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Examples Of Discrimination In To Kill A Mockingbird

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“As Mr.Dolphus Raymond was an evil man accepted his invitation reluctantly”(pg.200) Dolphus Raymond is known for having mixed children with a black woman. This makes him appear as an outcast and a bad person which shows both discrimination and good vs evil, which is especially expressed in the trial of Tom Robinson and Mayyella Ewell. In Harper Lee's book To Kill a Mockingbird, she uses the trial to create the themes of good vs evil and discrimination. Bob Ewell shows this through what he says, what he thinks as well as the language he uses, also how a trial is set up, and what happens in the testimonies show good vs evil. It also shows discrimination by where the people have to sit, with the section specifically for black people. The interaction …show more content…

Firstly the character Bob Ewell. Bob Ewell is the father of Mayella Ewell who is the one accusing Tom Robinson of attacking her and taking advantage of her earlier in the book. He is a very unsuccessful poor man who spends all the relief money the government gives him on alcohol and things he doesn't need. When it is his turn to testify and stand as a witness of the event, he uses very bad language as well as using many racial slurs towards Tom Robinson.”e. “Well, Mayella was raisin‘ this holy racket so I dropped m’load and run as fast as I could but I run into the’ fence, but when I got dis tangled I run up to the' window and I seen—” Mr. Ewell’s face grew scarlet. He stood up and pointed his finger at Tom Robinson. “—I saw that black person yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella!”(pg,172) Bob Ewell clearly shows discrimination as well as tries to use it against Tom Robinson. He knows that the entirety of the jury are white so he tries to get them to believe Tom is guilty purely because of the fact that he is black. So he is using discrimination in his words as well as in his actions to deflect the blame of Mayella’s beating and attack on Tom …show more content…

This theme is mostly represented by Atticus Finch and Tom robinson as the good, and Bob/Mayella Ewell as the bad. This theme is shows mostly in the trial but is also shows in the after affect of the trial. When the trial starts and Atticus initially starts his cross examination to Mayella Ewell he does it calmly and without showing emotion, this represents good because he is not letting any emotions such as anger or the feeling of the trial being unjust get to him. ”“Just answer the question yes or no, please, Sheriff,” said Atticus dryly, and Mr. Tate fell silent. Atticus sat down and nodded to the circuit solicitor, who shook his head at the judge, who nodded to Mr. Tate, who rose stiffly and stepped down from the witness stand” Atticus was defending Tom Robinson out of the kindness and the goodness of his heart. He is an extremely kind and caring person which is one of the reasons he is such a good lawyer, he always has other people's best interest at heart and is one of the most selfless people in the book which is why he represents good in the trial of Tom Robinson. But the opposite type of person would be Mr. Gilbert who is Mayella Ewell's lawyer when cross examining Tom Robinson spoke and questioned with a anger and hatred to it. Both in the tone he was setting when he spoke and even just the word choice he was using. So Mr. Gilbert is representing the idea of bad

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He is a wise man to his community and its people, especially Jem and Scout. Atticus Finch, a lawyer, is put into a case, defending a black man, Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. Atticus’ insightful, caring, and thoughtful personality

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Bob Ewells files a case on Tom Robinson, a black man, for raping nineteen-year-old Mayella Ewell, claiming that Tom had raped Mayella and severely beaten Mayella on the right side. Atticus points

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Everyone in the courthouse on the night of the trial knew that Tom Robinson was innocent. But at the end of the trial, that didn’t matter. Tom Robinson was a black man, and because of this difference that should not make a difference, he had no say over the family of whites, the Ewells. Tom Robinson was wrongly convicted of raping and beating Mayella Ewell. The evidence of the case leads to the conclusion that Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father was responsible for this misfortune.

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Atticus Finch, from Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, is the appointed lawyer of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping Mayella Ewell. During the trial, Atticus expertly and deftly exposes the Ewells as lacking in morality and as liars. Atticus Finch uses the audience, occasion, tone and subject to create a meaningful purpose in his speech. The purpose is to address the white community (essentially the Ewells) to show the blatant racism within Maycomb.

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In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee conveys that prejudice divides communities and that persecution of innocent people is evil; furthermore; these two minor themes reinforce the major thematic idea that a simple assumption can divide people. When Tom Robinson is put on trial for supposedly raped Mayella Ewell, the racism in Maycomb surfaces and creates conflict. In the novel, a stranger says, “You know what we want,” ‘another man said.’ “Get aside from the door, Mr. Finch.”(172). Some drunken men want to harm Tom Robinson for the wrong that he did.

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During the court case, Bob Ewell was asked by Mr. Gilmer if he saw Mayella being raped by Tom Robinson, and he replied "yes, sir, I did." Mr. Gilmer also asked Mr. Ewell what he did when she saw her being raped, and he said that " I immediately ran to the sheriff, Mr. Heck Tate", yet again, another lie made up by Bob Ewell. By him lying like this, he was successful in covering up the fact that he was the one who beat up Mayella. Also, by his deceptiveness, he figured that he would be successful in getting Tom Robinson killed, whether him being in prison or the death.

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As a result, this makes their personal belief based off of anger and misery. Bob Ewell’s want for a feeling of power can only be satisfied by belittling anyone he can. The whole Tom Robinson case sprung because Bob Ewell needed to stay above the blacks, so that he could still have what little power he had. If word around the town had been that his daughter seduced a black man, they would be shunned even more than they were. “So if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that's something I'll gladly take.

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For one, Bob Ewell’s family name is low in the social hierarchy. His family isn’t reputable. In addition, he is known to abuse alcohol which causes him to act irrational. Therefore, these factors could lead to Bob Ewell accusing an innocent black man, Tom Robinson of raping his daughter. Meanwhile, the evidence shows that himself was committing these bad crimes to his very own daughter.

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When Mayella, and Bob Ewell, lie to the jury, they do it to make themselves look good. They went out of their way to make an official case about the scenario. Therefore it put Tom Robinson’s own life on trial for something he did not commit. Bob, got to do The only reason Mayella, and what they did, was because of the racial discrimination during that time. Everything that took place in the courtroom shows the loss of childhood innocence and extreme racial prejudice.

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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.

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