To Kill a Mockingbird and Scottsboro Trial Essay Every now and then a case comes across in which it is race against race. This issue is becoming less frequent; however, the issue still exists today. Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird is similar to Hollace Ransdell’s piece “Report on the Scottsboro, ALA. Case.” Between these two well-respected writings, the plot and theme are very similar. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee uses the perspective of a young girl, Scout Finch, to tell a childhood experience along with one of the most intense, controversial trials Maycomb, Alabama has ever held before, Tom Robinson’s conviction of raping Mayella Ewell. Ransdell’s report is similar in that the nine Scottsboro boys are convicted of rape which relates
…show more content…
Without themes being included in writing pieces, the readers cannot fathom the true meaning of the text and how to relate the piece to real life. In both Lee’s and Ransdell’s writings, two significant themes are expressed throughout each of them which include racism and empathy. In To Kill a Mockingbird, racism is especially portrayed in Tom’s trial. When Atticus asks Tom why he runs when he knows he is innocent, he replies with, “Mr. Finch, if you was a n***** like me, you’d be scared too,” (Lee 261). This is an example of racism because an African American man expresses the fear of his life to which a white man could take away at any moment. Essentially, Tom knows that if he stands there while Bob Ewell walks in, he will be killed in a heartbeat and nothing will be done about it. In support of this racism, Atticus says, “…absence of any corroborative evidence, this man was indicted on a capital charge and is now on trial for his life” (Lee 270). The whole town of Maycomb knows that Tom Robinson never received a fair trial to begin with. Tom is sentenced to death before he even walked foot into the courtroom. The jury convicts him of rape with no substantial evidence to support the ruling. This is indeed an act of racism. In Ransdell’s report, the African American boys are given the worst charge possible with no valid evidence to support the ruling because they are not white, “conflicting and untested evidence upon which the Negro boys were convicted, and assuming what has by no means been proved, that the Negroes are guilty of the worst that has been charged against them,” (501-503). Also in the text, Ransdell includes a quote from the townspeople that acknowledges the pure hatred of the African American community, “’The N***** must be kept in his place.’ Repression, terror, and torture are the means that will do it” (567-568). In addition to racism, empathy is a key theme in both writings. In To Kill a
Without themes being included in writing pieces, the readers cannot fathom the true meaning of the text and how to relate the piece to real life. In both Lee’s and Ransdell’s writings, two significant themes are expressed throughout each of them which include racism and empathy. In To Kill a Mockingbird, racism is especially portrayed in Tom’s trial. When Atticus asks Tom why he runs when he knows he is innocent, he replies with, “Mr. Finch, if you was a n***** like me, you’d be scared too,” (Lee 261). This is an example of racism because an African American man expresses the fear of his life to which a white man could take away at any moment. Essentially, Tom knows that if he stands there while Bob Ewell walks in, he will be killed in a heartbeat and nothing will be done about it. In support of this racism, Atticus says, “…absence of any corroborative evidence, this man was indicted on a capital charge and is now on trial for his life” (Lee 270). The whole town of Maycomb knows that Tom Robinson never received a fair trial to begin with. Tom is sentenced to death before he even walked foot into the courtroom. The jury convicts him of rape with no substantial evidence to support the ruling. This is indeed an act of racism. In Ransdell’s report, the African American boys are given the worst charge possible with no valid evidence to support the ruling because they are not white, “conflicting and untested evidence upon which the Negro boys were convicted, and assuming what has by no means been proved, that the Negroes are guilty of the worst that has been charged against them,” (501-503). Also in the text, Ransdell includes a quote from the townspeople that acknowledges the pure hatred of the African American community, “’The N***** must be kept in his place.’ Repression, terror, and torture are the means that will do it” (567-568). In addition to racism, empathy is a key theme in both writings. In To Kill a