What Is Scout's Allusion To The Scottsboro Trial

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To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, takes place in the fictional town of Maycomb Alabama during the Great Depression. All of the story is an allusion to the Scottsboro Trial where 9 black kids were wrongfully accused of rape only off of the word of a few white girls. The story centers around Atticus who is a lawyer, and his children Scout, and Jem. They are a poor white family who has it better off than most during the depression. Scout is the narrator and her brother Jem is the one whom she hangs out with most throughout the book. Dill, who is the non relative friend of the bunch, makes appearances along the way to the point where you can see how he grows up. This book is about the children and their life during the trial of Tom Robinson. Harper Lee uses Scout, Jem, and Dill to show how this book is a …show more content…

At first he always hung out with Scout and Dill but as soon as school started his attitude changed. He was very bossy towards Scout at times, and even got very emotional over the result of the trial. Scout narrates, “...I was not to bother him, I was not to approach him with requests to enact a chapter of Tarzan and the Ant Men, to embarrass him with references to his private life, or tag along behind him at recess and noon.” (Lee 17-18) This was a big change from how he used to appear to Scout. Much later, the trial takes place and the three kids watch from the balcony as it unfolds. Scout narrates, “I peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each “guilty” was a stab between them.” (Lee 240) Jem was crushed by this and he as well as scout both realized later that the true monsters in life are men. Following the trial, Jem continuously tried to understand how the jury could make and stick by such a poor decision. Atticus explains that is was the history of racism that led to the