In To Kill A Mockingbird, there are many different types of reactions, and point of views to the verdict of Tom Robinson. Robinson, being a man accused of rape, is an African American. Maycomb townspeople are racist, therefore there will be an unfair ending to the verdict. The townspeople, the children, and Atticus all have different views of this. The townspeople feel as if the right thing was done, charging Tom as guilty. The children feel it was unfair, but then again they are naïve to the racism. Atticus appears unmoved at the verdict. Atticus, a lawyer at Maycomb, supports Tom Robinson and feels as if he is innocent. Taking on the job to help defend Tom was an act of courage, seeing how everyone else was so opposed to this man because he was black. "It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. …show more content…
They had no idea just how unfair it was. “'It ain't right, Atticus.... How could they do it, how could they?” (134). Dill doesn’t understand why this happened, blindsided by the racism that was going on. When the people of Maycomb that did support Tom Robinson was mourning, or were angry, the children were loss. “Cry about what, Mr. Raymond?” (154). The children thought that the trial was unfair, but never thought that he would be found guilty because of his skin. Dill tries to process what’s going on. "Things haven't caught up with that one's instinct yet. Let him get a little older and he won't get sick and cry about the simple hell people give other people—without even thinking. Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they're people, too" (20.20-22). This shows how sensitive the kids are, but this also shows how naïve they are. When the trial was said and one, the kids couldn’t quite understand the verdict. This caused them to be upset, yet
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Show MoreTom Robinson represents a Mockingbird being killed by racial bias and unfairness. Tom is a friendly black man who is accused of raping Mayella Ewell and was also convicted for the crime he did not commit. He was a generous man who cared about Mayella even though she is white. The people of Maycomb wanted Tom to be killed even though he did not rape Mayella, they did not care because Tom was African American. Killing an African American for raping a white women would be a normal thing for the people of Maycomb.
Tom Robinson and many others like him have been victims of racism in the United State. Tom Robinson was a character in To Kill A Mockingbird and he was falsely accused of a crime and then was later killed for it. Tom Robinson from To Kill A Mockingbird is the best representation of racism because of its historically accurate representation of racism when he was almost lynched and later judged by the jury on his case. Tom Robinson is also current accuracy in the fact that he was a victim of police brutality.
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson represents the mockingbird because he is killed for just trying to live his life. In the trial where a white woman, Mayella Ewell, accused a black man, Tom Robinson, of rape, Tom Robinson is found guilty, although it seems to be clear that he did not do it. He then gets sentenced to death and while he waits for the death penalty, put into jail.
The first reason for Atticus to defend Tom Robinson is Atticus believes in intergrity. When Atticus is grist introduced in the novel ' To Kill A Mockingbird' Atticus is described as someone with intergrity. " Atticus the twin lawyer, tries to do what's best for his clients even if they don't listen to him." Atticus tries to have the best interest of others at heart. Many people In the town of Maycomb don't agree with Atticus and him taking on the case.
Dill, unlike the people of Maycomb in the courthouse, realizes the cruelty and unfair treatment toward Tom Robinson. Dill says “I don’t care one speck. It ain’t right, somehow it ain’t right to do ‘em that way. Hasn’t anybody got any business talkin’ like that—it just makes me sick.” (Pg 226).
Racism is only one of the harsh and cruel injustices of Maycomb that Dill is exposed to during his stay there. The Tom Robinson trial is his epiphany of how cruel and wicked people can be because of one’s skin color. After he witnesses Mr. Gilmer’s obvious mockery and disrespect of Tom Robinson, Dill states “ ‘It was the way he said it made me sick, plain sick... It ain't right, somehow it ain't right to do 'em that way.’" (227) Dill’s innocence to racism quickly fades away after witnessing Mr. Gilmer’s cross examination.
“To find yourself, think for yourself.” - Socrates Speaking out and knowing what you stand for will help you find your path and your voice. Throughout history, To Kill A Mockingbird, and our lives today, going along with the crowd and pushing aside individuality hasn 't helped anyone, or anything. Different views and opinions can help create a lot of beneficial change, but when no one is thinking for themselves, it is impossible for this to happen.
When the town first finds out that Atticus is defending a colored man, Cecil says to Scout, “My folks said your daddy was a disgrace an’ that nigger oughta hang from the water-tank” (Lee 76). Both Jem and Scout are bullied at school. The fact that adults and children are battling Scout and Jem with words and fists, shows how deeply rooted racism is in Maycomb. “We were taking a short cut across the square when four dusty cars came in from the Meridian highway, moving slowly in a line” (Lee 151). Scout, Jem, and Dill witness a mob of white men arriving to lynch Tom Robinson.
Their difference in age and Jacks lack of experience effects the way they treat the case. Atticus is Maycomb’s most respected attorney, related by family history to most of the white community in his town. He is also acquainted with the and respected by Maycomb’s black citizen. Tom Robinson’s case comes to him at the request of Judge Taylor, who knows that Atticus will do his best to give Tom a fair trial. “Link, that boy might go to the chair, but he’s not going till the truths told…
This permits Maycomb to ignore the ugly truth; Maycomb fails to protect Mayella and the Ewell children from abuse and poverty. By blaming Tom Robinson, Maycomb denies any abuse ever occured and alleviates their own guilt. Atticus tells Tom he has a good chance of winning the trial, but “Tom [is] tired of [a white man’s] chances and [prefers] to
During the 1930s the south was still raging with racism, and the thought of a black man raping a white woman lead to no further investigation whether it was true or false, he was simply sentenced to death. Atticus Finch, Toms adept lawyer, believed Soulfly in equality and justice for all and was more than happy to defend Tom Robinson with all his heart no matter his race. The Finch family felt very different than the majority of people in Maycomb Alabama. When Tom Robinson has accused the entirety of the town flocked to the courthouse to view the trial. Some with hopes for justice and liberty but most unapologetically hoping for an unfair sentence.
(100), here, Atticus knows even if everyone knows Tom is innocent and Tom’s opponent is white trash and ignorant, everyone understand that he will suffer racial discrimination and will be labelled guilty no matter the proof. Racial segregation will be the main factor as to why no one will choose a black man’s side over a white’s. No matter how much evidence there is, the mindset on blacks in Maycomb is nearly impossible to discard. “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” (276), it is no surprise when Tom tries to escape the prison and dies doing so, because everyone knew there was no hope for him once a white accuses him.
Our whole lives growing up we are told to follow the “Golden Rule”. This rule is defined as to treat someone the way you want to be treated. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch a lawyer in a town called Maycomb in Alabama tries his best to be a role model for his two children. In the quiet town of Maycomb Atticus is given the job to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. Atticus wants to teach his kids Jem and Scout life lessons at an early age so they grow up as respectable people.
When one grows up, it is inevitable they will lose their innocence. Seeing the world through rose colored glasses can only take one so far, and eventually they will have to open their eyes to real issues in their lives. While this happens at different ages for everyone, Atticus in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee believes that his kids should not be sheltered from the real world. As Scout and Jem, Atticus’ children, grow up, especially in a time where Maycomb is so segregated, Atticus teaches his kids real life lessons and to not become like the rest of their town; racist and judgemental. This comes with a cost, however, as the kids “grow up” at an expedited rate.
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.