How Did Tom Robinson Fail In To Kill A Mockingbird

Life will go on without fail, but it won't always be simple. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the reader is taken through the story of racism, prejudice, and its consequences through the eyes of an intelligent young girl named Scout who lives with her father Atticus, and older brother Jem in the small southern town of Maycomb. Life had been simple for Scout and Jem growing up, but things quickly changed for them as a new rape case came up in their town. Tom Robinson was a young black man who was accused of committing a heinous act against Mayella Ewell which induced problems among people due to racism and bias that was present in their town. This especially affected Atticus since he was Tom’s defendant and people did not like that he was defending

Scout and Jem stood at the Maycomb county jailhouse waiting for the judge to announce the verdict for Tom Robinson. They had declared him guilty and that was final. As people began to leave the courthouse, Jem started to cry. “His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd.” He found Atticus and expressed that “It ain’t right” (Lee 242). A little after the verdict had been announced, Jem came to a realization asking “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.” He relates this to Boo Radley and says “ I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all this time… It's because he wants to stay inside”(Lee 259). Jem learns that even though racism is wrong, it will never really go away. He knows that people will not see black and white people the same and that racism is a major problem within his town. Due to this, Jem gains more understanding of the real world and how unfair it can

Scout and her family live next to Ms. Dubose. She is an ill-tempered old woman who was continuously angry at Scout and Jem. She was racist, callous, and believed in harmful gender roles. Scout claims “[They] could do nothing to please her.” And she would say things to them like “ ‘Not only a Finch waiting on tables but one in the courthouse lawing for n*****’s.’” (Lee 117). Considering these problems, instead of working it out in a proper manner with an adult, Scout and Jem decide to take the problem into their own hands. Jem had gone into Ms. Dubose's front yard and destroyed all her camellia bushes. According to Scout “He didn’t begin to calm down until he had cut the tops off every camellia bush Mrs.Dubose owned until the ground was littered with green buds and leaves.” (Lee 118). Scout and Jem had to deal with the harsh things Ms.Dubose would say about them and black individuals which introduced Scout and Jem to the racism and hatred that goes through their town. Because Jem and Scout are still young and are still learning about the real world, they don’t know what to do about racism and how to fix problems