict a man purely because of his race. " Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts, Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed". Despite the questionable evidence against Tom, the jury had taken their prejudice and personal beliefs into the court, causing Tom to be at a disadvantage before the trial had even begun. They had deprived Tom of the basic right of equality within a court of law.

    Read More

  • Disunification In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1557 Words  | 7 Pages

    Sofia Martinez Mrs. Keisha Lennon Language Arts 9 January 19, 2023 Rough Draft: Literary Analysis Final Draft: Literary Analysis Violent disunity, wrongful conviction, untimely death. The character Tom Robinson in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird represents or symbolizes all the black people who are treated wrongly. Tom Robinson is a black man in the book. He was wrongfully convicted of raping a girl when he was only helping her.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Persuasive Essay To Kill A Mockingbird

    538 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this case, it would be most of the jury being racist toward Tom because of his skin color. “... In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins.” (Lee 251-252) Let us now look at the evidence presented in the court.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Scottsboro Trial And To Kill A Mockingbird

    1103 Words  | 5 Pages

    To Kill a Mockingbird was a book written in 1960 by Harper Lee, the novel commented on and exhibited the social injustices of the early 20th century. More specifically speaking, the horrid displays of prejudice and racism in the Scottsboro Trials of 1931. The Scottsboro Case involved two white women accusing nine African-American teenagers of raping them in the back of a dark train car. The trial occurred in southern Alabama and held an all-white jury. Although the boys were very clearly innocent they were still convicted and given the death sentence.

    Read More

  • Tom Robinson Trial Essay

    928 Words  | 4 Pages

    Although Atticus did his job in proving that Tom was indeed innocent, the prejudice of the town, and the intimidation from Bob Ewell made the jury vote against Tom Robinson, resulting his his prosecution and eventually his death. The prosecution of Tom Robinson was because of the prejudice of the town.

    Read More

  • Tom Robinson Discrimination Quotes

    817 Words  | 4 Pages

    (207). When the holes in the Ewell’s testimony were shown to the jury they still came to the conclusion that Tom Robinson was guilty. This is like how the Scottsboro boys were convicted even when the women who had accused them had revealed that they just made it up as an excuse. Tom Robinson was affected by the outcome of the trial because he was imprisoned. This also shows that justice was not the prime factor there, but it was the color of one’s

    Read More

  • Discrimination In To Kill A Mockingbird Analysis

    1328 Words  | 6 Pages

    The saddening thing is, that the whole scenario started because Mayella attempted to seduce Tom, and her father found out. Filled with rage, Mr. Ewell beat his daughter, he found it unacceptable that his daughter fancied a black man. Then, he claimed that Tom raped his daughter to cover everything up. There are even cases such as Tom’s happening to this day, such as the case of Miguel Angel Peña Rodriguez Vs. Colorado. The jury was corrupted by bias thoughts which resulted in an unfair trial.

    Read More

  • Why Is Boo Radley Accused In To Kill A Mockingbird

    553 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tom Robinson was charged with rape and given a death sentence solely because of his accusations against a white lady. Scout is aware that Tom was never at fault and that the community of Maycomb with its rooted racism that found him guilty. First of all, Tom Radley was a non-actor. Tom was charged with rape and later proved guilty; he was given the death penalty.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Dbq Analysis

    709 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 1930s was a very challenging time for america, it was the peak of the the Great Depression and the social oppression of women. The fictional novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is centered around the political issues america faced. The novel takes place in the fictional town of Maycomb Alabama where we look at the case of Tom Robinson against Mayella and Bob Ewell. The story goes that Tom Robinson went into the Ewell household and took advantage of Mayella and beat her. Although Mayella was actually the perpetrator, she won the case and Tom Robinson was sentenced to prison.

    Read More

More about Tom Robinson's Death Essay

Open Document