preview

What Is The Trial In To Kill A Mockingbird

Good Essays

This cult classic shows life through the eyes of a young girl named Scout Finch as she experiences different situations in the town of Maycomb that changes her perspective of life. To Kill a Mockingbird is loosely based off of the life of the author Harper Lee, who was also a girl growing up in Alabama during the Great Depression. As a child growing up in the South during the 1930s, it is difficult for a child to be sheltered away from the financial instability and hardships of families within her community. So as a father, one must teach their children about different situations that they will encounter throughout their life, which is what Atticus tries to teach his children-Jem and Scout. Throughout the novel we encounter multiple climaxes, …show more content…

The trial involves Tom Robinson, Mayella Ewell, and Robert Ewell; the trial is determining the verdict of Tom’s charge of first degree rape. While Mayella is on the stand, exposing herself and her side of the story, Scout is hearing her testimony and developing her own opinions about Mayella. Hearing about Mayella’s lifestyle and situation furthers Scout’s understanding of empathy and sympathy. While viewing the trial, Scout starts to understand Tom and Mayella’s characters better by the questions they are being asked. When Atticus is questioning those on the stand, he has them explain their personal lives so that the jury and the people in the courtroom can better understand them. When Mayella is on the stand, she is being cross examine by Atticus and he asks her a series of questions. He asks her about how many siblings she has, her mother’s current status, and if she has any friends. She answered with hostility and accused Atticus of making fun of her. When asked if she has any friends, she is confused and does not understand what he means. Her reaction to his question gives reason to believe she has never heard the term “friends” before or does not have any. Scout notices Mayella’s hostility towards the question and she contemplates“As Tom Robinson gave his testimony, it came to me that Mayella Ewell must have been the loneliest person in the …show more content…

After the whole ordeal with Jem, she walks Boo home and starts to analyze the past couple of years. As she stands on Boo’s front porch, she can see everything from his point of view. She sees two children running towards their father and then re enacting dramas in their yard in the summertime. Scout was seeing these couple of years through the recluse- Arthur “Boo” Radley, “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough”(374). Scout has come to the realization of what these couple of years have been and what they have done to her. She’s grown as a person and has developed feelings that she was afraid of showing in her younger years. She no longers interprets Boo Radley’s reclusive lifestyle as mystery for children to solve and talk about as a myth. She now knows that Boo’s been living through her adventures with her and watching her grow up, he’s been watching and interacting with them in the way that he knows how to. Boo’s probably never going to have the children therefore he acts as if Scout and Jem are his own.
Throughout this novel, Scout has learned lessons and grown with the help of not just her father, but with the help of every character. She has learned something from almost every character in To Kill A Mockingbird. She learns about the racial

Get Access