ipl-logo

Who Is Tom Robinson Responsible For The Great Depression

864 Words4 Pages

The Truth about Maycomb County During the Great Depression During the Great Depression, most African-Americans didn’t have a voice. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the character Tom Robinson is convicted of rape. This sentence was not justified because he was not found guilty by a fair trial. In addition to this, Mayella Ewell’s family and the community are also responsible for the outcome of this situation because they all kept silent about what really happened in Maycomb county. They are also responsible for not protecting Tom Robinson from being wrongly accused of something he did not do. Bob Ewell is the main antagonist in the novel, he is an abusive racist and drunk. The Ewells are the trashiest people in the town of Maycomb county but not because of where they live. In the novel, it states, “Atticus said the Ewells had been the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations” (Lee 33) They are the source of all the town’s problems, especially Bob Ewell. The Ewells are a family that has never been able to gain respect from the rest of Maycomb. They are lower class, poor, and distrusted by people, …show more content…

They aren’t the ones who started the drama, it all started when Mayella would talk to him and one day she decided to invite him in after this happened she liked seeing him, so one day she decided to kiss him, and then her dad saw and blew it out of proportion. Tom Robinson said, “she reached up an’ kissed me ’side of th’ face” (Lee 221). He didn’t know how to react so he decided to pin the blame on Tom, but he also decided to punish Mayella by beating her in hopes of teaching her a lesson. Or maybe every time Bob Ewell would drink he would forget what he was doing and his alternate side would show his angry resentful side. The townspeople didn’t have any other evidence to prove it so they just go along with whatever people

Show More
Related

  • Tom Robinson Trial Research Paper

    641 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Ewell family lives of the state, or in other words they are on welfare. Tom Robinson was treated with extreme cruelty, and did not deserve what he was put through. Tom’s whole testimony had nothing that seemed like a lie, or that seemed unbelievable, while Heck Tate,the sheriff, Bob Ewell, father of the supposed victim , and Mayella, the supposed victim, all switched their story at least once. A conversation that takes place between Atticus and Tom, on page 198 says “ “Then you ran ?” “I sho’ did, suh.”

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Scottsboro Boys Trial And To Kill A Mockingbird

    626 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ewell also developed a hatred towards Atticus after hearing the disclosure about the trial. After the trial Mr. Ewell met Atticus , “spat in his face, and told him he’d get him if it took the rest of his life” (217). I think Bob found such an appalling behavior necessary because even though he was found innocent the people of Maycomb knew he was guilty of rape. Although Atticus received negative relationship changes he also gained positive relationships with people, specifically from the black community.

    Read More

  • Mayella Ewell Trial Essay

    1434 Words  | 6 Pages

    The jury learns that in the Ewell household, they were uneducated, which Mayella says, “There was no need for the rest of them to learn- Papa needed them at home” (Lee, p.245) This proves that they, especially Mayella, did not know literature and laws. If she had learned the laws, she would have known it was illegal for a white woman to kiss a black man. If she were to acknowledge the law, she would not kiss Tom Robinson and this situation would not occur in the first place.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Tom Robinson A Fair Trial In To Kill A Mockingbird

    727 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tom Robinson would have lived if it were not for the citizens of Maycomb. This situation is shown by the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which is set in the 1930s in Maycomb, Alabama. Tom was charged with raping a 19-year-old woman named Mayella Ewell. Through this trial, the different social standings of white and colored people make themselves known. Tom was given an unfair trial simply due to people’s beliefs that they are unwilling to change.

    Read More

  • Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

    557 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mayella lives with her abusive and alcoholic father. Mr. Gilmor is the lawyer that is representing Mayella. Tom Robinson was accused of raping Mayella Ewell and the jury falsely convicted him. The people of Maycomb county are the reason for Tom Robinson's conviction and his death.

    Read More

  • How Does Lee Present Social Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

    614 Words  | 3 Pages

    “He said that the Ewells were members of an exclusive society made up of Ewells” (Lee 40-41). This shows how they are divided from the rest of the people from the town. “There’s ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there’s the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes” (Lee 302) This quote from Jem explains how Maycomb is broken up into different social classes. Social inequality caused the Ewells to be shunned in a way or looked down on which made Mr. Ewell

    Read More

  • Tom Robinson Research Paper

    905 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Mistreatment of Tom Robinson Tom Robinson was a falsy accused man, all because of the community's biased opinion. Tom Robinson’s court case was shown in the story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Tom Robinson, was accused of beating and raping Mayella Ewell. Since the town of Maycomb thinks all African Americans are harmful, it is nearly impossible for him to win this court case. Even though the evidence did not line up to where it could not possibly be Tom, he still lost.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Prejudice Quotes

    1312 Words  | 6 Pages

    Prejudice in Maycomb County is alive and well, and in To Kill A Mockingbird, there are many victims of prejudice. To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is a beautifully and carefully orchestrated book that manifests the many struggles within society. Lee writes about Scout and Jem Finch, who grow up in Maycomb County, a sleepy town located in The South, during the 1930’s. Along with their friend Dill, Scout and Jem love to spy on their reclusive neighbor Boo Radley. Their father Atticus, a respected lawyer, is defending a black man by the name of Tom Robinson for alleged rape.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Scottsboro Trial And To Kill A Mockingbird

    1288 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Ewell’s were the kind of people in the county that should never be trusted, but once they were put in a situation regarding a black man, suddenly they were the truthful ones. Furthermore, during a conversation with Calpurnia on page 164, Scout thought about how believable the Ewells were, “‘It’s because of what folks say Tom’s done,” she said… ‘Old Mr. Bob Ewell accused him of rapin’ his girl an’ had him arrested an’ put in jail…’ ‘Why, Atticus said they were absolute trash - I never heard Atticus talk about folks the way he talked about the Ewells…’” The Ewell family had the reputation of being terrible people, and even Atticus said that. However, a majority of people in town still thought Bob Ewell to be speaking the truth because he was accusing an African American, and they are always below everyone

    Read More

  • How Does Atticus Finch Show Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1646 Words  | 7 Pages

    There are two different characters with opposing views of Maycomb. Bob and Mayella Ewell. They represent the racism of Maycomb and fight against Atticus and Tom Robinson in court. The Ewell’s are in the lowest social class in Maycomb, and represent the poor. “Mayella and Bob represent moral inequity…Mayella and Bob present a social threat—the perpetuation of racism” (Champion).

    Read More

  • Empathy Quotes In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1112 Words  | 5 Pages

    With their unbeknownst number of kids the Ewell brood, specifically Bob Ewell becomes jealous and outright angry that Atticus would oppose him in the court of law by representing Tom Robinson. Although against the odds Atticus feels empathetic towards the Ewells not necessarily Bob but instead for Mayella, he understands what she is being put through, Suffering through domestic abuse, and in court Atticus even goes so far as to state that he feels sorry for Mayella. To add to this he implies that the man truly guilty of beating Mayella is in the courtroom (Bob Ewell). This did nothing to calm Bob Ewell’s seething manner instead it only escalated it, and in an attempt to get back at atticus he tries to kill his children whom are saved by an unseen and unknown force which killed Mr. Ewell. The precursor towards this however was when Bob Ewell spit on Atticus but even through this Atticus was rational, he thought about it.

    Read More

  • Essay On Tom Robinson Trial To Kill A Mockingbird

    885 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the story is set in the 1900’s, Maycomb, Alabama. During this time there was racism in the south and segregation which separated the whites and blacks from everything. There was also the Great Depression, the whole country was poor and people living in the country had to trade and do other jobs for people to either pay them off or to buy something from them. The trial in this book is about Mayella and Bob Ewell, two white people, claiming and arguing that Tom Robinson, a black person, raped Mayella Ewell. This trial is really important because at that time in the south, white people took advantage of black people and their kindness and thought they would take that or shut up just because they were black.

    Read More

  • Bob Ewell's Evil In To Kill A Mockingbird

    418 Words  | 2 Pages

    The fictional story, To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee includes an evil character, Bob Ewell. The story takes place in Maycomb, a southern town in Alabama in the 1930s. The Ewell family is among the poorest in Maycomb, and is low on Maycomb’s social hierarchy. The family name is not very reputable. Bob Ewell is a drunken father of the family.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Mayella Ewell And To Kill A Mockingbird

    959 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the trial, Mayella feels like Atticus is mocking her with the ma’am and miss Mayella when he is showing her the proper respect because she is a young woman. The town knows that Bob Ewell likes to drink and when he does he becomes aggressive, the town has had several incidents with Bob Ewell. During the case Mayella claims, “He does tollable, ‘cept when-” (Lee 208) To which Atticus replied, “Except when he’s drinking?” (Lee 208) Atticus knew that Bob was aggressive, and he knew that he drinks and that when he drinks he gets physical, and since there is no one to take it out on he takes it out on his children.

    Read More

  • To What Extent Did Tom Robinson Have A Public Trial In To Kill A Mockingbird

    679 Words  | 3 Pages

    In To Kill a Mockingbird by harper Lee, despite of him having a public trial, Tom Robinson, an innocent man was proven guilty, also his trial that was completely and utterly unfair, one-sided, and even discriminatory. This novel takes place in Maycomb, Alabama, a made up town. Robinson was working for the Ewell’s and one day Tom was invited into the house to fix a door. Tom Robinson was accused of raping and abusing a white woman, Mayella Ewell, when her father is the one who abused her. The jury had a lack of evidence to prove that Tom was guilty, and also ignored the evidence that proves his innocence.

    Read More

More about Who Is Tom Robinson Responsible For The Great Depression

Open Document