Although To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee is a fictional novel, could the trial of Tom Robinson actually have occurred based on real life events? Prejudice is an unfavorable preconceived opinion or feeling formed beforehand without knowledge, thought, or reason (Dictionary.com). In the small county of Maycomb, Alabama, people are extremely prejudice, as racism dominates people's minds in the small, tight knit community. The county had recently been told “that it had nothing to fear but fear itself” (Lee 6). This means that the novel takes place throughout the 1930’s during the Great Depression as President Roosevelt said this to keep American spirits high. Even though To Kill a Mockingbird is a work of fiction, an event like the …show more content…
The Scottsboro Boys Trial certainly shows dramatic flaws in the United States legal since, besides the fact it took place in the peak of prejudice across the United States. In the year 1931, which was around the same time period that To Kill A Mockingbird took place, nine black teenagers were accused of beating up other white boys on the train, and most importantly blamed for the false rape of Victoria Price and Ruby Bates (Sorenson 5). There was no medical evidence as to whether the girls were raped or boys beaten, just the word of a white person being known as superior to a black person’s just like the trial of Tom Robinson (20). In the end of the three trials that went to the United States Supreme Court, the boys received a quick, speedy, unfair trial with unjust defense lawyers and the punishments that ranged from 75 years in prison to death (25). One boy was shot in prison when attempting to make an escape, which is almost identical to the circumstance of when Tom Robinson is shot to death when attempting to escape prison (48). Harper Lee could very well have based her novel on this very exact case as black boys are wrongfully accused of rape with no evidence, and a defendant was shot while trying to escape, although this is not the only similar case to that of Tom
In The To Kill Mockingbird Tom Robinson was accused of rapping mayella ewell but he did not do it she tried to kiss him and first he a black man from what look like him kiss a white women so he said he just ran. That is what made he look guilty. This book is based off of true case but the Emmet Till case is based of truth because it did happen.
Mayella vs. Victoria: To Kill A Mockingbird vs. Scottsboro Trial “He couldn’t get us to the chair fast enough.” Haywood Patterson a young black boy accused of raping two young girls named Victoria Price and Ruby Bates said this during his trial. Patterson said this about the judge of the case he was involved in. This was in the Scottsboro trial where a group of black boys was accused of raping the two young girls Victoria and Ruby. This same topic is brought up in the book To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee when a young lady named Mayella Ewell accuses a black man named Tom Robinson of raping her.
Mrs. Rodriguez 10th Grade Advanced English Pd. 7 3 May, 2017 In 1925 to 1939 the nation’s incarceration rate increased from 79 to 137 per 100,000 residents (Eval). There was a greater imprisonments of blacks than there were whites (Eval).
TKAM/Scottsboro- Final Paper Racism has been a major social issue in our modern world. From many years ago to today, there has been discrimination among many. Nine young african american men were accused of rapping 2 white women in 1931 (Scottsboro Boys) and a black man was accused of rape in To Kill a Mockingbird. The men were falsely convicted due to the fact that they were black men and the victims were white women.
Black men are six times as likely as white men to be incarcerated in federal prisons and local jails. This kind of injustice is the reason why cases like The Scottsboro Boys case, where nine boys were falsely accused of rape, exist. This is also why books like To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee are made. In both of these trials, they highlight the injustice of blacks during the 1930’s.
Miscarriages of Justice in To Kill a Mockingbird and The Scottsboro Boys Trials The purpose of the judicial system is to protect citizens by holding the perpetrator of any crime to the full extent of the law and ensure that justice is served. This is a very noble notion however, the justice system has not always upheld these principles. There are numerous accounts in which the justice system has not lived up to serving any justice at all. This was especially true during the horrific case of the Scottsboro Boys. Through the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee depicts various similarities between the key figures involved in the historical case of the Scottsboro Boys and characters in the novel such as the courageous lawyers who represented
The Trials of Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird and The Scottsboro Boys Racism and prejudice can control the life of innocent individuals. For instance, historically, many slaves were used to do demeaning jobs like cleaning and cooking by their white owners. Their masters would beat them to a pulp if they disobeyed due to the fact they were their property. Furthermore, they were bought at a cheap price, which shows how worthless they were to society. The pain and suffering are really hard to understand for these men and women and how they struggled.
Also, by creating a social class where African Americans are always on the bottom even when they are dealing with less respectable people, and contrasting characters, such as the Finches and Ewells, to demonstrate the amount of racial discrimination within the entire South throughout these difficult years for America. Fictional events, like the Tom Robinson case, have similar connections and features to events in history, such as the Scottsboro Trials and Emmett Till case. Harper Lee has used historical events as inspiration to give readers a vision of the lives of African Americans during this difficult time period. On page 282, Tom Robinson was found guilty at his trial, even though all facts and evidence that Atticus gave would have easily swayed the jury to be in favor of Robinson.
Although the Scottsboro trials was not a pivotal event in Black American history, it was an occasion which highlighted the severe injustice of the American legal system and prejudice that black Americans lived in. From 25th March 1931 when 9 black men allegedly gang raped two white girls on the Railroad from Chattanooga to Memphis, a numerous amount of trials, reversals and retrials occurred, the most in American history. Over the course of two decades the ‘Scottsboro boys’ were made celebrities by their struggle for justice by dividing Americas politics. The trials, which were originally conducted in front of an all white jury leading to 8 of the boys being sentenced to the death penalty, after they were represented by bias lawyers which made
To Kill a Mockingbird In To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, Tom Robinson goes on trial. In this novel the townspeople, Atticus, and the children's views and outcomes of Tom Robinson’s trial are being presented. There is much racism and hatred of the blacks making the trial unfair for Tom to be seen as innocent through the jury’s eyes because he is a black man.
As Scout watches the trial, she slowly begins to see how her beloved town encourages this unfair racial prejudice. From its own courthouse, Tom Robinson, a black person, was judged guilty from the accusation of raping a white teenage girl. When all evidence was pointing towards the innocence of Robinson, he was denied his¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ freedom,
In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the story is set in the 1900’s, Maycomb, Alabama. During this time there was racism in the south and segregation which separated the whites and blacks from everything. There was also the Great Depression, the whole country was poor and people living in the country had to trade and do other jobs for people to either pay them off or to buy something from them. The trial in this book is about Mayella and Bob Ewell, two white people, claiming and arguing that Tom Robinson, a black person, raped Mayella Ewell. This trial is really important because at that time in the south, white people took advantage of black people and their kindness and thought they would take that or shut up just because they were black.
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a well written novel that brings importance and understanding to the differences of people through the unfair trial where a black man is accused of raping a white women during the 1930’s in Maycomb, Alabama. When our differences are materialized and brought forth we feel uncomfortable or ashamed. When our faults like racism and classism are brought up we shy away or get defensive. Before Tom Robison’s trial even takes place we’re shown how the townspeople of Maycomb react to white going against black or how they think of people who have less than them. If a large group of people feel this way they will do their best to get rid of the thing bringing them these feelings.
Injustice The Scottsboro Case shed light on the racial practices expressed in law that made a great impact on the legal system today. The actual victims of the Case did not receive a fair trial due to the color of their skin. The ones who played the victims planned the crime, and their stories made no sense. But like many of the trials during the time it wasn’t based on the actual evidence that was found,or even the defendants ' stories.
Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” is set sometime in the 1930s in Maycomb County Alabama. The story is told through the point of view of Scout Finch who lives with her father, Atticus, and brother, Jem. The kids like to play pretend with their friend Dill about the man who lives in a scary house down the road, Boo Radley. The kids come in a few close counters along the way during these games in which Atticus does not approve. Scouts’ father, a lawyer, is appointed by Judge Taylor to defend Mr. Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a young girl.