Justice, or known to some men as revenge, is one of the most ancient values known to man. From historic Hammurabi's code to the U.S Justice System, they are all based on the principle that is a wrong has been committed, it must be made right. Over the centuries, prejudice has violated the principle. These fundamentals have been stepped over and crushed through years of cruel, man-made hatred. The trial of Tom Robinson symbolizes the human nature for justice, while turning a blind eye to the truth because of prejudice, through a historical perspective in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.
Maycomb County strongly believes in getting revenge for their own people. However, their extreme prejudice makes them impaired to reasonable thinking. “‘He [Tom] in there, Mr. Finch?’ a man said. ‘He is,’ we heard Atticus answer, ‘and he’s asleep. Don’t wake him up.’ ‘You know what we want,’ another man said. ‘Get aside from the door, Mr. Finch.’ ‘You can turn around and go home again, Walter,’ Atticus said pleasantly” (Lee 202). They have no trust in the Justice
…show more content…
“Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…” (Lee 279). Reverend Sykes, a man who has lived a long time, and has experienced the harsh reality knows better than to hope. Atticus, Tom’s defense attorney himself, does not think they have a good chance of winning. “It couldn’t be worse, Jack. The only thing we’ve got is a black man’s word against the Ewells‘. The evidence boils down to you-did—I-didn’t. The jury couldn’t possibly be expected to take Tom Robinson’s word against the Ewells’—” (Lee 117). Every adult in Maycomb, who knows the ways of the town, knows that Tom has absolutely no chance of winning. The hate, and peer pressure to hate, is rooted to deep into the minds of the citizens, that they know the outcome even before the