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Voicelessness In To Kill A Mockingbird

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What does being voiceless mean? The definition of someone who is voiceless is mute; or speechless. Now, what does this mean in “To Kill A Mockingbird”? This will always be a never ending question as many people think differently. To me voicelessness in “To Kill A Mockingbird” means everyone who doesn’t have the ability to speak up; to voice their opinion. They are hidden behind the bushes and ignored. Harper Lee shows numerous accounts of voicelessness in “To Kill A Mockingbird”. How Boo Radley never comes outside, how Mayella Ewell is being forced into lying about who truly hurt her. Also, how Tom Robinson has no true say in his trial. In Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” (1960) she highlights the voiceless characters through Boo Radley, …show more content…

Tom Robinson has an ineffective left arm, with hard evidence he is not guilty. But he is still voiceless. It’s a shock to the county he even got a trial, most black men who seem to be guilty are sent to jail right off. For example, “Mr. Finch? A soft husky voice came from the darkness above: They gone? Atticus stepped back and looked up. They've gone, he said. Get some sleep, Tom. They won't bother you any more.” (page 206, Harper Lee) This was right after the county mob came to the jail to kill Tom Robinson, but Atticus and the children were there to stop it. There was nothing at all that Tom Robinson could do to stop the mob, for he was in jail. His voicelessness was spoken by others, the kids and Atticus. Yet Tom Robinson could not have done a thing to stop the mob if others weren't there to protect him. “To Maycomb, Tom's death was typical. Typical of a nigger to cut and run. Typical of a nigger's mentality to have no plan, no thought for the future, just run blind first chance he saw. Funny thing, Atticus Finch might've got him off scot free, but wait-? Hell no. You know how they are. Easy come, easy go. Just shows you, that Robinson boy was legally married, they say he kept himself clean, went to church and all that, but when it comes down to the line the veneer's mighty thin. Nigger always comes out in 'em.” (page 322, Harper Lee) This quote is showing that when Tom Robinson tried to escape and got killed, there was going to be no difference in Macomb county. No difference in the lifestyle, no difference in anything. To Maycomb Tom Robinson was just another black negro, guilty or innocent, it didn’t matter. Tom Robinson is extremely voiceless during the whole novel, including the mob after him, his trial, and being killed. Tom Robinson was just one of the many voiceless characters in “To Kill A

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