The Purpose Of Tom Robinson's Trial

Superior Essays
Purpose of Tom Robinson’s Trial: To Kill a Mockingbird Literary Essay
“There is no justice – in or out of court.” was a statement Clarence Darrow, famed defender of the Scottsboro Boys, once made. There is no greater attestation of the truth of this quote than in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. In the novel, a black man, Tom Robinson, accused of a crime he did not commit, is unable to find fairness anywhere; not in his everyday life when he is just simply trying to be a good person, and certainly not in the courtroom where all men are supposed to be equal. Due to this, some think that Atticus Finch’s defence of Tom
Robinson and the subsequent trial was pointless, as no good came of it. However, this is not true.
Good did come of
…show more content…
The article also importantly, in Scout’s words, “liken[s] Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters…” (241). From his position where his prejudices are so visible that Atticus mentions them to the children, to his position after the trial as one of the only people to sympathize with Tom Robinson in the aftermath of the trial, he displays perhaps the most dramatic change in the novel. If such a character was able to change his point of view, then clearly the trial was able to affect and transform others like him, Therefore, good did come from the trial because (in the case of Jem and the children) it educated characters about the mechanics of the world, and caused many previously guilty of committing prejudiced acts to change their views.
In conclusion, Atticus Finch’s defence of Tom Robinson was not pointless and good did come of it because it uncovered societal ills, provided an innocent man a chance to win the case, and caused widespread change throughout characters. For these reasons, it is clear that in this case, the only possible good that could result from the trial was not just an acquittal for Tom
Robinson. Despite his conviction, it is evident that the aftereffects of the trial have left more

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