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Have you ever been accused of doing something even though you did not do it? Well that is what happened to Tom Robertson in the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. Tom Robertson was accused of raping a girl by the name of Mayella Ewell. They go to court about it then it get interesting. When Mayella Ewell stars to give her testimony about what happened the facts did not add up.
Atticus Finch’s closing argument in Tom Robinson’s criminal trial attempted to prove that Tom Robinson was innocent of the crime of raping Mayella Ewell, and thus should be found innocent by the jury. Atticus supports his claim by first reviewing the evidence both for and against Tom Robinson's innocence and attempts to disprove the evidence against him; he then demonstrates that he is sympathetic towards Mayella Ewell's circumstances but still holds her accountable despite his pity for her situation; multiple times in the trial he addresses the men of the jury as “gentlemen” in an attempt to elevate their status above that of the Ewells as well as give them the pressure of the responsibility of doing the right thing. Atticus’s purpose is
I believe Tom Robinson is innocent in raping Mayella Ewell.a strong hard working black guy is being accused of seducing mayella ewell. Mayella is a white young girl. She lives with her father. She is 19 years old. Bob Ewell drinks and abuses Mayella.
In Harper Lee’s book, To Kill A MockingBird, she teaches us that you don’t want to judge people for what they look like or how they act. For instance, it talks about how how Tom Robinson was found guilty, when there wasn’t reliable evidence for him to be found guilty. They know he didn’t rape Mayella, but since he was black, they confirmed him as guilty. He wouldn’t have gotten a fair trial, so judge Taylor appointed Atticus to Tom. Tom Robinson was found guilty because he was black.
In Maycomb, Alabama they faced change. It is a dreary town without much action, then Mayella Ewell accused Tom Robinson of raping her. I went to the trial and the result the jury handed out was the wrong decision. Mayella’s and her father, Bob’s testimonies were both false and staged. It was evident Bob was the one who raped her.
To kill a mockingbird is to destroy innocence. Mockingbirds do not cause harm or trouble; in fact their only purpose is to convince others with beautiful music. Tom Robinson’s death can easily be compared to that of a mockingbird; it did no good but also prevented no evil. Mr. Underwood chooses to write an article that basically every citizen of Maycomb can understand, and this proves to the reader the obvious connection between Tom Robinson and the symbol of a mockingbird. Mr. Underwood chooses to ignore the prominent racial barrier that separated Tom Robinson from justice, and chooses to focus on his disability instead.
In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, the mockingbird represents Tom Robinson throughout the novel. One significant characteristic of a mockingbird is its innocence; Tom Robinson holds this trait of innocence. For example, Tom is accused of beating Mayella but the bruises are on her right side of her face. Tom’s Left arm cripples on the left and there is no way he was able to execute that type of physical abuse using his left arm.
In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the story is set in the 1900’s, Maycomb, Alabama. During this time there was racism in the south and segregation which separated the whites and blacks from everything. There was also the Great Depression, the whole country was poor and people living in the country had to trade and do other jobs for people to either pay them off or to buy something from them. The trial in this book is about Mayella and Bob Ewell, two white people, claiming and arguing that Tom Robinson, a black person, raped Mayella Ewell. This trial is really important because at that time in the south, white people took advantage of black people and their kindness and thought they would take that or shut up just because they were black.
In South Alabama during the Great Depression, a young black man was accused of rape by very poor and uneducated family. The Ewells who accused Tom was despised all through Maycomb. Everyone knew that they were lying, but Tom Robinson was still convicted and eventually shot after trying to run away from prison. In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, when Tom died shortly after the trial, there was some grief through Maycomb County, including Helen, his wife.
In my eyes, Mr. Gilmer does not do a great job of proving Tom’s guilt. My reasoning behind this is because of how Mr. Gilmer provides no real evidence to prove that Tom is guilty of raping Mayella. Instead, he relies upon the word of two white people against one Negro man. Clearly, the majority of the jury thought otherwise because they found Tom guilty. I believe that this might not only be because of the racism during that time period, but also because of the condescending way in which Mr. Gilmer spoke to Tom.
As we all well know, many people get blamed for others’ actions. Is it because of racism? Ignorance? Desperation? Tom Robinson from the Harper Lee novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, is convicted of a crime that he did not commit.
In the book to Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper lee, the story of the loss of innocence and growing up is told thru a young girl, Scout’s eyes. A black man is on trial for raping a white woman in the south during the 1930’s Joan Robinson was found guilty despite the evidence that he could not have done the rape. No doctor was called, bruises on left side of face, no use of left hand and mayella kept changing the story. Even though Bob Ewell made the excuse to Atticus in the courtroom that he did not call a doctor because it was not necessary and that he had no money, his primary reason was because he needed time to think up a plan to get himself out of the mess he had caused. Tom Robinson is called to the witness stand.
This book will change your mind if you don’t think racism is a bad thing. Tom Robinson was a black man that was killed because he was accused of raping and hitting a white woman. Some people think it was right to kill Tom Robinson because of his race, but if some people believed that and read this book it might change people's mind about racism or slavery. Some people will say it was wrong to kill Tom Robison. This relates to why it is a sin to kill mockingbirds because Tom Robinson was innocent like a mockingbird is.
No medical evidence was ever collected or shown to prove that the crime ever took place. On the night after the assault, Mayella Ewell was never seen be a doctor. She was never examined to prove that Tom Robinson did anything to her. Mayella stated that she was beaten that night, so she should have gone to the doctor to get checked out. There is no proof of any crime, so there should not have been a guilty verdict.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee the term mockingbird symbolizes innocence in a person. In the novel it focuses on the fact that innocence, represented by the mockingbird, can be wrongfully harmed. There are two characters: Tom Robinson and Arthur “Boo” Radley that are supposed to represent the mockingbird. In the novel, Tom Robinson is the best example of a mockingbird because he is prosecuted for a crime he did not commit. Also, he was judged unfairly based on the color of his skin in his trial.
