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Examples Of Justice In To Kill A Mockingbird

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‘Justice always prevails’, is probably a statement many of us would like to believe. However, in a world and society where racism and all other types of discrimination exist, it is easy to become disillusioned with this belief. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem becomes disillusioned after witnessing Tom Robinson’s trial, learning the hard lesson that justice and goodness do not always win. Before Tom’s conviction, Jem’s hope in justice is highlighted when he tells Scout, “He’s just gone over the evidence… and we’re gonna win, Scout. I don’t see how we can’t” (Lee 270). He has full confidence that Atticus’s evidence and testimonies guarantee a win. As the trial progresses, he reaffirms his faith in humanity, in that the people of Maycomb will do what is right and not convict Tom unfairly. …show more content…

Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor a colored man over a white man...” (Lee 279) clearly indicating that Jem still has much to learn about the injustices that exist in society. Because of his confidence that Tom would not be convicted, it is the moment the jury draws out the results that affect Jem the most. “I peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each “guilty” was a separate stab between them” (Lee 282). This moment is symbolic of his innocence and faith in humanity’s goodness almost completely wiped as he hears the word “guilty.” Just as the mockingbird’s innocence is taken with a gunshot, Jem’s innocence is torn apart by this single word that throws him into a state of disillusionment. His disillusionment is emphasized when Scout talks to him about how people are all just people and should naturally get along with one another. To this, he says,"That's what I thought, too," he said at last, "when I was your age. If there's just one kind of folks, why can't they get along with each

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In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Jem grows from a little boy to an intelligent young man. Throughout the book, he discerns many things that shape his personality. As Jem grows, he learns how bad society is and that not everyone is perfect. Fortunately for Jem, this ends up helping him and he finds out that Atticus is a hero and that he should look up to Atticus. Through Atticus and the trial, Jem loses his innocence by learning about prejudice, bravery, and that the justice system is crippled.

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1915 Words | 8 Pages

As the story continues, the Tom Robinson trial ends, and leaves Jem and Scout with a lot to consider. One night in their room, Jem speaks to Scout about his thoughts on racism and equality. Jem explains, “That’s what I thought,

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789 Words | 4 Pages

Scout, being a young child under the age of ten, struggles to understand that the truth does not always prevail, leading her to feel confused about the fairness in the world around her. Due to Scout being immature and young, she is confused about the injustice in the trial, she is becoming more in touch with the fact that the world is just. Lastly, Jem reacts to the trial with anger because he despises the injustice of the trial. During the trial Jem, who is Scout's older brother, displays a strong emotional response due to his maturity and understanding of the justice system. Harper Lee writes "It ain't right, Atticus," he muttered.

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682 Words | 3 Pages

As Jem is constantly exposed to racism throughout Maycomb, he begins to lose his innocence. While Jem and Scout are waiting for the verdict of Tom Robinson, Jem and Scout are so nervous they can hardly look. “I shut my eyes. Judge Taylor was polling the jury: Guilty… guilty...guilty...guilty... I peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each guilty was a separate stab between them” (282).

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1168 Words | 5 Pages

As soon as our childhood starts, we start to discover the dark secrets that the world is hiding. Discovering and learning these buried understandings shape people into who they are based off of how they find out. From cheating in a game to racism and prejudice, they are all disarming happenings that occur daily. In To Kill a Mockingbird, characters and events that take place throughout the story aid in the loss of innocence with Jem and Scout, and mold them into the people they become. The general lesson Jem and scout learn by the end of the book is that: the world is in no way perfect, but is actually quite distraught.

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471 Words | 2 Pages

Initially viewing the legal system standing for nothing other than both the truth and justice, Jem witnessed firsthand the deep-rooted prejudices and systematic flaws that plagued the courtroom during Mr. Robinson’s trial. Despite Atticus Finch’s best efforts to defend Tom with both integrity and compassion, the verdict reveals the inherent bias of the jury, leading to what Jem believes to be Tom’s wrongful conviction. The miscarriage of justice shatters Jem’s idealistic beliefs, forcing him to confront the harsh truth that fairness and equality do not always prevail in the face of deep-seated racism. Jem’s loss of innocence becomes palpable as he grapples with the harsh realities of racism and injustice. There are

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2376 Words | 10 Pages

Don’t see how any jury could convict on what we heard-’...’Now don’t be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man,”’ on page 279 paragraphs 6-7. Harper Lee then continues on page 282 paragraphs 2-3 to write, “A jury never looks at a defendant it has convicted, and when this jury came in, not one of them looked at Tom Robinson…’Guilty...guilty...guilty...guilty.’” Then, on page 285 paragraph10 it says, “‘They’ve done it before and they did it tonight and they’ll do it again and when they do it-seems that only children weep.’” This all comes together to prove that the children, Jem especially, saw how the verdict should have been and then goes on to suggest that if the jury had been made up of kids the verdict would have been much faster and would have been right because the children would not have been blinded by public opinion. So, the irony of Jem believing Tom Robinson would be free and the belief everyone else had including Atticus that the jury would convict Tom Robinson, shows that adults have come to believe that justice no longer matters, while hypocritically teaching their children that it

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326 Words | 2 Pages

Pardon & punished are reoccurring themes within Romeo and Juliet. It is also an obvious recurring theme within Shakespeare’s work. At the end of the play the prince says “Pardon means to be forgiven for an act or mistake that you have done or the act of forgiving someone for something they have done. Punished is when you inflict a penalty or sanction against someone who has wronged. The idea of “punishment & Pardoning” are relevant to the play because they represent the good and bad within the play.

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960 Words | 4 Pages

He can’t help himself, that’s why he lives the way he does” (Lee 213). This shows Scout and Jem’s loss of innocence as part of growing up because they learn about one of the horrible issues that is happening in the United States, how Maycomb is being racist and having prejudice against black people. Jem especially doesn’t take this well since he believed that Maycomb had citizens who behaved like this and gets disturbed and traumatized from this

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711 Words | 3 Pages

What can we do about this injustice happening in our courtrooms? What can we do to fix our problems in our justice system? Everywhere, anywhere people experience injustice, on the streets, in school, in businesses, and in our time we shouldn't be doing this, especially not in our courtrooms where we need the most justice possible. Tom Robinson's story in To Kill A Mockingbird and other texts reveal that the justice system loses credibility when those in power are biased or prejudiced against certain people.

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538 Words | 3 Pages

Jem realizes that the court system was injustice after Tom Robinson was accused guilty by the jury and judge, Scout was describing Jem’s emotions then he spoke his mind, “His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd, “It ain’t right” he muttered”. (Lee 212) Jem saying

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532 Words | 3 Pages

When Tom is convicted, Jem learns that life isn’t fair. Jem is very confident that Atticus will win the case. However, not everything is equal in life. For example, the negroes in the book are not remotely equal to the whites. The whites get everything, while the blacks slave away for the whites every day.

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1040 Words | 5 Pages

The meaning of justice is the quality of being just, impartial, or fair. The meaning of fair is free from bias, dishonesty, or injustice. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, justice and fairness are synonyms. Contrary to the dictionary, in today's day in age you can see the acts of being just and being fair aren’t always the same thing. You might see these two actions conflicting in your everyday life, when one kid gets longer on a test then another because of a disability they may have.

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1229 Words | 5 Pages

Jem deliberates on the court case and begins to draw conclusions about life that only a mature person could draw. “‘That's what I thought, too,’ he said at last, ‘when I was your age. If there's just one kind of folks, why can't they get along with each other? If they're all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other? Scout, I think I'm beginning to understand something.

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960 Words | 4 Pages

During the trial, the children notice that it’s not based on justice and how it’s based on lies and injustice and demonstrating how the children lose their morals. At the end of the trial, the guy was never going to win because their society relies on racism. Jem says “ doesn’t make it right. You can’t convict a man on evidence like that”. This demonstrates that Jem knows that the conviction of Tom Robinson is prejudiced against black people.

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