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.
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
Social Inequality: To Kill a Mockingbird In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows how wrong and cruel social inequality can be, from White man’s decision to do the right thing to the accusation of rape because of a man’s color and to having rumors spread around about a man who has not left his home in seven years. This book takes place in the 1930s which is when it was very common in the South to find Black or Negro men treated as less than White men. Social inequality was extremely common because of the racism between the two and the White people feeling that they were better. It was also very common for small towns such as Maycomb to have everyone know each other and each other’s business. That also made it very capable of having social inequality because of people spreading rumors and giving the illusion to everyone including children that you’re something you are not.
Even though the facts testified against Tom Robinson were weak and he was physically unable to beat and rape Mayella do to a gimp arm, he was still found guilty by the jury. If the jury were to have had a true understanding that Tom could not have physically done the crime, and took into consideration the varied testimonies of the prosecutors witnesses, then they would never of have found Tom guilty. The jury was too quick to assume that charges brought to a black male by a white female were true. The Ewell vs. Robinson case was won by the prosecution in the “secret court of men’s hearts” before the trial was brought to the Maycomb County Courthouse. The movie 12 Angry Men exemplifies the theme "true understanding takes time, study, and effort."
“…Every day in his soul he shot Richard…”(108). He’d always worry about all the little dangers and it is ironic that the actual fatal harm done to his son was the unthinkable huge crime of being shot. The fact that the killer would get out of jail at the exact age he was now is an example of Oedipus complex “There must be
In today’s society there still seems to be a lot of Christian hypocrisy in America regardless of race and even now regardless of sexual preference. Of course religion has turned a blind eye to injustices in the past for instance slavery, but as far as actually flipping religious philosophy in the country. Walkers appeal was the start of self-inflicted riot among whites during that time, no white man wanted a black man to outsmart their master plan to control African-Americans (at that time Africans). Even in the society we reside in today the white still feel the need to be in charge and to control African-Americans all because of there will power to feel dominate. Even after Walker published his Appeal the southern states did not want it publishes nowhere that the blacks could get a hold of it, unwavering the fact that many of them could not read.
Although, whenever there is racial-based jury nullifications configured by a jury, eye brows start to raise by both sides, and people start to question the integrity of the jury system. The criminal justice system is designed to incarcerate the guilty, and free the innocent. Racial-based jury nullification contradicts this. The principles of this concept can persuade a juror to decide an outcome based on racial issues. This fact alone destroys centuries of work that was done to make our system strong and fair.
If Mayella Ewell kissed a strong, young, white man, this case would never have been taken to court. You know why gentlemen? Color defines us. Whites are the good people, and blacks are the bad according to most people in this courtroom. In reality, out of our delusional thoughts, no matter what race you are,
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.
Racism has been more of a social norm during the Great Depression than as an injustice, specifically the treatment towards African Americans. For example, in Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird Atticus states, " There's something in our world that makes men lose their heads –they couldn't be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white