Preview

To Kill a Mockingbird Persuasive

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
381 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
To Kill a Mockingbird Persuasive
Yasmin Acevedo 5-26-10
UNFAIR TRIAL Have you ever encountered a situation that dealt with race? I think everyone has in some way or form. Maybe someone of a different race was treated unfairly just because they're a different color. Or someone could have been given special privileges because of their race and the law is that they're innocent until proven guilty. Well in this case Tom Robinson in being convicted of a crime he did not commit. Mayella Ewell has sent Tom to trial. During the trial, the town people, family members, and friends show prejudice toward Atticus for defending Tom and toward Tom for just being an African-American. Tom Robinson is being misjudged and mistreated only because he's black. Before the trial has even started the juries have already stated that Tom Robinson is guilty. The juries aren't even Toms peers they're 12 racist white men. No matter what evidence is presented at the trial, the racist jury would never, under any circumstances, acquit a black man accused of raping a white woman. Mayella had a bruise on her left side of her face which meant that someone that was left handed had hit her and so Tom couldn't have done it cause his left arm was crippled. He could barely manage to put his left arm on top of the Bible to swear. Atticus was asking Mr.Ewell if Mayella had any medical attention at all and he said no. Tom later is wrongly convicted "Guilty . . . guilty . . . guilty" after Atticus gives indisputable evidence of his innocence, and "not one iota of medical evidence" is presented to prove that the crime was even committed at all. After Tom was charged guilty he was sent back to prison. Later on after Tom's

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    TKAM summaries 18-31

    • 1785 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Chapter 18: Mayella begins her testimony, she is nineteen and relatively clean compared to the rest of the Ewells. She lives with seven younger siblings who do not help with any chores and an alchoholic father. She also does not seem to know what friends even are. She says that she had offered Tom Robinson a nickel the evening of the incident to break up a chifferobe for her. Atticus questions her story. Like why she didnt put up a better fight or why the children didnt hear her screams, and most of all how Tom managed to do this with only his right arm. Atticus pleas her to admit that there was no rape and it was her father who beat her but this only leads to anger and yelling. She then starts to cry and refuses to answer more questions.…

    • 1785 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    First, Tom’s left hand is useless, but Mayella’s right- side of her face is bruised. How could Tom punch the right- side of her face with his right hand? The evidence proves that Mayella was not beaten by Tom Robinson, but who?…

    • 214 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Maycomb Conuty Trial

    • 1179 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Mayella was sure that Tom Robinson had taken advantage of her she said again. As a defence to the accusation, Tom Robinson was asked to stand. It was shown to all that Tom Robinson left hand is 12 inches shorter than his right as his left arm was caught in a yarn gin since young. The blame of Tom Robinson raping Mayella Ewell had came into serious question as it was implied by Atticus, the defendant, that it was unlikely for a person hurt in his left able to hurt Mayella's right eye. There is the possibility of Bob Ewell hurting his own daughter instead of Tom Robinson as he is left-handed. When Mayella was questioned by the defence…

    • 1179 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    I think Tom isn’t guilty because they found marks on the right side of Mayella’s body and found choking marks around her neck, but how would Tom Robinson do it if his left arm is crippled from a childhood accident when he was a little boy. Another reason why I think he isn’t guilty because Mayella invited Tom in then she grabbed him around his legs and jumped onto Tom the she kissed him. The reason…

    • 396 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    White people think they are better than them and consider it a crime if a black man beats a white man in any way shape or form. This is when Tom Robinson comes into play. He is a huge aspect of the book. He is put into trial for supposedly raping Mayella Ewell. When the court date comes, the information gathered from both sides point to Tom as being innocent. Many people suspect Mr. Bob Ewell was the man that beat Mayella for coming to a black man. Evidence suggest that Tom Robinson only losses his case because of his colour. Even in the courtroom, people are divided by their colour and class. The black people of the crowd have to sit on the balcony while the white folk sit on the floor. This is discrimination against the black race. They are treated differently than the white people because of false and prejudice judgement and opinions of others. “A white man’s word against a black man’s word, the white man always wins.”(Lee, 243) This quote is a significant piece of evidence that represents the injustice and biased treatment against black people in Maycomb. This can also demonstrate the fact of how Maycomb tends to be bias towards characteristics of people or families that are out of their control such as age, gender, wealth, race or even your family. Everything the people in Maycomb are is based upon these factors that are out of their control. Atticus…

    • 1682 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Golden Rule states, “Treat others as you would have them treat you”. In the book “To Kill a Mockingbird”, a boy named Jem failed to apply this rule to his own circumstances.…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Atticus Finch Defending

    • 1078 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Atticus also comments on this issue when he is conversing with Jem: “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 man always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life.” This explains that Tom Robinson’s miserable fate was rather instantaneously sealed the moment he was accused by a member of the white community, and he had no method or means of effectively defending himself, simply because of the enormous extent of racism that exists in the hearts of white Maycomb residents. Tom’s honesty is utterly useless when pitted against the likes of the white ethnic group, and even a white man’s lies and corruption will supersede a black man’s righteousness. Although Tom is defenseless due to his racial group, this is not the only factor that contributes to total vulnerability, as is displayed through the character of Arthur…

    • 1078 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tom Robinson, an African-American man, is put on trial for the rape of a nineteen year old girl. Since those in the court system look down upon colored people, his trial is not fair from the start. Both the judge and the members of the jury are white, southern males, and these people do not like African Americans because they believe that they do not deserve to be treated like people and have actual human rights.. For example Tom says to Atticus, “Yes, suh. I felt sorry for her…” (164). At this point Tom was basically digging his own…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tom Robinson's Downfall

    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Racism has and always will be the downfall of society. In the book “To Kill A Mockingbird” by harper lee, a major component of the story is the Tom Robinson case. Tom Robinson is a twenty-five year old black man who maintains a sense of invisibility throughout the Novel, has been falsely accused of a crime he did not commit. Tom Robinson is a young black male, who gets taken advantage of by Mayella Ewell. Mayella Ewell has falsely accused Tom of raping her,due to the fact that he is a black man and she is a white woman.Whites are not to be associated with blacks during the 30’s,…

    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prejudice and intolerance towards people because they are of a different race has been notorious in America since the early 1900’s. In Harper Lee’s “ To Kill a Mockingbird”, in a town called Maycomb, intolerance is superabundant against black people and any affiliation with them. In the story Tom Robinson is being indicted of rape and Atticus Finch steps up to defend him. With this situation lingering in Maycomb,of course the town’s people express the intolerance they have towards an innocent black man and a white man helping him. Of course, when it’s revealed that Atticus is going to defend Tom for the rape of Mayella Ewell, the townspeople become infuriated.…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Edmund Burke discusses how Atticus triumphs and is victorious but has to suffer through hardships and abuse in order to stand up for what is right. This quotation expresses Atticus’ role in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel is set in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s which helps to establish the economic hard times and racism. Atticus Finch takes on the case of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping Mayella Ewell. The community is divided and the majority of the people do not agree with his decision. Atticus stands for justice. In order for him to pursue justice, he has to receive the multitudes of abuse. Every move Atticus makes, his children and community realize the full weight of these…

    • 1093 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dill is a very imaginative friend of Scout’s. He is always making up imaginative stories and is fascinated with little things. I believe the reason that Dill is so imaginative is because he is modeled after Harper Lee’s real life friend Truman Capote. Truman Capote was also an imaginative person that played a large influence on much of Lee’s life. I believe that he is fascinated with Boo because of his childlike intuition. It also adds excitement to their lives and something to do each day. Since many people only know rumors of Boo, I believe that they would like to find out what the real Boo is like. What Dill brings to Scout and Dill’s life is a sense of adventure. It is a new person for them to play with rather than each other, and his imaginative stories make them want to go out and have adventures of their own. Although Dill often lies and runs away, I believe he is a mainly positive influence. He adds a feeling of excitement to their lives and agrees with Atticus’ beliefs of do not judge a person until you have lived a day in their shoes.…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tom should have not been found guilty of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell. He was found guilty because he was black, and blacks are always assumed to be guilty. Also he was up against a white person. So no matter what, he would have been proven guilty. Plus everyone said Tom raped her except for Tom. Tom insisted that he could have done it but did not. In fact, Mayella liked him and even "kissed him on the cheek."…

    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To kill a mockingbird

    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The lack of medical evidence proves Tom is innocent because the only people who seen her bruises and who were there after she was hurt was Bob Ewell (her father) and Heck Tate (town sheriff). But Mr Ewell And Mr Tate did not call a doctor nor did they yell for anyone to call for a doctor. The way Bob Ewell and Heck Tate talked about Mayellas bruises in the trial; she was hurt very bad with multiple neck bruises, sounded like she needed a lot of medical attention. So why did no one call for a doctor? What father doesn't call a doctor after his daughter is beaten and raped? When Tom Robinsons lawyer, Atticus Finch, asked "didn't you think she should have had a doctor, immediately?" Mr. Ewell said "he had never called a doctor to his'n in his life, and if he had it would have cost him five dollars." The real reason Bob Ewell did not call a doctor is because he knows Tom Robinson did not actually rape or hurt her, he beat her himself and then in court she said that to gather pity for her and her family. The doctors also would have been able to tell that she was not raped and would have been able to see that Tom Robinson could not have done this.…

    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Harper lees, to kill a mockingbird, the theme is that everyone should be treated fairly. Since tom is colored he is automatically thought of being guilty. Judge taylor was polling the jury:”Guilty...guilty...guilty...guilty…” Even though tom was proven innocent he was still convicted as guilty because of the color of his skin. Since everyone thinks tom is guilty they don't want him around. “You know what we want,”another man said. “ Get aside from the door, Mr Finch.” The men know that tom is in the cell and they want him dead even if Mr.Finch gets in the way. Considering that Mr.Finch is defending tom he is also going to get messed with. “Atticus was leaving the post office when Mr. Ewell approached him, cursed him, spat on him, and threatened…

    • 159 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays