“Guilty… guilty… guilty… guilty…” (Lee 282) were the jury’s final verdicts in the case of Tom Robinson. Would the outcome have been different if Tom had been white? This first-person story from Scout’s perspective tells about a black man named Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping the daughter of Mr. Ewell. A well respected and skilled lawyer, Atticus Finch, chooses to defend Tom Robinson, and ignores the disapproval he receives for protecting a black man as he feels that it is the right thing to do. Similarly, a lawyer from New York named Leibowitz puts aside his self-dignity and helps save the Scottsboro Boys from prejudice. In both To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and The Trial of the Scottsboro Boys by Linder Douglas, a symbolic character …show more content…
Harper Lee adds this to help the audience visualize the moral obligation and strong will Atticus has to guard Tom, who is at risk of facing an unfair trial due to his skin color. Moreover, he does not care about how defending Tom will affect his reputation, and this teaches Scout about the difference between the right and the easy decision. Later, Mr. Underwood explains to Scout, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts, Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.” (Lee 323). Even when the evidence overwhelmingly supports Tom Robinson’s innocence, the jury’s bias towards blacks convicts Tom as guilty and is the reason for his eventual death. However, Atticus’s strong efforts leads to a lengthy discussion about the verdict of Tom’s case, which creates hope for a turning point in Maycomb, where whites and blacks are treated equal, because no other trial involving a black person has taken this length of time. In summary, all the occurrences of injustice in To Kill a Mockingbird such as the trial of Tom Robinson are created by a group of people with the same immoral beliefs but can be fixed with strong determination …show more content…
In conclusion, if Atticus was able to obtain help in Tom’s case, the jury could have changed, and therefore would have affected the outcome of the trial.
The story of the Scottsboro Boys and Tom Robinson matters because it shows that racial bias is a serious problem in the world. However, the trials teach readers how inequality can be fought and beaten, with strong determination and will. Lee portrays the theme “inequality” very efficiently because many aspects of the novel show discrimination and injustice, such as the all-white jury. There is a surplus of historical tension in the US about inequality, primarily due to slavery and the “separate but equal” laws. This creates a personal impact to ninth graders because injustice can be found anywhere, like in school, workplace, or even a