Cael Schofield Mrs. Lawson English 10 11 January 2023 The Innocence of Tom Robinson African Americans are often judged by the color of their skin. This is shown in the story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, it takes place in the 1930s in Maycomb, Alabama where African American named Tom Robinson is accused of mistreating a woman named Mayella Ewell. Mayella is the daughter of Bob Ewell and they have one of the messiest home lives in the town. Even tho Mayella doesn´t live in the best conditions she is still appointed to a higher social standing than Tom. This shows how bad racism was in the 1900s. In the story, a man named Atticus Finch is turned to as Tom´s attorney, who believes Tom is innocent. During the trial, there are many pieces …show more content…
In chapter 17 Heck Tate is questioned about the injuries of Mayella Ewell, and he answers ¨Oh yes, that´d make it her right. It was her right eye, Mr. Finch. I remember now, she was bunged up on that side of her face…¨ (Lee 192). In chapter 18 during the trial of Mayellas testimony Atticus asks Tom, ¨Tom, stand up. Let Miss Mayella have a good long look at you…¨ (Lee 211), when Tom stood up everyone noticed his left arm was shorter than his right by a foot. He had no left arm, Reverend Skyes leaned across me and whispered to Jem, ¨He got it caught in a cotton gin, caught it in Mr. Dolphus Raymond´s cotton gin when he was a boy…¨ (Lee 211). Therefore he could not have hit Mayella on the right side of her face because he had no left arm to do …show more content…
In chapter 17 Atticus reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an envelope and a pen and gave it to Bob Ewell. Atticus then asks ¨Would you write your name for us?¨ (Lee 201). Bob started to write and everyone started to focus on him and what he was doing. When Bob finished he looked up to see everyone looking at him and said ¨What´s so interestin´?¨ (Lee 201). Judge Taylor responded ¨You´re left-handed, Mr. Ewell¨ (Lee). If Tom has no left hand and Bob is the only other person known to be lefty then it is quite suspicious of her
In addition, Atticus had also proven that Bob Ewell was left-handed. But, the jury concluded that Tom was guilty.
Since she was beaten on the right side, it had to be someone that was left handed who did it to her, which leads me into the second way that Atticus proved that Tom was innocent. While cross-examining Bob Ewell, he makes him write his name. He writes with his left hand, which shows that he had to be the one that beat
On page 170, chapter 17, Mr. Tate testified “ Oh yes, that’d make it her right, it was her right eye, Mr. Finch.” Another thing that was a bit dragged out was Bob Ewell saying that he could supposedly see Tom on Mayella from the window. If Bob were to come down from the woods and look in the window three feet above the ground and somehow see them on the floor, then I’d be
On the other hand, Bob Ewell displays arrogance, ignorance, and unreliability on the witness stand. Unsurprisingly, he wasn’t willing to admit to any information that could, in fact, make him look like a doubtful witness, this is also further displayed in Mayella Ewell’s testimony. Also, Bob’s failure to understand the significance of being left-handed and his crudity, his confusing testimony should have signaled the jury not to completely trust this
The jury still convicted him and sent him to prison. During the trial, Atticus asked Mr. Ewell if he could read and write. The conclusion they came to was Bob Ewell is left-handed. This is important because that Mayella was beaten on the right side of her face. Tom Robinson stood up and appeared to be off balance “His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right…”(Lee
When Atticus gave his speech he took into account what he had to say and in what circumstances. He was in a courtroom with a bunch of un educated racist white men and women who wanted to see a black man be put to death for the false accusation of a black man raping a white woman. This was how he appealed the ‘ethos’ appeal of the people of Maycomb. Atticus thereafter attacked the ‘logos’ appeal when he called on large facts of the case. For example he brings up the left-handed injuries of Mayella when Tom was right handed.
Atticus proves that Bob Ewell is left-handed by having him sign his name, while there is no way for Tom to be left-handed due to his crippled left arm. “His left hand was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side”(211) Therefore, there is no way that Tom Robinson could have struck Mayella with his left hand. Second, Mayella’s and Bob's stories don’t match up.
Because of the shape of the marks on Mayella’s neck, it suggests that she was choked with a left hand, and her dad is a lefty while Tom has a small left hand from an injury while picking cotton. With this evidence that is provided, it shows that Mayella is covering for her father to not dishonor the family; therefore, she is not worthy of
Tom Robinson best reflects a mockingbird, illustrated through his guilty conviction despite his innocence during the trial, the mob attempting to lynch him at the jailhouse, and his wrongful murder by a prison guard. In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, many characters symbolize a Mockingbird, but Tom Robinson, hands down, most represents the characteristics and traits of a Mockingbird, which shows through his innocence and bravery. Tom Robinson is a Negro man who faces racism throughout his life and never has a fair shot because of the color of his skin. Tom Robinson is on trial, accused of beating and raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. The prosecution has no substantial evidence to prove Tom was liable, however, a jury
The person that had raped Mayella had to have been left-handed; Jem was so sure of this that he "was pounding the balcony rail softly, and once he whispered, "We’ve got him"... make him out left-handed... His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and it hung dead at his side. "It ended in a small shriveled hand, and from as far away as the balcony, I could see that it was no use to him" (Lee 238, 240, 248). Jem
After the supposed crime, Mr. Ewell and Sheriff Tate, the sheriff, said that Mayella had many bruises on the right side of her body, indicating the person hurting her must have been left-handed. Atticus, Tom's lawyer, later revealed that Tom's “left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side” (Lee 211). Due to his left arm's impairment, he could not have possibly hit Mayella and left her with all those bruises and wounds, which indicated that another person had abused her. If Tom was not the one who had maltreated her, who would be able to, Mr. Ewell, who had been embarrassed and ashamed of his daughter's behavior, had assaulted her and assigned blame to Tom. If Mayella had told the truth about what happened, she would have received a much more severe beating at home and possibly even death or exile at the hands of her father.
”Lee 238 this is saying that he could be left handed and could be the one the abused Mayella. This might cause the unbiased audience to feel and think that Bob could have done it. Another reason is that Bob did not call the doctor when he found Mayella the evidence is that in the book it says “It wouldn’t dress any, Mr. Finch.
Mayella was not favored by the people in Maycomb. She was extremely poor and never spoke on any harassment she suffered from her father. Tom Robinson attempts to get the truth out in the open when he is giving his testimony, “She said what her papa do to her don’t count” (Doc B). Mayella doesn’t fully understand that her father is physically abusive towards her. To her it’s just love.
With the case starting, Atticus begins to get under the skin of Bob Ewell, throwing a variety of questions his way, which leads to Ewell, without hesitation, declaring one hand is as “good as the other” (Lee 178). This quote indicates that Bob wants to be successful in any way possible in order to prove his point and win the trial. Atticus questions Bob on what his dominant hand is, and he answers directly with confidence, knowing he may be in some trouble. With the continuous fight from Bob, he furthers his determination and willingness to do anything in order to win when he
Mayella Ewell is a victim. Mayella is a victim of her father, Bob Ewell, because he is an alcoholic that abuses her. During the Tom Robinson trial, Atticus proved Bob Ewell to be left-handed. Based on Bob and Heck Tate’s testimonies, Mayella’s right eye was blackened