Tom Robinson's Death Essay

Like most places, Maycomb County, Alabama was full of hardworking people of integrity, as well as dishonest, indolent citizens. Atticus, a distinguished lawyer, raised his two kids, Scout and Jem, to be disciplined youth, practicing honest morals. Everyone in Maycomb admired Atticus for his respectable character, just as they all abhorred the Ewell family, for their cheating and lying ways. However, Atticus’ prominent role in town was suddenly challenged when he was chosen to defend in court Tom Robinson, a black man whom Mayella Ewell accused him of taking advantage of her. Eyes that once looked up to Atticus with deep admiration, now glared at him in disgust.

Atticus Finch, the best lawyer in Maycomb, was sitting nervously in his chair as he waited for the town Judge to arrive in court. Tom Robinson, Atticus client, was in court for raping a white women. Which he didn’t do. Tom looked over to Atticus in a deep, scared voice “we won 't win. Look at the way everyones looking at me.

Sighing to myself, I leaned back down until my back touched the somewhat comforting bed. On the other side of the jail, I heard the creaking of a chair and the soft breathing of Mr. Finch after his two children showed up, making the lynch mob leave. Mr. Finch was my lawyer for the trial in a couple of weeks that determined if I was guilty or not. Sadly, all African-American’s in Maycomb were condemned guilty even though some were innocent.

Despite racial inequalities in the South, Atticus sticks to his own morals and agrees to be the defending lawyer for Tom Robinson, a black man being accused of raping a white woman. Although Atticus’ defense in court was thorough and clearly proved Tom’s innocence, the jury was prejudiced towards black folks and convicted Tom as guilty. Nonetheless, Atticus is still a hero despite losing the case. He has the courage to stand up for what he believes in, fights with reason rather than guns, and has utmost determination, making him a hero despite being just an average human being. Ultimately, his thoughts and actions set the stage for major changes in the meaning of equality throughout Maycomb County, changing lives of numerous people.

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 the part two of the book, Tom Robinson, a black man is accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. The social norm of this time was to respect whites, and treat blacks differing. Therefore, it was a sin for Tom to disrespect Mayella. Atticus Finch, a lawyer and respected white man fought for Tom and bravely tried as his lawyer. On trial, there was evidence that Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father beat, and raped her.

Bob Ewell is an unemployed drunk who is the father of Mayella Ewell and her younger siblings. Mayella’s family is so poor that her and her siblings only go to school on the first day just to mark their appearance, because they need to spend their time hunting for food. Since they don’t attend school they barely get an education. When Bob Ewell has the opportunity to spend money on food or clothes he takes advantage of it and spends it on alcohol. In the town of Maycomb they only made it this far because of their skin color.

We see injustice and narrow-mindedness throughout but is most prevalent with Tom Robinson’s trial, with Mayella and Bob Ewell taking the stand and giving their testimony. Because of Mayella’s ignorance and selfishness, she was able to put an innocent man in jail. She didn’t care about the social code that she would be breaking, and lured Tom Robinson, an african american that worked for Mr. Deas. She kisses him, and after Tom is able to run away, faces the consequences of her father. During the trial, Mayella

Bob Ewell, Mayella 's father, gets drunk and abuses Mayella. He possibly even sexually abused Mayella. Not to mention, Mayella had enough of the abuse and got an idea. In addition to this, Mayella thought since she was a white woman she could blame an African American man, Tom Robinson, of rape and if her father sees, he will

But she said he took advantage of her, and when she stood up she looked at him as if he were dirt beneath her feet.” Mayella’s loneliness and powerlessness drove her to have an affair with a black man, breaking a societal code. She is a victim of poverty because of the hatred and discrimination occurring in Maycomb. Although some might view Mayella Ewell as a victim, others might view her as a villain because she broke a societal code by attempting to have an affair with a Negro.

Injustice is found in the town of Maycomb during Tom’s court case. He is brought before court accused of committing an appalling crime, even though clear evidence and facts have been

“The tribe of which Burris Ewell and his brethren consisted had lived on the same plot of earth behind the Maycomb dump, and had thrived on county welfare money for three generations” (130). This quote shows that the Ewells had always been an unpleasant and low class family. The Ewells had to live off welfare and they were rude and ignorant. During Tom Robinson’s trial, you were able to see the Ewell’s true colors and ways they were disrespectful. Some of the people of Maycomb had different opinions on other people that may have been of a lower social status than them.

Mayella was not favored by the people in Maycomb. She was extremely poor and never spoke on any harassment she suffered from her father. Tom Robinson attempts to get the truth out in the open when he is giving his testimony, “She said what her papa do to her don’t count” (Doc B). Mayella doesn’t fully understand that her father is physically abusive towards her. To her it’s just love.

For instance, determination in Bob Ewell is involved in a variety of situations throughout the story. Bob Ewell is determined to be victorious in the case between his daughter, Mayella, and Tom Robinson. He is there for her to guide her through it alongside their lawyer, Mr. Gilmer. It is thought to be that Tom Robinson rapes Mayella Ewell one day. Bob Ewell arrives to the scene and sees Tom raping Mayella which leads to where Tom panics and runs off into the distance.

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.