When Harper Lee was growing up in the 1930’s America was in a devastating depression. The stock market crashed, leaving thousands of people homeless and starving. Young men would often jump onto trains to steal food. In 1931 a group of young black boys jumped onto a train near Scottsboro, Alabama, and were met by a group of white boys who were also seeking food and shelter. The groups fought and the white boys were forced to leave the train. However, two of them were actually women in disguise. These women accused the black boys of rape, and they were arrested and killed. The Scottsboro boys trial inspired Harper Lee to write To Kill a Mockingbird, a story that takes place in Maycomb, Alabama, about racism and a black man who was falsely convicted.
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In the story Tom, a black man, is on trial because he has been accused of raping a nineteen year old white girl, Mayella Ewell. He supposedly beat the right side of her face and left handprints around her neck. When Tom is called by the judge to stand up, Harper Lee describes him saying, “His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side.It ended in a small shrivelled hand, and from as far away as the balcony I could see it was no use to him.” (Lee 248). Tom has to be innocent because he couldn't have beaten the right side of Mayella's face with a disfigured left arm. He also wouldn't have been able to choke her with both hands. Unfortunately Tom is convicted because he is black, and goes to prison. Later Tom’s lawyer, Atticus Finch, comes home with the news of Tom's death. Atticus says, “He was running. It was during his exercise period… They got him just as he went over the fence… Seventeen bullet holes in him. They didn't have to shoot him that much.” (Lee 315). Tom was shot for no reason. He was running when he was allowed to run. He was shot seventeen times, when he would have been dead long before the last bullet hit him. Tom Robinson was an innocent man who went to prison and died over a white girls lie, making him a …show more content…
Atticus’s last name, Finch is a symbol of his innocence. A finch is a bird, and the main symbol of innocence in the novel is a mockingbird. When his daughter Scout and his son Jem are harassed by children at school he tells them it's because he is defending Tom Robinson since it's the right thing to do. The Finch family becomes the center of gossip in Maycomb and even amongst the family's close friends. The children find themselves restraining the urge to fight their peers over the controversy they believe their father has caused. When Scout, Jem and their friend Dill go to the courthouse to watch Tom's trial they over hear people talking about Atticus while they wait outside. The kids learn that Judge Taylor appointed Atticus to defend Tom and that he had no choice in being on the case. Harper Lee describes the children's reaction saying, “This was news, news that put a different light on things. Atticus had to, whether he wanted to or not.” (Lee 218). This shows that everything the trial put the family through wasn't Atticus’s fault and the hatred directed towards them was a result of the towns racism. During the trial Atticus essentially proves that Mayella's father, Bob Ewell, was the one who beat and raped her then framed Tom Robinson. The trial destroyed Bobs pride to the point where he attempted to break into Judge Taylor’s house and harassed Tom’s wife, Helen. He spits in Atticus’s face
In the story Tom, a black man, is on trial because he has been accused of raping a nineteen year old white girl, Mayella Ewell. He supposedly beat the right side of her face and left handprints around her neck. When Tom is called by the judge to stand up, Harper Lee describes him saying, “His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side.It ended in a small shrivelled hand, and from as far away as the balcony I could see it was no use to him.” (Lee 248). Tom has to be innocent because he couldn't have beaten the right side of Mayella's face with a disfigured left arm. He also wouldn't have been able to choke her with both hands. Unfortunately Tom is convicted because he is black, and goes to prison. Later Tom’s lawyer, Atticus Finch, comes home with the news of Tom's death. Atticus says, “He was running. It was during his exercise period… They got him just as he went over the fence… Seventeen bullet holes in him. They didn't have to shoot him that much.” (Lee 315). Tom was shot for no reason. He was running when he was allowed to run. He was shot seventeen times, when he would have been dead long before the last bullet hit him. Tom Robinson was an innocent man who went to prison and died over a white girls lie, making him a …show more content…
Atticus’s last name, Finch is a symbol of his innocence. A finch is a bird, and the main symbol of innocence in the novel is a mockingbird. When his daughter Scout and his son Jem are harassed by children at school he tells them it's because he is defending Tom Robinson since it's the right thing to do. The Finch family becomes the center of gossip in Maycomb and even amongst the family's close friends. The children find themselves restraining the urge to fight their peers over the controversy they believe their father has caused. When Scout, Jem and their friend Dill go to the courthouse to watch Tom's trial they over hear people talking about Atticus while they wait outside. The kids learn that Judge Taylor appointed Atticus to defend Tom and that he had no choice in being on the case. Harper Lee describes the children's reaction saying, “This was news, news that put a different light on things. Atticus had to, whether he wanted to or not.” (Lee 218). This shows that everything the trial put the family through wasn't Atticus’s fault and the hatred directed towards them was a result of the towns racism. During the trial Atticus essentially proves that Mayella's father, Bob Ewell, was the one who beat and raped her then framed Tom Robinson. The trial destroyed Bobs pride to the point where he attempted to break into Judge Taylor’s house and harassed Tom’s wife, Helen. He spits in Atticus’s face