Does your perception of people truly reflect the state of reality they are in? In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Atticus Finch is a lawyer with high morals he is appointed to be a lawyer for a black man who was accused of rape. Scout Finch is a young girl who grows up and learns not everything is what it seems in her community. Through Tom Robinson’s trial she learns that appearances don’t always reflect reality through her black maid Calpurnia, a man named Dolphus Raymond and most importantly Tom Robinson’s trial.
Scout Finch learns through Calpurnia things aren’t always what they seem and that everyone has different realities. When Scout goes to an all black church with Calpurnia she learns that Cal acts differently at church …show more content…
He is always seen drinking something out of a paper bag. He also prefers to spend his time with the black people in his community, and he is married to a black woman. The towns people assume it’s because of the alcohol that he hangs around the black community and is married to a black lady, but when Scout and Dill leave the trial after Dill gets upset they see Dolphus outside of the courthouse. With the information Scout has gathered she believes Dolphus is an evil man he is a drunk. He offers Dill a sip out of his bag, to which Scout warns, “Dill, you watch out, now” because she believes that there is alcohol in the bag, but what Scout and Dill learn is that there is nothing in the bag but Coca-Cola, “You mean all you drink in that sack’s Coca-Cola?” “Yes ma’am,” Mr. Raymond nodded….“I try to give ‘em a reason… folks can say Dolphus Raymond’s in the clutches of whiskey—that’s why he won’t change his way. That’s why he lives the way he does.” (Lee 268) This shows that the appearance of Dolphus Raymond is nothing close to the reality. In this case he appears as a drunk to give people a reason as to why he lives the way he does. It also makes it easier for the town to reject him by saying he’s a drunk when really they don’t like the fact he spends all of his time with black people and he is married to a black woman. The reality of Dolphus is …show more content…
Tom Robinson is a respectable, young, African American man who was accused of raping a low life, white woman named Mayella Ewell. The facts added up in Tom’s favor, but the people of Maycomb could not see past the color of his skin. For example Atticus pointed out to the jury that Mayella had a black eye on the right side of her face Tom simply couldn’t have done this because "His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side. It ended in a small shriveled hand, and I could see that it was no use to him.” This proves that the reality of Tom beating Mayella could not be, but because he was a black man that is all the people of Maycomb could see. Their prejudices made them believe he did it even when the facts didn’t add up. Another example of the trial not reflecting the reality of Tom Robinson’s case is when Atticus says, “The witness for the state have presented themselves to you gentlemen, to this court, in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption—the evil assumption—that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption that one associates with minds of their caliber.” This proves that the courthouse deep down knows Tom is innocent. Bob Ewell knew they would take
Scout Finch learns through Calpurnia things aren’t always what they seem and that everyone has different realities. When Scout goes to an all black church with Calpurnia she learns that Cal acts differently at church …show more content…
He is always seen drinking something out of a paper bag. He also prefers to spend his time with the black people in his community, and he is married to a black woman. The towns people assume it’s because of the alcohol that he hangs around the black community and is married to a black lady, but when Scout and Dill leave the trial after Dill gets upset they see Dolphus outside of the courthouse. With the information Scout has gathered she believes Dolphus is an evil man he is a drunk. He offers Dill a sip out of his bag, to which Scout warns, “Dill, you watch out, now” because she believes that there is alcohol in the bag, but what Scout and Dill learn is that there is nothing in the bag but Coca-Cola, “You mean all you drink in that sack’s Coca-Cola?” “Yes ma’am,” Mr. Raymond nodded….“I try to give ‘em a reason… folks can say Dolphus Raymond’s in the clutches of whiskey—that’s why he won’t change his way. That’s why he lives the way he does.” (Lee 268) This shows that the appearance of Dolphus Raymond is nothing close to the reality. In this case he appears as a drunk to give people a reason as to why he lives the way he does. It also makes it easier for the town to reject him by saying he’s a drunk when really they don’t like the fact he spends all of his time with black people and he is married to a black woman. The reality of Dolphus is …show more content…
Tom Robinson is a respectable, young, African American man who was accused of raping a low life, white woman named Mayella Ewell. The facts added up in Tom’s favor, but the people of Maycomb could not see past the color of his skin. For example Atticus pointed out to the jury that Mayella had a black eye on the right side of her face Tom simply couldn’t have done this because "His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side. It ended in a small shriveled hand, and I could see that it was no use to him.” This proves that the reality of Tom beating Mayella could not be, but because he was a black man that is all the people of Maycomb could see. Their prejudices made them believe he did it even when the facts didn’t add up. Another example of the trial not reflecting the reality of Tom Robinson’s case is when Atticus says, “The witness for the state have presented themselves to you gentlemen, to this court, in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption—the evil assumption—that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption that one associates with minds of their caliber.” This proves that the courthouse deep down knows Tom is innocent. Bob Ewell knew they would take