Examples Of Atticus At The Trial In To Kill A Mockingbird

Ayla Whitaker

Mrs. Appleton

English 9A

19 November 2015

Innocent Victim vs. Truly Guilty Mayella Ewell was a 19 year old girl who lived in the small, quiet town of Maycomb. Her life was hard and she was extremely lonely. She accused Tom Robinson, a kind, humble black man, of raping her. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the character of Mayella Ewell to show the difference between an innocent victim and one who is truly guilty. Mayella was guilty of victimizing Tom Robinson, but she herself was also a victim. Atticus said in his speech at the trial, “[Mayella] is the victim of cruel poverty and ignorance, but I cannot pity her… She knew full well the enormity of her offense” (Lee 272). Mayella knew what she was doing. She

The Robinsons brought the Finch family food. “Calpurnia said, ‘Tom Robinson’s daddy sent you along this chicken this morning. I fixed it.’” (Lee 285). The Robinson’s family was extremely grateful for all Atticus did for them, even though he was unable to save Tom from the peoples’ discrimination. The Robinson’s knew Atticus had tried his best and fought hard for their rights. The whole situation was clearly quite hard for Atticus. He stood up for what he knew was right, even though no one else did. That took great courage. He knew the townspeople would not accept the truth, yet he fought for it anyway. The trial did not turn out well for Tom. He was thrown in prison. Then Atticus came with some bad news for his sister: “‘What’s the matter?’ Aunt Alexandra asked… ‘Tom’s dead... They shot him,’ said Atticus. ‘He was running [away].’” (Lee 315). Tom did not think Atticus would be able to free him, so he tried to escape from prison on his own. The guards shot and killed him. Tom’s wife and family were crushed by the news. “[Tom’s wife] just fell down in the dirt” (Lee 322). She was devastated by his death. The other people of Maycomb weren’t fazed by it. They said they expected a “nigger” to do something stupid like try to escape from prison. Harper Lee shows the power and fault of judging a book by it’s cover through this incident. The citizens of Maycomb knew nothing of Tom’s motives for running away, but they judged him based on his skin color. Everyone has been stereotyped in some way or another, so Harper Lee’s book is relatable to all in that