Killing a mockingbird is a sin, as it has been said a few times in the book. So, what about Tom Robinson; wasn’t he a mockingbird? The story was that Tom Robinson tried to escape so they shot him, not once, but seventeen times. Now whose word could go against that? Tom was dead and the only people who had witnessed the event were criminals (who nobody would believe) and the people shooting Tom (who were probably racist anyway). Maybe Tom didn’t try to escape, maybe they just made up a tale for reasons unknown, but who would ever know? Throughout the trial, I believed Tom fit the mockingbird symbol: he didn’t do anything but sing (meaning, he only tried to help Mayella, but she took things further). This all together, the picture seems fitting because, well, it’s a dead mockingbird (thankfully without seventeen bullet holes, though). A lot is to be questioned now… Is he still a “mockingbird”? The world may never know.
picture credits: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/
I found this quote at the beginning of chapter 21 on page 276. I thought this quote was important because it talked about how the kids had been in the court room watching the Tom Robinson case the entire time. Not only that, they were also sitting in the colored section of the seating. I thought this was important because it showed how bad the children wanted to watch the case, and it also showed that Atticus had a few different personalities. I think this because when he talked to the kids once he found out where they were, he didn’t become extemely mad like I thought he would. All of this surprised me when I started reading, and that why I chose the quote I did.
When reading, the thing that stood out to me greatly was in chapter 21. I thought how Mr. Raymond talked to the kids and told them the truth about himself and what was really in the sack was really cool. I think that he one of the only adults in Maycomb that is willing to talk to the children like they are adults. Not only that, I think that it was a surprise that he not a drunk like everybody thinks he is. Even though I dont understand why he wouldnt tell everybody the truth about himself and what he does, its still really cool that he told the kids. To me, he kind of gave the kids a lecture about life and taught them quite about life and the Tom Robinson case which is really nice coming from an adult. It was just a surprise to learn about Mr. Raymond.
After reading this section it became clear to me that in the end, it was racism that ultimately was the cause of the unfortunate death of Tom Robinson. Any modern sane jury would have declared Tom innocent and Bob Ewell would have been put on trial for child abuse. The fact that the jury was full of racist men who were taught to believe a white man over a colored man no matter what gave Tom a very little chance of surviving. If you go back even further, no one would have made such a big deal about the whole situation if it wasn’t illegal for a white woman to love a colored man. Tom didn’t rape or hurt any of the Ewells, but since he wasn’t white he was easy to be blamed for the beating of Mayella. Tom lost the trial and when he went to jail he decided to run, likely because he realised that the society at the time was just too racist for him to stand a chance, even though he never committed any crimes. He decided to run, seeing that it was the only way he could get out of the jail and be free. The guards would not have shot him so much or at all if he was a white man, further cementing the fact that it wasn’t bullets, but it was racism that killed Tom Robinson (metaphorically speaking. It was actually, in fact, the bullets that killed him but I’m trying to make a point here).
When reading through this part of the trial, I finally was sure that Tom Robinson was one hundred percent innocent and he hadn’t raped Mayella Ewell. Before the trial and the description of the events no one had denied or given any proof that he had actually raped the girl. When the trial came we finally got to hear both sides of the story and come to a conclusion on what likely happened that day. When the Ewells told their part of the story Atticus clearly showed how that story had holes in it and the witnesses were not very credible. When Atticus had Tom tell his side of the story, he left no room for suspicion and clearly explained what really happened. The reader is sure that Mayella tried to get into a relationship with Tom and he was refusing when Bob Ewell spotted them. Tom just ran away, fearing for his life, and Bob then beat Mayella for what he saw her doing. The Ewells then called Heck Tate and claimed Tom raped the girl and beat her, Mayella agreed with this story because if she didn’t her father would hurt her.
