In To Kill a Mockingbird by harper Lee, despite of him having a public trial, Tom Robinson, an innocent man was proven guilty, also his trial that was completely and utterly unfair, one-sided, and even discriminatory. This novel takes place in Maycomb, Alabama, a made up town. Robinson was working for the Ewell’s and one day Tom was invited into the house to fix a door. Tom Robinson was accused of raping and abusing a white woman, Mayella Ewell, when her father is the one who abused her. The jury had a lack of evidence to prove that Tom was guilty, and also ignored the evidence that proves his innocence.
The jaw of every human in Maycomb County dropped as Judge Taylor said “guilty… guilty… guilty… guilty...” (240). It is apparent that Tom Robinson is innocent; however, society’s racist norms impacted the verdict far more than the facts. Actually, during the setting of To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, it was commonplace during the 1930’s in Alabama to always take the word of a white man over that of a black man. Although Atticus proves beyond a doubt that Tom Robinson did not rape Mayella Ewell, the jury convicts him despite the overwhelming evidence pointing at Bob Ewell as the perpetrator.
Tom in the book is a black man living in Maycomb, accused of raping a girl named Mayella Ewell, and Atticus Finch is the lawyer who protected him during his court case. Tom was innocent and everyone knew he did not do what he was accused of, but since he was black he was found guilty and went to prison, but ended up dying during his time in jail. It states in chapter 22 of To Kill a Mockingbird, “‘Guilty.guilty.guilty.guilty.’ I peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail.” To elaborate, Tom Robinson was accused of raping a girl named Mayella, but he was innocent and he never hurt her.
In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Tom Robinson is accused of raping a white women named Mayella Ewell. This definitely makes him a victim of racial prejudice because he is wrongfully convicted. To confirm this, in a conversation with Atticus at his trial, Atticus asked him: “Tom, did you rape Mayella Ewell?” “I did not suh.” “Did you resist her advances?”
One step Forward, Two steps Back. When most people think of intense racism, they think of the horrible ways people of color were treated many years ago. Unfortunately, many people think racism is a thing of the past, when this is, in fact, false. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, racism is shown as common practice to many and a monstrosity to very few. Unfortunately, in the small town of Maycomb County, racism wins out as an African American man named Tom Robinson is falsely accused of raping a woman and is sentenced to death.
Tom was accused of raping a white woman who was Mayella Ewell, Mayella said he raped her while he was helping her with chores. She later on tells the readers that it was false allegations. The reason why she didn 't tell the truth at her first trial was because, Mayella was afraid of being embarrassed because she kissed a black male. She rather have an innocent man get charged with a crime than that. “However, Robinson was transferred from the state prison to Maycomb 's county jail on Saturday, two days before he stood trial on Monday, and Atticus had to defend him against a lynch mob”.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, the racism of the time nullifies the argument of the black Tom Robinson and makes the story of white Mayella Ewell the only feasible story. When there was a trial in the 1930s in the American south, the whites always one. When Mayella Ewell accuses Tom Robinson of raping her, the accusation still stood, despite the lack of any incriminating evidence against Tom. In the courtroom, the white jury never question Mayella’s words, even when she disrespects them. Mayella says, “That nigger yonder took advantage of me an' if you fine fancy gentlemen don't wanta do nothin' about it then you're all yellow stinkin' cowards, stinkin' cowards, the lot of you” (251).
Tom Robinson never hurt Mayella Ewell, yet he was forced into court and eventually killed by Bob Ewell. Since it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird, Bob Ewell was eventually punished for his sin by being stabbed by Boo Radley. When Lee states “The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box” (220). He wanted to help Mayella Ewell because he “felt sorry for her”, even though it was crazy for a black man to feel sorry for a white woman. Mayella wanted affection anywhere she could get it, so she decided to prey on poor Tom Robinson.
Any race you are, you are still going to ignore Mayella by her lifestyle and the way she is treated. In fact, she gets offended when she gets called Ma’am , mainly because she has never been respected in her life…”Won’t answer a word you say long as you keep on mockin’ me.’ she said. Ma’am? Asked Atticus, startled.
To begin, Lee uses Tom Robinson to embody the innocence of a mockingbird. Tom Robinson is a black man who lives in Maycomb. Unfortunately, because of his skin tone he is seen as less of a man than the white residents of Maycomb. Parallel to the Scottsboro boys Tom is accused of raping a white woman, named Mayella Ewell. During Tom's trial, Tom's lawyer Atticus tells Mayella to point to the man who raped her.
The most apparent victim of racism in “To Kill A Mockingbird” is Tom Robinson, the black man who was accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Falsely accused of the crime by Mayella
Tom Robinson is a black man who is wrongfully convicted of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell. This novel goes through Scout's life from when she was 6, till she is 9. She lives in the town of Maycomb Alabama, and lives an innocent life until about halfway through the story, where she begins to ask questions. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout shows the readers that racial inequality creates an unjust society through the African American community, through the people surrounding colored folks, and through Tom Robinson’s Case. The first example of the consequences of racial inequality is the African American community in Maycomb.
Tom Robinson is a young African-American who's been accused of raping and abusing Mayella Ewell, a young and closeted white woman. Racial discrimination is hinted throughout Tom’s trial as Atticus Finch explains to Jem that a white man’s word will always win over that of a black man’s - "... In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins. They're ugly, but those are the facts of life" (220). Atticus explains to Jem that in the courts of Maycomb, a black man’s state of innocence or guilt is truly determined by a white man’s testimony.
Tom is accused for having raped a white woman named Mayella. One might think that Tom Robinson is already dead after being accused for rape, because early in the book one can suggest that the majority of the people have prejudices against black people. Including children’s and teachers does have prejudices against black people. The reader can understand this when Scout’s teacher criticises Hitler’s ideology and does not seem to care about the same way of thinking against black people that happens in her own city. Another reason for why one might think Maycomb city is prejudice is this quote "there's something in our world that makes men lose their heads --they couldn't be fair if they tried.
Just like Boo Radley, Tom Robinson was also a long standing victim of the racism in the town. Tom is falsely accused of robbing and raping a white woman, Even when Atticus gave him one of the best defenses he could, that still couldn’t save him from a rigged. Tom can’t take the racism eventually and eventually commits suicide by cop. “To Maycomb, Tom's death was typical. Typical of a nigger to cut and run.
