The Main Themes Of Justice In The Mississippi Trial

The main plot of Mississippi Trial, 1955 is the murder of Emmett Till, but it also covers the idea of people expressing their own beliefs. For example, Harlan was not afraid to speak his thoughts of equality to his father. He strongly believed the mistreatment of African Americans in the south was not right, which lead to tension between him and his father. Harlan did not care if it ruined his relationship between his father, because he knew the South’s beliefs were cruel and coldblooded. Mr. Paul is another character in the story that expresses his own beliefs. When Hiram asked Mr. Paul for his advice if he was in his situation during the trial he tells Hiram, “If I knew something that proved those two didn’t kill that boy, I’d feel obliged …show more content…
But I’d speak up.”(Crowe 2002, p.151) This shows that Mr. Paul knows that the right thing to do is to testify the truth and even though it will risk his life he believes the moral thing is to still speak the truth.
An important theme found throughout the Mississippi Trial 1955 is justice. African Americans wanted justice and equality throughout the book. The trial of Emmett Till represented justice because the African American witnesses were able to participate in the trial; which was unusual in the 1950’s since African Americans had little to no rights. Even though there was an unfair verdict of the trial justice will still be made since it will be a story told throughout history. It will prove the racist acts that were convicted, therefore creating sympathy and equal rights for African …show more content…
The grandfather had believes that the south should remain segregated and that African Americans should not have equal rights, but Harlan had opposite believes. Their opposite beliefs created a negative relationship and conflicts. Hiram did not understand the reason why his father and grandfather did not get along and why they had different believes until he visited Greenwood the second time around. Hiram was excited to go back to Greenwood because he believed his grandfather was correct and knew he had his reasons. Hiram states, “It was good to be back in Greenwood. I had come back home, and I was free.”(Crow 2002, p.54). This is ironic because Hiram was free, but yet the African Americans were not; this shows that Hiram has not yet noticed the mistreatment of African Americans. Hiram even states, “It seemed to me that Negroes weren’t really being hurt; it was just the way things were, and I couldn’t see why people like Dad and Mr. Paul got worked up over it…” (Crowe 2002, pg.76) This shows the parallelism between Hiram and his grandfather. They both had the same belief that African Americans were not really being “hurt” and that is just the way it should be. The day Hiram noticed the awful things R.C. did to Emmett was when he changed his perspective of the mistreatment to African Americans. “I felt dirty and weak. And ashamed.”(Crowe 2002, p. 93). The quote describes the way Hiram felt when he