To Kill A Mockingbird Research Papers

To Kill A Mockingbird Research Paper

The novel To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee takes place during the 1930s. The town the characters live in is Maycomb, Alabama and they are in the midst of the Great Depression. Not only is that going on, but there is still lots of racism and segregation towards African Americans, especially in the south. The book is narrated in the view of Scout Finch, a young girl who lives with her brother Jem and father Atticus. Throughout the book the reader is able to understand how things were in Maycomb and the different life lessons the kids learn. One main lesson they learn is about discrimination and how African Americans specifically were treated. The character of Tom Robinson was an African American man who

In Alabama nine African American were on a train ride and when the train stopped and they got off, two white women dressed in boy's clothes also exited the train. Victoria Price and Ruby Bates were the names of the women and they ended up testifying against the boys and made up a story on how they were raped by the boys. When the trial was started the boys were provided with volunteer lawyers at the last minute. The final verdict was not only unjust but truly sad, “Nine black youths charged with the rape of two white women…Despite testimony by doctors who had examined the women that no rape had occurred, the all-white jury convicted the nine, and all but the youngest, who was 12 years old, were sentenced to death.” (Britannica) Evidently, during the court case doctors analyzed the “victims” and then came in to say there was no possible way that the boys actually raped Victoria and Ruby. However, due to the all-white and racist jury, the boys were somehow ruled guilty and eight of them were sentenced to death besides the youngest. Overall, this trial is another prime example of how terribly African Americans were treated during the time the novel took

The Ewell’s are a very poor and lazy family that live in the town of Maycomb like Scout and her family. The father, Bob Ewell, claimed to see Tom run away from his house and Mayella was beaten on the floor. Tom needed a volunteer lawyer to help him win the case, Atticus Finch, Scout’s father took the position. Atticus is a very noble and wise man and he explained that even though there was no chance of them winning because of Tom’s race, it was worth a try to do what's right. In court the sheriff Heck Tate was defending Mayella and explained that he was called to the house where he found bruises around Mayella’s neck and a black eye on the right side of her face. Bob Ewell supports this too . When Atticus steps up he explains Tom is crippled in his left hand so it is impossible for him to punch the right side of her face and grab her with both hands around the neck. However, it is proved Bob is left-handed and could have been the one that assaulted Mayella. Later on Mayella steps up and stutters when she is asked about her dads drinking problem and if he has ever hit her. She struggles to answer all of the questions and even messes up when explaining how Tom was guilty. Tom speaks after her and tells the courtroom how Mayella has invited him inside multiple times to help her around the house, Tom was a good worker and never did anything wrong. He then gets stressed out when he