Tom Robinson Trial In To Kill A Mockingbird

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, when Jem realizes how naive he was to believe that the jury would find Tom Robinson innocent, he becomes disillusioned with the people of Maycomb and begins to believe that everyone in the town is corrupt. The novel takes place in Maycomb Alabama, in the 1930s, and is told from the perspective of a young girl named Scout. In Maycomb County, the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man, is going on and he is on trial for his life. He is on trial because he was accused of raping Miss Mayella Ewell, a young white lady of the county. During the trial Scout and Jem, her brother, are watching the trial from the colored balcony and are hearing their father, Atticus, who is also Tom’s lawyer, give his speech

I don’t see how we can’t”(270). This quote demonstrates Jem’s confidence in his father, as well as his innocence. In Maycomb, if you were a black man being accused of raping a white woman, ten out of ten times you were going to be charged and most likely killed. Jem, being a young boy, did not realize this as the trial was taking place. Instead, he firmly believed that the jury would base their verdict off of true facts and evidence, not racial discrimination. This demonstrated Jem’s innocence by showing that he was oblivious to the fact that the town didn’t care, if Tom was black, he would be convicted no matter what because it was so easy for the to scapegoat him. Later on in the novel, there is a scene that takes place in Miss Maudie’s house. Miss Maudie is Scout’s neighbor, and at her house they are discussing the trial and people of the town when Jem states, “It’s like bein’ a caterpillar in a cocoon, that’s what it is. Like somethin’ asleep wrapped up in a warm place. I always thought Maycomb folks were the best folks, least that’s what they seemed like”(288). In this quote, the caterpillar in the cocoon represented youth and