Essay On Tom Robinson Trial To Kill A Mockingbird

Gentlemen, in the 30 years that I have been practising law in Maycomb, I have never seen a case so complicated, and so simple at the same time. Complicated because of the circumstances; a white woman’s word versus a black man’s word. Simple because of the facts; clearly no one in this courtroom is guilty besides the defendant himself, Tom Robinson. There is undoubtedly more evidence confirming the fact that Tom Robinson is guilty rather than innocent.

She wanted to do to things with Tom and tempted him to do them. Tom fell into Mayella’s trap while trying to help her out. “She was white and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man. Not an old Uncle, but a strong Negro man.

I watched from the balcony with my sister as I excitedly but softly mumbled “We’ve got him” [Page 178] Bob Ewell was the one to beat up Mayella Ewell, not

During the trial of Tom Robinson, Atticus is the defending lawyer. He tries to turn the jury towards Bob Ewell the father of the rape victim. Atticus shows the jury that Mr. Ewell could have easily beat his daughter. The main idea that Atticus uses is that Tom Robinson didn’t hurt Mayella Ewell it was Bob Ewell. Although, at the end of the trial, Tom is found guilty and Bob Ewell grows a personal vendetta against Atticus.

When Mayella is stating her testimony, one is able to distinctly tell she is stating a false accusation similar to her father’s. Notably, within her testimony, there were slight changes and flaws in her story; for instance, Mayella’s referring to being struck on the right side of the face holds no ground because Tom is, in fact, unable to move his left arm due to an accident, unlike Bob Ewell, who is proven to be left-handed when Atticus makes him write his name. Regardless, Tom was still found guilty and sentenced to death due to the fact that he is African American. Although the proof was evident, justice was not carried out due to the racist ideals of a close minded community. It can be argued that some of those in the jury might have felt threatened by radicals in the community, which could have persuaded the way in which they decided to vote on Tom Robinson’s innocence, ultimately leading to the verdict that decided he was guilty of a crime he did not

His job is to defend Tom Robinson, an African American man who is being accused of raping Mayella, Bob Ewell’s daughter. Throughout the trial, it is clear that Tom is not guilty. There is a considerably large amount of evidence that Tom had done nothing wrong. Mayella was beaten on the right side of the face, but Tom’s left arm entirely is crippled. Mayella and Bob Ewell’s stories were inconsistent with many discrepancies in each.

The saddening thing is, that the whole scenario started because Mayella attempted to seduce Tom, and her father found out. Filled with rage, Mr. Ewell beat his daughter, he found it unacceptable that his daughter fancied a black man. Then, he claimed that Tom raped his daughter to cover everything up. There are even cases such as Tom’s happening to this day, such as the case of Miguel Angel Peña Rodriguez Vs. Colorado. The jury was corrupted by bias thoughts which resulted in an unfair trial.

The fictional story, To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee includes an evil character, Bob Ewell. The story takes place in Maycomb, a southern town in Alabama in the 1930s. The Ewell family is among the poorest in Maycomb, and is low on Maycomb’s social hierarchy. The family name is not very reputable. Bob Ewell is a drunken father of the family.

I agree that someone was guilty of beating or raping Miss Mayella Ewell, but based upon all evidence brought upon us by the witnesses, Tom Robinson could not, and should not, be convicted for a crime that he likely did not

First, she had to make up a story about Tom Robinson because she had kissed a black man, which was frowned upon for a white woman to do. “She was white and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society in unspeakable: she kissed a black man”(272). Mayella is also used as an example when she convinces the jury to convict an innocent black man because of Southern Womanhood. “That n***** took advantage of me, an’ if you fine fancy gentlemen don’t wanna do nothin’ about it then you’re all yellow stinkin’ cowards, stinkin’ cowards, the lot of you”(251).

The 1930s was a very challenging time for america, it was the peak of the the Great Depression and the social oppression of women. The fictional novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is centered around the political issues america faced. The novel takes place in the fictional town of Maycomb Alabama where we look at the case of Tom Robinson against Mayella and Bob Ewell. The story goes that Tom Robinson went into the Ewell household and took advantage of Mayella and beat her. Although Mayella was actually the perpetrator, she won the case and Tom Robinson was sentenced to prison.

Next, it is easy to tell that Mr. Bob Ewell and his daughter were more concerned about arresting Tom Robinson rather than the actual case. They were quick to point fingers, but they had trouble paying attention during the trial. When asked by Mr. Gilmer (the solicitor) if he was ambidextrous, Mr. Ewell responded by saying, “I most positively am not, I can use one hand good as the other.” Also, Mayella didn’t hesitate to accuse Tom of hitting her left eye even though Mr. Heck Tate clearly stated that her right eye was blackened. The two witnesses were ignorant and nervous throughout cross-examination.

Tom was accused of raping a white woman who was Mayella Ewell, Mayella said he raped her while he was helping her with chores. She later on tells the readers that it was false allegations. The reason why she didn 't tell the truth at her first trial was because, Mayella was afraid of being embarrassed because she kissed a black male. She rather have an innocent man get charged with a crime than that. “However, Robinson was transferred from the state prison to Maycomb 's county jail on Saturday, two days before he stood trial on Monday, and Atticus had to defend him against a lynch mob”.

Tom Robinson is a black man who is wrongfully convicted of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell. This novel goes through Scout's life from when she was 6, till she is 9. She lives in the town of Maycomb Alabama, and lives an innocent life until about halfway through the story, where she begins to ask questions. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout shows the readers that racial inequality creates an unjust society through the African American community, through the people surrounding colored folks, and through Tom Robinson’s Case. The first example of the consequences of racial inequality is the African American community in Maycomb.

In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Tom Robinson and Arthur “Boo” Radley are two characters who represent the mockingbird. In the midst of finding who Boo truly is, Atticus Finch explains to his children, Jem and Scout, that it is a sin to kill the bird because they don’t do anything but make music. As the story progresses, and the two “mockingbirds” are being accused and attacked both verbally and physically, the identity of the mockingbirds surfaces. Tom Robinson was a crippled African American man whose left arm was a foot shorter than his right, where it was caught in a cotton gin.