2. In chapter 19 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson is called to witness the events that happened the night of the rape. He was sweaty and nervous during his questioning and was even more nervous when Mr. Gilmer pointed out the fact that Tom felt sorry for Mayella. It says in the book that saying that was the worst thing he could have said because a black man, which was the lowest class in society, having sympathy for a white woman was a disgrace to the family. In chapter 24, aunt Alexandra says “The handful of people in this town who say that fair play is not marked White Only” (Page 270). Tom knew that he had a slim chance of going free because he was black and the people convicting him didn’t see the problem with the logic. 4. Maycomb is a very typical place for the time period it is in. It is a small and quiet town where everyone knows each other. Maycomb is also a very prejudiced and racist place. The case of Tom Robinson pushes people to their most uncomfortable limits when it comes to …show more content…
Scout comes home from school asking Atticus and Jem about Hitler after her third grade teacher mentioned how terrible he was. Miss Gates says that “Over here, we don’t believe in persecuting anybody. Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced. Pre-ju-dice,” (Page 281). She is being hypocritical because Scout heard her say a different kind of thing at the Courthouse. She said “It’s time somebody taught ‘em a lesson, they were gettin’ way above themselves, an’ the next thing they think they can do is marry us” (Page 283). Scout then asks Jem “How can you hate Hitler so bad an’ then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home–”. The question Scout raises is about how people can be so terrible to their own neighbors, but feel sorry for the ones across the world. Scout is also trying to make the point to Jem that Miss Gates is no better than Hitler, for she has the same mindset as him. They are one in the same, but only Hitler holds the power to do what he
Another way Scout has changed since the beginning of the book is she understands people have both good and bad qualities that coexist within them, as she becomes closer to an adult and encounters evil in the world. 20. Miss Gates’ lesson to the class about Hitler’s prosecution of Jew’s is ironic, because she herself came out of the courthouse after the trial ended and responded by telling Miss Stephanie Crawford that “it was about time that someone taught them a lesson” when referring to the blacks in the town. It reveals that most people during that time where racist and prejudice to some extent in Maycomb. An example that is similar in our current society portrayed in this chapter is how white males get paid the highest salary, but people of other races and women get paid lower salaries for
Gentlemen, in the 30 years that I have been practising law in Maycomb, I have never seen a case so complicated, and so simple at the same time. Complicated because of the circumstances; a white woman’s word versus a black man’s word. Simple because of the facts; clearly no one in this courtroom is guilty besides the defendant himself, Tom Robinson. There is undoubtedly more evidence confirming the fact that Tom Robinson is guilty rather than innocent.
This illustrates that Scout has learned to not get too involved in the business of others. More importantly, Scout learns about hypocrisy through her teacher, Miss Gates. Miss Gates says that Adolf Hitler is a bad man for
The passage focuses on Scout’s class and them learning about the Nazis persecuting the Jews and how their teacher, Miss Gates feels that prejudice (especially in this case) is horrible, but she is one of the main people in this chapter to be prejudiced against something.
At the same time, the southern rape complex includes a “passive, white, heteronormative woman” (Halpern 11). Mayella Ewell might have been considered white trash, nevertheless, in this case “she necessarily symbolizes the pure and sacred white Southern womanhood” (Vestil). The irrational fear of the black rapist stereotype made the southern society keen to protect their white superiority. A white female, regardless of class and at any cost, would have been believed, in contrast, a black male would never be trusted but he would be convicted of a capital crime. The jury into Kill a Mockingbird does not believe Mayella, but because of race Tom Robinson will be sentenced to death.
During the pivotal trial of Tom vs. Mayella Ewell, Tom was convicted of raping Mayella. Mayella claims that Tom forced her, but later the reader finds out that Tom was offering Mayella help and the real attack was Mayella’s abusive father, Bob Ewell. Atticus tries to lend a hand to Tom by defending him with confidence, regardless of what the community has to say to the well-known lawyer. The verdict of the trial is that Tom is guilty and he comes to the sense that in Maycomb, the words of a cruel White man is more trustworthy than the words of a honest Black man. Even Atticus could not demolish the hatred of Blacks in the jury, “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” (Lee 323).
She compares Dolphus Raymond’s situation, who comes from a prominent family and can live as he pleases to Mayella, who belongs to a very poor family that the community looks upon with pity. Atticus talks to Jem about the incident between Bob Ewell at Atticus. Scout really learns from her father’s empathy and combines that with new insights to make an interesting connection to Hitler. “I heard her (Miss Gates) say it’s time somebody taught ’em a lesson, they were gettin’ way above themselves, an’ the next thing they think they can do is marry us. Jem, how can you hate Hitler so bad an’ then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home-”
Mrs. Dubose criticized Scout’s clothing and told her she won’t do well in life if she continues her ways. Besides Mrs. Dubose, Jem has also commented on Scout’s ways. When Scout disagreed with Jem, he told her she was acting more like a girl. “I was not so sure, but Jem told me I was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, that’s why other people hated them” (Lee 54). Jem disapproves of Scout’s feminine behavior and comments that being a girl is something negative.
At Scout's young age, she is yet to know how to be racist, or what racism even is. So when she says “Calpurnia says that's ****** talk”(49), she isn't sure why her brother Jem scowls at her. This quote is given to us as the scout's first reaction to racism. She understands the fact that she said something wrong by the way Jem scowled at her, but because of her youthfulness she is yet to know why. As Scout grows a little bit older she starts to understand more about equality, during a conversation with her brother she says “I think there's just one kind of folks.
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.
On Scout’s first day of school, she runs into some problems with her teacher and asks Atticus if she can stay home, Instead he gives her a valuable piece of advice. “First of all, if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it. ”(pg.39
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.
Social class and sexism take a major part in the lives of the people of Maycomb and affect the way they treat each other. Tom Robinson, a young man accused of a crime because of his race, is a main example of the blindness to prejudice in this novel. Throughout the novel the author discusses the issue of racism and its effects on people. When Atticus Finch took on defending Tom in court, people told him that he would lose the case because of Tom's race. Atticus was upset over the fact that the courts were biased, no matter how much evidence shows that they were innocent.
Tom Robinson was an innocent man falsely accused and convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and despite the evidence supporting him he was still found and guilty and was sentenced to the death penalty. He is one of if
(327) 3. Why is Scout surprised that her teacher hates Hitler? Scout has heard Miss Gates speak terribly of African-Americans. Scout asks, “Jem how can you hate Hitler so bad an’ then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home–” (327) 4. Why does Jem react so violently when Scout asks him this question?