To kill a mockingbird essay-ev

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorHigh School, 10th grade February 2008

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Throughout history, racism has played a major role in social relations. In Harper Lee's novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, this theme is presented to the reader and displays the shallowness of white people in the south during the depression. The assumption that Blacks were inferior is proved during the trial of Tom Robinson. Such characteristics served to justify the verdict of the trial. In this trial, Tom Robinson is accused of raping Mayella Ewell and is found guilty. Many examples from this novel support the fact that Tom Robinson was in fact innocent.

Atticus Finch represented Tom Robinson in the trial. He showed that Tom's left arm was crippled due to a former injury using a cotton gin. Atticus expanded on this point by unexpectedly throwing a ball at Tom Robinson. Tom's only reaction was to catch the ball with his right arm. This point is connected to Heck Tate's testimony in telling the court that the right side of Mayella's face had been severely bruised.

A left-handed person would logically have inflicted this injury. Tom's left hand is shriveled and totally useless. On the other side of the coin, Atticus shows the court that Mr. Ewell is not ambidextrous but is only right-handed.

A second testimony that supports the opposite of the verdict, was the fact that Mr. Ewell never called a doctor after learning of Mayella's injuries. Following the incident, there had not been any physical examination performed by a certified physician. If indeed Mr. Robinson had committed the crime, Mr. Ewell's first instinct would have been to get his daughter checked out. Upon finding his daughter "assaulted", he would have wanted to have her injuries treated including the injury that might been caused by rape.

The third example of the trial that strongly contrasts with the...