In truth, Tom embarrasses Mayella by refusing her advances and Mayella embarrasses her father by making advances toward a black man.
Bob Ewell's pride can't afford for a black man to go back to his community talking about a white woman making a pass at him. Worse yet, Tom is now aware of incest in the Ewell household, something that is taboo in every class. Tom was unlikely to tell anyone of what had happened with Mayella, recognizing that his safety was at stake. Bob Ewell could've let the whole thing drop, but he'd rather be responsible for an innocent man's death than risk having his family further diminished in the town's eyes.
Truthfully, Tom's testimony actually embarrasses the Ewells more. Tom tells the court that Mayella asked him to kiss her saying, "'what her papa do to her don't count,'" which informs the whole town that Bob Ewell sexually abuses his daughter.
He further tells the court that Bob called his own child a "goddamn whore. Tom is a compassionate man, and ironically, his acts of kindness are responsible, at least indirectly, for his current situation. In Maycomb society and, truthfully, the Southern United States at this time , basic human kindness from a black person to a white person is impermissible. The consequences are deadly when the "lesser" show their compassion — and then have the audacity to admit it — for the "greater.
The all-white jury is in an awkward position. If they acquit a black man who admittedly pities a white person, then they're voting to lessen their own power over the black community. However, if they convict Tom, they do so knowing that they're sentencing an innocent man to death.
Mayella makes their choice very easy when she looks at the jury and says, "'That nigger yonder took advantage of me an' if you fine fancy gentlemen don't wanta do nothin' about it then you're all yellow stinkin' cowards.
The remaining question about Tom's innocence is why did he run from the Ewell property if he did nothing wrong? Atticus explains that Tom was truly between a rock and a hard place: "he would not have dared strike a white woman under any circumstances and expect to live long, so he took the first opportunity to run — a sure sign of guilt.
Dill, a child who has not yet reached Scout's level of acceptance about societal prejudices, reacts strongly to the lack of respect African Americans are shown. As Dill and Scout leave the courtroom for a few minutes, Dolphus Raymond explains his own disdain for "'the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they're people, too.
The white community excuses his behavior because they believe he is an alcoholic who "can't help himself. With that conversation, Scout is further educated about prejudice and the negative consequences that result from it.
When Bob Ewell takes the witness stand, Scout notes that the only thing "that made him better than his nearest neighbors was, that if scrubbed with lye soap in very hot water, his skin was white. Ewell testifies with the confidence of someone who knows he's already won. Then, Mayella shut the door behind him and said she had sent the children to town to get ice cream, having saved for a very long time to be able to give each child a nickel. Tom starts to leave, but she asks him to take a box down from on top of another chiffarobe.
As Tom reached for the box, Mayella grabbed him around his legs. He was so startled that he overturned a chair. Next, she hugged him round the waist and kissed his cheek, and as Tom explains, said that, "she never kissed a grown man before an' she might as well kiss a nigger.
She says what her pap do to her don't count. However, her back is to the door, and he doesn't want to force her to move. He knows that as a black man, if he lays a hand on her he could later be killed. Then Mr. Ewell arrives, happens upon the scene, calls his daughter a "goddamn whore," and tells her he will kill Tom. Tom runs away in fear. Gilmer questions Tom next, and he does so fairly aggressively, addressing him only as "boy". As the novel progresses, Scout and Jem struggle to maintain faith in the human capacity for good in light of these recurring instances of human evil.
Rising Action Scout, Jem, and Dill become fascinated with their mysterious neighbor Boo Radley and have an escalating series of encounters with him. Meanwhile, Atticus is assigned to defend a black man, Tom Robinson against the spurious rape charges Bob Ewell has brought against him. The verdict forces Scout and Jem to confront the fact that the morals Atticus has taught them cannot always be reconciled with the reality of the world and the evils of human nature. After making a variety of threats against Atticus and others connected with the trial, Bob Ewell assaults Scout and Jem as they walk home one night, but Boo Radley saves the children and fatally stabs Ewell.
The sheriff, knowing that Boo, like Tom Robinson, would be misunderstood and likely convicted in a trial, protects Boo by saying that Ewell tripped and fell on his own knife.
After sitting and talking with Scout briefly, Boo retreats into his house, and Scout never sees him again. Another claim in the book constantly is that black people are judged and criticized just because they were black. Coates reacts like any parent would, but he is threaten with the police just because he is black. He is tired to experience and see these injustices. He is trapped on his own black body as well as his son. Throughout the entire letter, I feel Coates' disappointment; anger; and sadness.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place in the small quiet southern town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 's where the only excitement that happened was kids messing with the legend of Boo Radley.
That was until a young African-American man, Tom Robinson, was accused of raping a white girl, but not just any white girl, but a Ewell. The oldest daughter from the poorest family in Maycomb county. Because of the place and time period, there was a lot of inequality between people, especially if your black. She was known for being part of one of the most disgusting families in town and accusing Mr.
Robinson of raping her after she asked him inside the house to help her with a chore. Since she was white and Mr. Robinson was black, no matter what was said, the jury would take the white persons side of it due to the discrimination of blacks during that time. With Lee being the daughter of a well-known lawyer in the county it is evident that she was aware of the happenings of the Scottsboro Case enough to have been the influence of the Robinson Case in To Kill a Mockingbird.
During this time period blacks had no authority and often looked over no matter the circumstances. Then some people thought that Tom was innocent but the judge decided to make Tom go to prison. In the book it said that Mayella hugged and kissed Tom on the cheek. From this I can infer that Mayella is desperate and can get away with this because Tom Robinson is a black person.
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