Character Traits of Hiram Hillburn in Mississippi Trial, 1955 The murder of Emmett Till, added fuel to the fire to the Civil Rights Movement. The novel Mississippi Trial, 1955 is based on the tragic murder of a black teen; Emmett Till and the trial that took place for the two murderers J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant. Mississippi Trial 1955, is told from the viewpoint of Hiram Hillburn, a fictional character who is in Greenwood, Mississippi visiting his grandfather. Then Emmett Till is brutally murdered by two white men for allegedly saying inappropriate things to a white woman. After a trial the two white men were found not guilty, even though in reality they committed the murder. Hiram is shocked that the two white men were let go, but he is more …show more content…
A stubborn person never try’s to understand the other side or the consequences, they always think that they are right. One example of Hiram being stubborn, is when he was arguing with his father about staying in Greenwood. His father kept on explaining to him that the South was not a good place, but he wouldn’t understand. Hiram says, “I didn’t see. I couldn’t see” (Crowe 36). This show how stubborn he is because he wouldn’t try to understand what his father was saying and why he was saying it. He kept on arguing and he thought he was right, even though he listened to his father he still wouldn’t understand. There are also many times when Hiram knows that he is being stubborn. After Hiram found out that his grandfather was involved in the murder, Hiram was being stubborn and he had to tell his grandfather that he found out. Hiram says, “I wanted to forget it, but the Hillburn stubbornness wouldn’t let me” (Crowe 214). Even though he debated to himself, whether or not he should tell his grandfather. He never thought about problems that might arise if he told his grandfather that he knew about the murder. Hiram is seen as a stubborn character in the novel Mississippi Trial, 1955 because he always thinks he is right and because he always does what he wants