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Blindness In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

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In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee supplies the reader with the motif of the blindness of night and the truth of day to reveal that evils are committed in blind rage rather than in clear thought. An example of this blindness is the verdict given to Tom Robinson, an innocent black man convicted of raping Mayella Ewell. In this circumstance, Tom and the many witnessing the trial stand in the courtroom awaiting the verdict. After the clock "...bonged eleven times..." signaling the hour of that evening, the jury states that Tom Robinson is "guilty" due to their distorted perspectives (Lee 281-282). Here, even though Tom's lawyer, Atticus Finch, supplies the jury with all the evidence needed to acquit the defendant, they still convict him because they would rather trust a white man's word than a black man's word. …show more content…

Although this verdict favors the Ewell family, the father of Mayella, Bob Ewell, resents how Atticus makes a fool out of him in court. Because of this enmity, Bob decides to take his aggression out on Scout and Jem Finch, the children of Atticus. On "...the dark..." night of Halloween, Bob Ewell follows the two home from a town party and tries to "...jerk Jem to the ground..." in an effort to hurt and kill his enemy's child even though conventional wisdom would suggest not committing this crime (Lee 351). Furthermore, Bob's inconceivable actions are fueled by his ruthless hatred for Atticus Finch; this hatred overrides his ability to think the situation through. Again, the motif of night and its comparative theme are also made true because night's opposite, daytime, represents clear thought. This is shown when Scout is able to overcome her fear of Boo Radley and

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