“People …[they] see what they look for, and hear what they listen for.” (232). From the rapist on death row to the innocent elephant shot for game, all murders take place out of a perception that your life is superior to the one that stands in front of your crosshair. In the events of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee answers these feelings of superiority in the white community, and the ways they exploit their inherent power through judicial violence. However, such violence in TKAM takes place even before Tom Robinson’s trial, in the death of the mad dog. The execution of the mad dog not only foreshadows major trials and themes in the book, but it embodies the prejudice that drives much of the story to come. By analysing physical augur, sudden character development, and the imminent lack of sympathy, one …show more content…
With the court case still fresh in the reader’s mind, Harper Lee first indicates a physical foreshadowing between the gun used to kill both Mr. Robinson and the mad dog. The gun serves its purpose as the misuse of authority, due to the fact that in both victims’ defenseless states “the white man always wins” (298). With this in mind, the reader can also draw a connection between the single gunshot used to kill the dog, and the single decision casted upon guily Tom Robinson. It did not take a second shot to kill the dog, as there was nothing stopping the jury from carrying out their own prejudices onto the court system. Moreover, We can see foretelling in the mad dog sequence with Atticus’ hesitation to shoot the dog. While Atticus knows the repercussions of defending Mr. Robinson, he steps up to do what is asked of him. As we have seen parallels between Tim Johnson and Tim Robinson, we can also derive connections between Atticus and the court, through the surprising character traits that develop after the mad dog