Both examples show how prejudiced the city in the South actually was. b. Depression happening at the time as well. j. In a court case, a black man named Tom Robinson was ruled guilty by an extremely racist jury. He was obviously (due to the evidence) innocent, but racist southerners of the jury ruled him guilty anyways.
How does the trial help to reveal attitudes within Maycomb? Maycomb lives on racial prejudice and Lee bases the trial in order on this to show the injustice of the racism which African American people went through in the nineteenth and twentieth century’s. Using Atticus as a white lawyer defending a Negro presents the attitudes of Maycomb from a perspective of their own, in which they believe is the superior race. However Lee uses Atticus’s character in order to reveal these attitudes that Maycomb have and similarly this reflects upon the attitudes that Southern America had also during the time of the Jim Crow Laws. It is hard to state in particular to why Maycomb holds such ideas towards Black people, but Lee blames this to the conditions of the country and how it influenced each and every citizen present at the time.
Me: Mr. Atticus, how did you stand up to the pressure of defending a black man when the town was against that action? Atticus: I stood up for what I believed in and yes it was intimidating but this town has to understand that we are all human beings. Men are created equal, black people do the exact same things as we do but we choose to find the littlest indifferences and judge them. What if it was the other way around and we white people were treated to same way as we treat black people? We need to change our way of thinking and how we presume others.
He creates his own view of the person by looking at them from different angles. During the trial of Robinson, Atticus and his family is offended by the citizens for defending a “nigger”. As a lawyer with a principle of moral and justice Atticus have to defend Robinson even though he is black otherwise Atticus would lose his honor and most of all his self respect. The trial continues and the Ewell family executes every possibility to manipulate the story in their favorer. Atticus firmly proves that Robinson did nothing wrong and
Atticus Finch is ridiculed by the townspeople for being a moral human being and sticking to his beliefs in defending an innocent colored man. As explained by Lee through her characters Tom Robinson, Boo Radley and Atticus Finch, the mockingbird is a symbolic representation of innocence, purity and virtue. To begin, the community of Maycomb basically indirectly murdered Tom Robinson. Despite the fact the man was helpful and kind - especially toward Mayella, who charged him of raping her - Tom was sent to trial and then found guilty even after Atticus Finch had verified his guiltlessness. His responsibility was all based on the color of his skin, not his true moral character.
Atticus tries to persuade the jury in changing their ways and look past race and stereotype: "They were confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption- the evil assumption- that all Negro's lie, and that all Negros are basically immoral beings. I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence you have heard, come to a decision, and restore this defendant to his family. In the name of God, do your duty". Tom Robinson was convicted despite Atticus’s efforts, the more plausible explanation was more due to the fact that he was a black man and his word wasn’t considered truthful or as important as a white man’s word. Also in the book ‘To Kill a Mocking bird there is racism shown towards Atticus and his family.
To Kill a Mockingbird Essay In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee gives the reader an inside look on the racial complexities of Maycomb County. Although not every character got justice in the end the reader can learn the important moral on how just because one is a minority does not mean they should be harassed. An example of discrimination is how Tom Robinson was accused of something he didn’t do just because he was a minority. Also in the court house how the whites and blacks are segregated. An example of an acceptance of a minority is Calpurnia because Atticus respects her for who she is no matter if she is white Atticus is a man of justice.
Maycomb is a microcosm because throughout the story you are faced with prejudice white people. Tom Robinson is a innocent black man they convicted a of a crime he did not do, but it was okay because the they believed the white man over the black man. This was how it was in 1930’s in America. Maycomb symbolically represents the United States in the 1930’s because that is what everybody believed. This is how Harper Lee used the microcosm to develop her story.
Although it seems so simple, Atticus redressing Scout about using this contemptuous term is a big step in helping her understand that African Americans are human beings. Some of the best examples of racial prejudice are revealed in the trial of Tom Robinson. During his trial, Tom Robinson is misjudged mainly because he is black. Mr. Gilmer, Tom's prosecutor, calls Tom "boy" to make him seem as though he is of lesser equality than others in the court room. Another example of racial prejudice in Tom Robinson’s trial is the verdict.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus defends Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman, in a court trial. The town of Maycomb turns against him due to this. Atticus, furious about the reaction from his town, explains, “…why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a negro comes up, is something I don’t pretend to understand” (Lee 88). Atticus does not have any racial biases, and he does not agree with the views of the majority of the people of Maycomb. Atticus, describing his beliefs to Jem, “…The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be