Examples Of Corruption In To Kill A Mockingbird

Corruption can and has been seen for centuries throughout history. The historical fiction novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, has a central theme based around the corruption of society in a small Alabama town during the 1950s. It follows the main character, Scout Finch, on her path of learning about society's norms and beliefs. She closely watches her father defend a man of color against a false rape accusation. She and her brother, Jem, watch the trial as it grows to affect the entire town. Various characters can corrupt the system in their favor and over time, Scout and Jem start the see the unjust nature of the town and they try to make sense of it, but to no avail. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird shows how people in power that

During his trial, Robinson points out how Mayella Ewell attempts to seduce him when “‘she reached up an’ kissed [him] ‘side of th’ face. She says she never kissed a grown man before an’ she might as well kiss a [person of color]’” (Lee 268). Mayella Ewell takes advantage of the trust that Tom Robinson gives her when he comes into work on her house. She gives him no choice and forces him into the conflict. She abuses the trust that he gives her with the various jobs he worked. In a similar but very real case to Robinson's, all the jury members were white men and the trial had separate seating for individuals of color. Additionally, in both cases, the defense had clear evidence that would prove that the defendant could not be charged with the crime, but in both cases, the jury took very little time to decide before finding the defendant guilty ("Historical Context"). The details of Tom Robinson's case can be found in events that had very similar outcomes. It would not seem out of place for a black man to be found guilty of a crime he did not commit, and it can highlight that the trust put into the jury by the government is broken and that the jury abuses that power to determine the correct societal outcome. It was firmly believed that the black man was innocent, and the actual murders were revealed, but they were never punished for their crimes ("Historical Context"). A real-life case ties back to how the jury abuses the trust granted to them by the state. The injustice faced by black Americans at the hands of white supremacists is a major issue that has not changed for many decades. In To Kill a Mockingbird trust is broken by many different groups of characters and the effects of said corruption are