Issues Surrounding the Trial Scene Within to Kill a Mockingbird Essay

This essay testament identify issues push throughside of the primordial theme of race that make it to light during the court case in which gobbler Robinson, a b deficiency cosmos, is outpouringled and convicted for raping Mayella Ewell. Throughout the trial, significant satisfy occurs two inside and outside the court room that draws attention to side-lined topics including the definition of endurance, the loss of innocence, class relations, and expectation indoors caller. To Kill A scoffer was regulate in the 1930s, a turbulent decade recordised by struggles between humans powers, racial impairment and economic depression.The af bournath of the Wall Street hit in 1929 affected America particularly badly, and by the winter of 1932 they were in the depths of the greatest economic depression in their history. These historical events argon reflected in the novel by the division within Maycombs society accord to wealth and class, with families such as the Ewells epitomi sing the term white methamphetamine and positioning at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Furthermore, despite the American judicatures abolition of slavery in 1848, racism was as inviolable as ever in the Southern States.The black people were labored into racial segregation in schools, public transport and churches. Stemming from this racial prejudice comes a level of expectation that different people in society believe they must adhere too as a pass of the segregation and racial prejudice engrained into society. This is shadowed in the book by the minor character of Dolphus Raymond, a drunken white man deemed an outlander by societies norms. All of the action that takes place within To Kill A flouter is concentrated in the fictional county of Maycomb, which can be seen as a microcosm dissecting important issues present in the wider Southern America.The trial in many commissions is the most important and dramatic sequence in the novel, as although the trial targets turkey cock Robinson, in a metaphoric brain it is in fact the entire county of Maycomb that are on trial. Despite gobblers conviction, the trial does show a small progression within Maycomb, with the jury taking such a long time to work their decision constituting a sign of positive advancement in racial relations, with Miss Maudie stating its except a baby-step, just now its a step. This step is achieved through the books definition of courage, embodied through the character of Mrs Dubose, a ying old woman who embarks on the brave task of facing her colony to morphine before reaching her end. According to Atticus, Mrs Duboses decision shows the ownership of real courage when you know youre licked before you experience but you begin anyway and you see it through no be what. It is this attitude that foreshadows and fittingly describes Atticuss own approach to the Tom Robinson case. It is clear in the novel that even before taking on Tom Robinsons case, the lawyer knew that he woul d fail to acquit the charge of his charges because of the rigid prejudicial outlook innate within Maycombs inhabitants.doubting Thomas Shaffer, argues that Atticus shows us precisely that what matters in professional ethics is character rather than moral principle which is highlighted by Atticuss fights to manifest Toms innocence to the community, even though he knows it will not be acted upon. While Atticus eventually loses the court case, it his courage and steely determination to see it through until the end that successfully reveals the sleaziness of a stratified society that confines the blacks to a coloured balcony. Furthermore, the affaire of the Ewell family in the trial too highlights issues of class relations within Maycomb County.The term white trash is a pejorative term particularly employ in rural Southern America, to describe a collection of light class people who live by degraded standards. The term suggests outcasts from a presentable society living on the fr inges of the social order who are seen as dangerous because they may be of a criminal record without respect for authority whether it be political, legal, or moral. The audience are apprised from the beginning of the novel that the Ewell family epitomise white trash from Burrell Ewells refusal to go to school, and his ability to escape the legal system.Moreover, their home behind the town slobber dump in a tin-roofed cabin adheres to the characteristic of living on the outside of town and highlights their social and physical segregation from the more respectable members of the community. Their position at the bottom of the social hierarchy is substantiated by Mayella Ewells section of the trial the young girl believes that Atticus is trying to install a fool of her by labelling her as Miss conveying her lack of social skills as a result of her familys failure to compound into society.Moreover, the implication that Bob Ewell abuses his daughter creates a perception of him as b e violent and criminal, two characteristics that are of course brought to light in the latter(prenominal) parts of the novel. Overall, this highlights that Maycomb County (and the wider South) are not just segregated by race, but also by class. The sad reality however, is that in the racist worldly concern of Maycomb, even the Ewells have the power to destroy an innocent man. This leads onto a further issue that is at stake throughout the trial the curse posed to innocence by offense. This theme is revealed primarily through the characters of Tom Robinson and Jem Finch.The audience are made aware that Tom is an innocent man who has been wrongfully accused of a crime he did not commit. This depicts the repulsiveness attack of social prejudice on an unoffending man, guilty simply of the colour of his skin. Tom Robinson is not prepared for the evil that he encounters, and this whence leads to his downfall. This concept links to the title of the book To Kill a Mockingbird, which h ighlights that to destroy someone innocent purely for existing, is a sin. Furthermore, the trial also focuses around the loss of innocence of Jem and his movement into adulthood, linking to the Bildungsroman theme within the novel.The Bildungsroman musical style is an example of the coming of age novel, and is evident in the novel from the childrens journey from ignorance to enlightenment. Hereby, Jem witnessing the harsh reality of life revealed by the trial is seen as a necessary growth point that his character must go through in order to reach maturity, summarising the transition from a spot of childhood innocence, to a more adult perspective in which Jem has confronted evil and must incorporate it into his understanding of the world.This shift is apparent in the trial scene after Atticus reveals to the jury that Bob Ewell is a handless man, and that a left-handed man would be more likely to set forth bruises on the right side of a girls face. Jem, still clinging to his youth ful illusions most life working according to concepts of fairness, doesnt understand that his fathers efforts will be in vain, commenting Weve got him. After Tom is found to be guilty, Jems hopes are shattered as he cries over the prejudice of the verdict. His emergence into a more adulthood perspective is highlighted by his colloquy with Miss Maudie, where he reveals that he sed to speculate that the people of Maycomb were the best in the world, but having witnessed the trial, he doesnt think so anymore.Ultimately, a last issue brought to light amidst the action of the trial, is the levels of expectation that people are pressured by as a result of the class and racial issues present in Maycomb. Dolphus Raymonds attendance at the trial is accompanied by Jems description of his background that he is a drunk who had several children by a black woman even though he was from a rich and respectable family.As the prosecution begins to question Tom Robinson, the action is diverted f rom the courtroom as Dill begins to cry resulting in scout leading him outside where they encounter the mysterious character of Mr Raymond. It is revealed that he is in actual fact pretending to drink alcohol from the paper clench to provide the white people with an explanation for his lifestyle When I come to town if I weave a little and drink out of this sack, folks can say Dolphus Raymonds in the clutches of whiskeythats why he wont change his ways. He cant help himself, thats why he lives the way he does.This highlights that Dolphus Raymond does care very much about what people think of him, and believes that by stereotyping himself as a drunk, the other members of Maycomb county will find his behaviour excusable. The significance of his character is to forefront the pressures that societys norms exhume on those who wish to be different Dolphus Raymond simply prefers black people to whites, just as the white community simply dislike blacks with no effectual explanation. In conclusion, it is clear that many other relevant issues to the time effect occupy the trial at the heart of To Kill A Mockingbird as well as simply racial prejudice.