In To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee uses memorable characters to explore civil rights and racism in the segregated south during the Great Depression. Told through the eyes of Scout Finch, the reader learns about her father Atticus Finch, an attorney who hopelessly strives to prove the innocence of a black man unjustly accused of rape. Through events leading up to the trial, along with the unfair trial itself, prejudice is significantly emphasized throughout the scene. In the novel, Lee makes the argument that racial prejudices are detrimental to society, through the treatment of multiple characters. For example, in chapter 12, Scout and Jem go to an all black church with Calpurnia. As they prepare for church, Scout learns that the “First …show more content…
He is convicted of the raping and beating of Mayella Ewell however it is not Tom who beats Mayella, it is Bob Ewell, her father. Bob had discovered that Mayella fell in love with Tom. Bob believed that it is wrong for a white woman to fall in love with a black man so he is infuriated and beats Mayella. He accuses Tom of this beating in order to get him executed, and he knows he would win the case because Tom is black. Lee writes, “As Judge Taylor banged his gavel, Mr. Ewell was sitting smugly in the witness chair, surveying his handiwork.” This is clear evidence that Bob was confident that he would win the case due to the racial differences. The viewers of the court case also felt that it was an unfair trial as well. Mrs. Maudie stated, "I am not. 't's morbid, watching a poor devil on trial for his life. Look at all those folks, it's like a Roman carnival." Mrs. Maudie compared this to the Roman carnival to demonstrate the cruelty of this court case. In Roman carnivals, people were publicly executed if they had committed a crime. However if there were no convicts at that time, they would cause someone to perform a minor offense and lay capital punishment upon them. This case was very similar to