He is almost completely shunned from the town because he is trying to help a black man accused of rape. Mayella had told Tom, “I said come here, nigger, and bust up this chiffarobe for me, I gotta nickel for you.” (p.241) She had tricked him to coming over to her. Then that’s about the time when she accuses him of rape. He had felt sorry for her, which is why he was falsely accused in the first place. Courthouse segregation was one of the biggest bits of racism I found in this book.
5/25/10 Stereotyping In To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson was killed because he was stereotyped. They believed that he beat and raped Mayella Ewell because a white person said so. Many of the characters in the book were stereotyped because of their lifestyles. For example, Dolphus Raymond was stereotyped because he was a drunk. But in reality, he pretended to be a drunk so he can give others a excuse why he likes blacks more than whites.
Jury Nullification Paper The jury’s repudiation to sentence a person even through the presence of a resilient proof which supports guilt is called jury nullification. With regards to handling cases, the jury shouldn’t develop sympathy for it will result to jury nullification. During the trial, sentencing or verdict should always be based on the facts and shouldn’t even concern an individual’s race at all. At an instance wherein the jury couldn’t come up with a conviction due to the fact that race is involved, it is called as race-based nullification which is evidently not good for a murderer can be set free as this occurs. Thus, as this happens, it would be right for punishment as this is believed to wrong.
If I did not take the case then I would stringing a possibly innocent man out to dry and not giving him a fighting chance which is what I believed in when I became a lawyer. On the other hand I had to consider the reactions of the white population of Macomb, which could not only result in harm coming to me but also to my two children scout and jem who had already suffered to much loss with the death of their mother. After consideration I chose to help the man even though the case was unwinnable as a white jury would always convict a black man. My desision did not only fall on this, over my children’s life I have driven to teach them strong values and hopefully by observing this case they would see the wrong occurring in the world as not all people are treated equally. In long run this may not have been my best decision as without the help of a recluse named boo radely my children may not have been alive today, but hopefully they and the rest of the town have learnt that it is not right to kill a
People aren't willing to accept change and theirs not much you can do in the 1930's to change that because it was "sociality acceptable" not to. Racism was given to its full potential in this novel by displaying that of Tom Robinson being charged on a crime that he did not commit. He is accused of raping a white women by one of the most untrustworthy people in the town. This was just another accusation in this time but ended as most did, with the wrong outcome chosen because of social inequality. Differences in social status are explored largely through the overcomplicated social status.
This is racial discrimination because Ms. Lula is basically saying that they are not welcome at that church because they are white, not African American. Another example of this is Tom Robinson's trial. The jury convicted him in the rape of Mayella Ewell not because of evidence, but because of the color of his skin. I hate racism, it makes me sick. It is just pointless hatred because, they are people just like everybody else and everyone should be treated as such no matter the color of their skin.
This made me “visible,” because I’m white and did not want Obama to win; I’m a “racist.” I paid close attention to this and realized something. Every white person I asked, no matter who they wanted to win gave me a valid reason why they wanted that candidate to win. All the black people I asked just said “because he’s black.” To me that is justignorant, and put a bad taste in my mouth so to speak. Relating it back to the “glass ceiling,” if I had an employees under me and I overheard that, I would not let them get a promotion simply for the ignorance. In more recent events, the Treyvon Martin case.
Similarly in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Tom Robinson is convicted and sentenced to death for the rape of a white woman without any substantial evidence. The only reason he is convicted is because he is a black man fighting against a white man in a court with a prejudiced jury. The theme of prejudice and discrimination is evident in both of these cases because the defendants were charged and convicted merely because they were deemed to be “different” by their close minded societies, questionable evidence from prejudiced sources was used during their trials and because the accusers knew that all those charged could easily be used as scapegoats. The defendants in both of the cases were chosen as suspects because they were deemed to be different by their close minded societies. In the case of the West Memphis Three, the prime suspect in the murder of the young boys, Damian Echols stated, “I wore black and was rumoured to worship Satan, and I was the perfect target when the police ran out of leads” (A Most Heinous Crime Fiona Steel.2003 <http://www.crimelibrary.com/notoriousmurders/famous/memphis/suspect_4.html>).
Another thing portrayed prejudice in the novel, is the way whites talk to blacks. "I said come here nigger, and bust up this chiffarobe for me, I gotta nickel for you”(Lee241). Referring to an African American as a "nigger" is completely disrespectful and making them seem like they are lower than the whites are, which is not the case. No person wants to be spoken to in that manner, white or black. This word is used immensely throughout the novel, especially during the trial.
Besides his left arm, Tom Robinson’s biggest disability is his skin color. Harper Lee describes him as a “black-velvet Negro, not shiny but soft black velvet” (257). Black velvet is a pure and absolute black, which, in part shows his purity, yet the only thing that his black skin brought to him was death “at the minute Mayella opened her mouth and screamed” (323). Despite significant evidence of Tom’s innocence, he was declared guilty, just because of Maycomb’s prejudice against the colored people, the ones that generated profits for them. At the same time, white, is used by Harper Lee to describe, “The white of his eyes [Tom’s] eyes [that] shone