To Kill a Mockingbird has an important theme that was examplified through the mistreatments of the citizens and also the misjudgements of our protagonists. The theme I found in this novel is that simple phrase "don't judge a book by it's cover." To be exact, don't judge a person through the rumors or gossips and the looks of the character. But, instead judge by the content of their character. The citizens of Maycomb judged generally African Americans. They degraded and mistreated Tom Robinson and also Boo Radley was misjudged by Scout and Jem.
Tom Robinson, in chapter 21, lost the trial because the jury would believe Tom raped the lady. The Jury took sides against Tom just because of the color of his skin. The jury was racist against Tom, so they assume he would rape the lady by the color of his skin. The jury simply judges Tom instantly when they see him. Another example is Boo Radley. Scout and Jem hear the rumors around town. How horrible and terrible Boo Radley is. But, Scout and Jem never knew Boo. They quickly judged Boo through his scary appearance and through the rumors. Both of these examples show that whatever you see goes beyond your expectation.
I totally agree with you on your view of the mistreatment of African Americans. Its very degrading how people refer to African Americans as Negroes. Also, I was shocked to find out that Tom Robinson lost the case after the great speech/cross-examination by Atticus. Even Jem was positive that Atticus was going to win the case but he didn't. But, it seemed that everyone else knew that Atticus was going to lose even Atticus himself. However, everyone on Tom Robinsons' side did not see the case as a loss, but a baby step towards more equality in the town of Maycomb(216). After reading Miss Maudie's reasoning, I finally understood why the case was important. The important evidence that was missing from the Ewells did not have and also Tom's story gave a lot of information for the jury to ponder on. Usually the jury would take a few minutes but in this case, the jury took a couple of hours. From duration of the deliberation of the jury, I could infer that although they considered Tom guilty, they still thought that Tom was innocent. Therefore creating a step towards people being more rationale thinkers rather than racist thinkers.
ReplyDeleteI was also shocked that Tom Robinson lost the case. I was anxious to see how the judge and jury would react to the brilliant speech Atticus had made. I had the highest hopes that they would see past the color of his skin and acnowledge his innocense. After thinking about the book, I realized that Tom Robinson really had no chance. As an African American in Alabama during the 1930's, you really had little respect given to you. I find it inspiring that Atticus stayed by Tom's side even though Atticus knew he had slim to no chance of being proved innocent in court. Atticus was a great man for going against the grain and doing what he thought was best instead of being ignorant like the majority of Maycomb.
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