Tommy Lee Hines vs Tom Robinson
Open Inequality among the Innocent
In our society, people are always being treated unfairly whether it is or is not intentional. In the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, the character Tom Robinson was a hardworking crippled Black man living in 1930’s America. He was convicted for raping a White young woman named Mayella Ewell. Throughout the course of the book, Robinson was consistently victimized by the citizens of his predominantly White town of Maycomb, Alabama. Tommy Lee Hines is a 26-year-old mentally retarded citizen of Decatur, Alabama living in America in 1978. He was convicted for the rape of a White woman. Hines is an unaware victim in the struggle for civil rights. Tom Robinson and Tommy Lee Hines are good examples of people who have been judged unfairly over things they could not control. Their race, ability to express themselves, and verdicts in their trails are reasons why they are targets of unfair judgement.
Being a Black man in Maycomb, Alabama was difficult; Maycomb was a racist town with people who did not want the Blacks to be equal to the Whites. People discriminated Robinson’s race to the point where his race was what defined his character. The Whites in Maycomb had a mentality that all blacks were not to be trusted. This affected Tom Robinson because during his rape trial his lawyer, Atticus Finch states “. . . You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral; some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men.” [Lee, 48] Atticus was trying to say that we need to judge people as individuals rather than by their race. Robinson’s race caused him to be discriminated against by the Whites in Maycomb, in particular Bob Ewell. Bob Ewell had seen that his daughter had kissed a Black man and was very upset. He said "I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin' on my Mayella!" [Lee, 84] Because Robinson
In our society, people are always being treated unfairly whether it is or is not intentional. In the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, the character Tom Robinson was a hardworking crippled Black man living in 1930’s America. He was convicted for raping a White young woman named Mayella Ewell. Throughout the course of the book, Robinson was consistently victimized by the citizens of his predominantly White town of Maycomb, Alabama. Tommy Lee Hines is a 26-year-old mentally retarded citizen of Decatur, Alabama living in America in 1978. He was convicted for the rape of a White woman. Hines is an unaware victim in the struggle for civil rights. Tom Robinson and Tommy Lee Hines are good examples of people who have been judged unfairly over things they could not control. Their race, ability to express themselves, and verdicts in their trails are reasons why they are targets of unfair judgement.
Being a Black man in Maycomb, Alabama was difficult; Maycomb was a racist town with people who did not want the Blacks to be equal to the Whites. People discriminated Robinson’s race to the point where his race was what defined his character. The Whites in Maycomb had a mentality that all blacks were not to be trusted. This affected Tom Robinson because during his rape trial his lawyer, Atticus Finch states “. . . You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral; some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men.” [Lee, 48] Atticus was trying to say that we need to judge people as individuals rather than by their race. Robinson’s race caused him to be discriminated against by the Whites in Maycomb, in particular Bob Ewell. Bob Ewell had seen that his daughter had kissed a Black man and was very upset. He said "I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin' on my Mayella!" [Lee, 84] Because Robinson