Tom Robinson Trial Essay

How would you feel if you were shamed over things you couldn’t control? Based on only prejudice and stereotypes, some people hate others. Internalized intolerance can exist in everyone, mentally and legally. Court cases and trials can distinctly show this. To Kill A Mockingbird focuses around an unfair trial of Tom Robinson, who was wrongfully arraigned for raping a white woman. Although clear evidence pointed to Tom being innocent, he was still found guilty. Trials from the 1930s to today can compare to this. Many trials compare to Tom Robinson’s case on accounts of false accusations, discrimination, and unfair verdicts.

* Jem still thinks that juries are a crock of @#$%, and Atticus tells him that if the jury had been made up of Jem and others like him, Tom would have been acquitted. He goes on to say that the jury left behind the written law to follow the unwritten one – that the white man always wins.

Atticus is facing a lot of controversy with the trial case but still hangings in there which is shown in the next quote. "So if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that's something I'll gladly take. He had to take it out on somebody and I'd rather it be me than that houseful of children out there." pg 104.

Though the black community is sad that Tom Robinson was found guilty they are still faithful that Atticus will protect and defend the black community. Bob Ewell is not happy at all with the way Atticus questioned him and his daughter and the way he defended Tom Robinson. Miss Stephanie says that"this morning Bob Ewell stopped Atticus on the post office corner, spat in his face, and told him he'd get him if it took the rest of his life"t Jem's reaction to the verdict is that he leaves the courtroom and cries because he didn't think Tom would be guilty and he feels that it is an unfair verdict and he sees the town in an unfair way. I personally thought that this judging was just a way to seem like society was fair by giving a black man a “trial”. However, I think that they were going to say Tom Robinson was guilty either way.

One of the most widely watched trials in Maycomb history ended Tuesday December 9th when a jury found Tom Robinson, 25, guilty of raping Mayella Violet Ewell, 19, daughter of Robert Ewell. The guilty verdict hinged on the testimony of Robert Ewell, who claimed to have seen the crime. Tom Robinson’s Attorney, Atticus Finch put up a strong defense, but was unsuccessful in convincing the jury of twelve white Maycomb county residents that Robinson, a black man, was innocent. Finch has stated that he was disappointed in the outcome, but will appeal the verdict. The prosecutor for the state, Horace Gilmer said “he felt Robinson had gotten what he deserved.” Robinson was taken into custody following the verdict. Any appeals will take several

In any form of environment, social inequality and status always comes through as human nature. Throughout the novel, Scout’s prejudice against Walter Cunningham changes. In the beginning she judges and disrespects Walter, by the way he eats ravenously at dinner with Scout’s family; he does so due to poverty. Towards the end of the novel she comes to a mutual understanding of the Cunninghams ways and reasons. Scout tries to convince Aunt Alexandra if Walter can come over for dinner once again. But, Aunt Alexandra refuses, ‘“[t]he thing is that you can scrub Walter Cunningham till he shines, you can put him in shoes and a new suit, but he’ll never be like Jem. [b]esides, there is a drinking streak in that family a mile wide. Finch women aren’t interested in that sort of people’” (300). Even though Scout evolves out of prejudice of the Cunningham lifestyle, Aunt Alexandra is not able to change her perspective; she believes that interacting with the Cunningham will affect the behaviour

Atticus’s use of pathos provokes the feeling of superiority in the jury. Pathos is used in Atticus’s appeal when he says, “… in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted” (273). Atticus insinuates the reason the Ewells do not anticipate anyone to inquire about their testimony is because they are white. With his words, cynical and would not be doubted, he induces a feeling in the jurors of abhorrence towards the Ewells. The jury then feels like their status is higher than the Ewells as the jury has the power to question their testimony.

Prior to the incident, Tom was on trial for allegedly raping Bob Ewell’s daughter, Mayella. Atticus fought hard for Tom but that didn’t stop the jury to come to a verdict of guilty and Tom was sent to prison.

Atticus' argument for Tom Robinson was perfectly executed, and it was blatantly obvious that Tom was innocent. Even if the jury (pre) decided Tom Robinson as guilty, the partiality and discrimination were evident in the trial. The text state, "Atticus Finch won’t win, he can’t win, but he’s the only man in these parts who can keep a jury out so long in a case like that. And I thought to myself, well, we’re making a step—it’s just a baby- step, but it’s a step.”" Like Miss Maudie said, Atticus' eloquence and strong arguments created a ripple in the stone-hard racism in County. In conclusion, I gather that Atticus did the correct thing by defending Tom Robinson. His actions allowed him to successfully raise his children morally and possibly change the outcome of Maycomb's future, even if it caused

For instance, during the trial, Mayella was depicted as an innocent, feeble victim, however, Atticus attacks this false image and he tells the jury, “She [Mayella] was white and she tempted a Negro” (Paragraph 6) According to Atticus’s theory, Mayella had never been raped and had lied to bury the evidence of her offense, an act that went against all social order in Maycomb, thus inspiring feelings of disgust and disbelief within the jury. By antagonizing Mayella, Atticus causes the jury to question Mayella’s word and no longer regard her with pity, by revealing her true colors. Atticus also appeals to the jury’s emotions, when he describes Tom to the jury, “And so a quiet, respectable, humble Negro...had to put his word against two white people’s” (Paragraph 8). Atticus effectively breaks the racial barriers and strips the jury from their prejudiced views of blacks, by presenting Tom as a respectable and humble man. Above all, by demonstrating how Tom was like any other respectable man, regardless of his skin color, Atticus evokes sympathy within the jury through causing them to consider the unfairness of his trial, considering the prejudice present in the courtroom. Atticus also attempts to garner the jury’s pity for Tom, when he states, “...my pity does not extend so far so as to her [Mayella] putting a man’s life at stake, which she has done in effort to rid her of her own guilt” (Paragraph 3). Atticus explains how Mayella’s true motive for accusing Tom was to cover up her offense, kissing a Negro, and she went as far as to even jeopardizing his life. By revealing Mayella’s selfish motive, Atticus presents Tom as the real victim, rather Mayella. Therefore, Atticus is able to convey Tom’s innocence in the case and evoke the jury’s pity, considering that Tom’s life was entirely dependent on an unreliable chief witness’s testimony.

I am reading, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. In the chapters 16 through 23 many events happens. At the beginning of the chapters the trail starts and Mayella testifies by saying that Tom ran up behind her and took advantage of her. Later Tom told his side of the story by saying that Mayella invited him in and she tried to kiss him. Mr. Ewell saw them and started to yell at Mayella so he ran off. After the testimonies were over the jury came up with the verdict that Tom is guilty. In this journal, I will be predicting the verdict of the case.

During Tom Robinson’s trial to prove he was innocent from the Ewell’s lies, Link Deas spoke out from the crowd. Mr. Deas, a businessman in the town of Maycomb, was justified in speaking his mind because he knew the truth, was overcome with emotion about the outrageous conviction, and desired to prove that Atticus wasn’t the only decent person in the courtroom. This made him well qualified to stand up during Tom’s trial and declare, “I just want the whole lot of you to know one thing right now. That boy's worked for me eight years an' I ain't had a speck o'trouble outa him. Not a speck.”

In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Tom Robinson, the black man falsely convicted of rape, had absolutely no chance of a fair trial. There is proof of this in the time period in which it occurred as well as evidence from the novel itself. Tom Robinson had an unfair trial because it was his word against the Ewell’s, a white, trashy family.

The majority of the town is behind the verdict while the children were disgusted by it. Poor Atticus was heartbroken by the verdict but not at all shocked by the outcome.

Atticus has to convince the jury, who are white men, that Tom Robinson is innocent. He applies a rhetorical question in order to demonstrate that Mayella Ewell is the one who broke the rules and that Tom Robinson was innocent from what he was being accused of. Atticus also uses parallelism to demonstrate that Mayella is holding back with the truth of what really happened.