Atticus shows that his words are not empty, and he practices what he has taught his children. Atticus conveys empathy for the minorities around him, such as the Ewell family and the Negroes. Tom Robinson, a black man, is being represented in court by Atticus. Atticus empathizes for Tom who is wrongly accused of taking advantage of Mayella Ewell, a poor white women, and tries his hardest to win the case for Tom. After losing the trial and humiliating the Ewells in the process, Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father, spits in Atticus’ face and threatens to get even with him. Atticus, feeling sorry for Mayella, takes this incident and uses it as a lesson of empathy for his children. Atticus says, “ Jem see if you can stand in Bob Ewell’s shoes a minute. I destroyed every thread of credibility at that trial, if he he had any to begin with. The man had to have some kind of comeback, his kind always do. So if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take. He had to take it out on somebody and I’d rather it be me than that houseful of children out there” (292-293). The lesson of empathy is supported largely through Atticus, and his ways with Tom and the Ewells. To sum up, Atticus’ inspirational experiences convey greatly to his children, and help to better them for the rest of the…
Tom Robinson was innocent of raping Mayella Ewell. In the story it talks about how Mayella got punched in the eye with the left hand but Tom couldn’t have done it because his left hand is crippled. Reverend Sykes said, “He got it caught in the cotton gin, caught it i Mr. Dolphus Raymond’s cotton gin when he was a boy...like to bled to death...tore all the muscles loose from his bones-”(186). This explains what happened to Tom’s hand and that he couldn’t have punched Mayella with his left hand because he could not use it. Furthermore, when Tom was telling his side of the story he said that Mayella kissed him and that he tried to get away because he knew that it wasn’t right for her do that. Tom explains what happens when Mr. Ewell sees them,…
A trail for a black man was set in the courthouse in Maycomb city. Tom Robinson, the defendant was accused of using violence to Mayella Ewell. It rare to set a trail for a black since most of them are getting lynched in this city. Therefore, a huge amount of people rushed to the courthouse and observed the trial including the whites and the blacks.…
Tom Robinson was a civilized man who was trying to get home from work one day,and Mayella Ewell ruined that for him. In the unfair case of Tom Robinson he was accused of raping a girl he never found interest in.The case had a ruling set before it even started,because he was a black man. There was so much evidence that Mayella wasn't raped by Tom Robinson,some of the evidence were Tom's physical handicap from a cotton gin as well as his left arm being twelve inches shorter than his right and was not able to use his left arm.His color works againt him,the jury decides to believe mayella instead of Tom. Therefore, he was convicted and sent to jail.…
Tom Robinson is an African American male who was wrongly accused of raping a poor, white woman, named Mayella Ewell. During the Great Depression, the Jim Crow laws (DBP Jim Crow laws 7) were put in place to segregate white people and people of color. The laws restricted intimacy and most everyday interactions between white women and black males. The laws were technically applied to everyone during the 1930’s, but males were especially protective of the women in the south. In a series of events, Mayella Ewell is able to gain power by using her race, gender, and class against Tom Robinson. Mayella is able to use people’s outlook on African Americans to her advantage in court and also the fact that she is a female. Although Mayella’s class isn’t her strongest suit, in the eye of the jury and everyone else in the South, no matter how poor you are as long as you are white you will have authority over African Americans. Knowing this, Mayella is able to find a solution to her father’s sexual abuse by gaining power through Tom Robinson.…
Mr Tom Robinson gets sent to jail do to a false belief the trial at the Monroe county courthouse on august 26 1935. Many are saying because he feels sorry for Ms. mayella ewells. that he deserves to be punished. Is feeling empathy for a white woman a bad thing ? we talked to Mr Robinson after the trial as he states “ just because i’m black, am i not allowed to feel sorry for a white woman ?” many people like him agree. Though mayella did state that he pushed himself on her and beat her up her last statement was "That nigger yonder took advantage of me an' if you fine fancy gentlemen don't wanta do nothin' about it then you're all yellow stinkin' cowards" (18.167).…
Mr. Ewell being the real crime committer has a raging attitude though he and his daughter still won the case against Tom, ”It might be because he knows in his heart that very few people in Maycomb really believed his and Mayella’s yarns,”(335) This is shown when citizens, though Tom was distinctly innocent, nevertheless was found guilty, that discrimination is a clear brutality for African Americans. This is illustrated further on when Tom tries escaping jail and gets shot. Tom Robinson's case was merely a possible kickstarter for acceptance of African Americans in the Maycomb County life, and prevent this kind of incident from repeatedly reoccuring in the…
In this weeks issue of The Maycomb weekly, our main story is of Tom Robinson's trial case. the main story Many people gathered in the courtroom in a hot Macomb county courtroom to watch Atticus finch defend a black man, “Tom Robinson” in a white versus black rape case. The attendees of the case included many black and white men from around Macomb County, and surprisingly even some children attended the rape case.…
In Tom Robinson’s story, he was innocent of committing the crime. Everyday to and from work, Tom would have to pass by the Ewell house. Sometimes Mayella would stop Tom and ask him to help her with some chores in her house. Once he had completed what he had requested of him, he began to leave and that’s when Mayella grabbed him and then “sorta jumped” on him. In the meantime, Mr. Ewell walked into the room screaming and Tom fleeted out. Never once during the trial did Tom say that Mayella was lying; however, she was “mistaken in her mind” (qtd. in Lubet).…
A theme in “To Kill A Mockingbird,” could be that you should never judge a person by their color. The way people were judge affected Tom Robinson’s trial because all colored people were treated differently than white people back in the day. Reverend Sykes explained to Jem; “I ain't ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man” (Lee 279). Tom was not going to be charged with the crime. This is because everything that was said on his half proved that he was innocent but judges never choose a colored man over a white man. Further, Tom Robinson was not able to win the trial because he is a colored man. The judge got the piece of paper and says “ ‘Guilty… guilty… guilty… guilty…’ “(Lee 282). The color of Tom’s skin changed…
Tom Robinson, a Negro man, was accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a 19 year old and the daughter of Bob Ewell. The court case took place at the Maycomb County courthouse, and a huge crowd of people, both white and blacks came to watch the trial. The prosecutor was Mr. Gilmer and the defending lawyer was Atticus Finch. The case was directed by Judge Taylor. The result of the trail ended in favor of the pretender, the Ewell family. The crime took place on the evening of November 21st of last year, near the garbage dump. In Maycomb, the Ewells had lived behind the town garbage dump for years which were once a Negro Cabin.…
Tom Robinson is cheated out of his freedom, out of his life, because a young white woman “tried to put the evidence of her offense away from her.”(272) No one should cheat any who is lesser than themselves. Under the social ladder the black people of Maycomb are right at the bottom next to people like Mayella Ewell and her father. It’s so easy for them to be belittled, because they are socially beneath them. To the white citizens everyone beneath them is bad, and it’s easy to lie on someone who already assumed bad. Atticus says it best to the gentleman of the jury. The jury would go along with what the young white women and her father told them based on the “the evil assumption- that…
Even if all the evidence proves Tom to be innocent, the jury would be in favor of the Ewells because they are white. Tom Robinson would help Mayella with chores because it “looked like she didn’t have anybody to help her” (263). Because of this, Tom felt sorry for her. However, his feelings were invalidated when Mr. Gilmer exclaims, “You felt sorry for her, you felt sorry for her?” When Tom said he was sorry for Mayella, it implied he was better than her. In Maycomb County, a county divided along racial lines, a black person thinking he’s superior to any white person defies the status quo. The Ewells had been “the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations” (40). The Ewells, especially Bob Ewell, represent ignorance and white supremacy in To Kill a Mockingbird. Bob Ewell’s full name is Robert E. Lee Ewell (227); coincidentally, he was named after the general who commanded the Confederate army, or the army in favor of expanding slavery, during the Civil War. The Confederate army represented white supremacy and racial justice, as do the Ewells. Atticus says to his son, Jem, “In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins” (295). Even with the Ewells labeled as the “disgrace of Maycomb” (40), they are still seen in a higher position compared to Tom…
Mayella is able to use her gender power in order to convict Tom Robinson of rape because during that time, “white womanhood was endangered by the loss of states' rights to control the blacks of the South” ( Document V). Mayella lives in a time where many people feel that with the lack of Jim Crow laws to restrict the rights of the African American population, the white women would be vulnerable. This idea helps Mayella throughout the trial because the jury would do anything in order to restrict the freedom of African American people. Mayella’s gender power is on display as she uses her femininity to govern Tom Robinson’s…
For context, all of the prosecutor's witnesses claim that Mayella was beaten on her right side. Tom could not have done this, for it is unlikely that he could overpower and hit Mayella on her right when he has a crippled left arm. This improbability, along with Tom’s testimony that Mr. Ewell threatened to kill Mayella when Tom fled the scene, implies that it was her father that assaulted Mayella, giving her an obvious reason to fear him. The last piece of evidence illustrating Mayella’s fear of her father is Mr. Ewell’s confrontation with Atticus after the trial. As it is Atticus that exposes the prospect of Mr. Ewell beating his daughter to the court, Mr. Ewell is resentful and threatens Atticus at the post office. This supports the theory of Mr. Ewell having hit his daughter, as he would not be enraged if it was not true, and also reveals Mr. Ewell’s violent nature. Both of these points are reasons Mayella may fear her father and cause her to lie at the trial. Another reason Mayella would lie about what happened is because she flirted with m, which is considered a taboo of Maycomb…