Blog entry #4

The trial

     The Robinson trial was personally a very intense and emotional part of the book. From the way it was written, you could almost see yourself in the balcony with Scout, intently listening in on the action below. 

     The scene takes place in a dusty courtyard in front of the Maycomb courthouse, crowded with people waiting to enter. Long story short, the trial was completely unfair. The entire jury deciding on Tom's innocence or guilt (spoiler alert, he was "guilty") was made up of old white guys with nothing better to to than oppress people different than them. Except for Atticus, he actually defended Tom. Bob Ewell, the man trying to have Tom arrested/proven guilty, was acting suspicious throughout the trial. Also, poor Bob's story didn't quite cover everything, because while Mayella claimed to have been beaten on the right side of her face, Tom was badly injured, leaving him left handed this would have made it very difficult for him to injure Mayella. Her father on the other hand IS in fact left handed, making it feasible that he could have beaten his daughter himself.
 
I mean, come on, shouldn't it have been obvious to the rest of the jury? But noo, since Bob is white and clearly the one who's correct in this situation, they'll let that slide.
     This is kind of similar to the Scottsboro Trials in 1931, in which nine black youths are now thought to be falsely accused of raping two white women. Although there is NO evidence connecting the youth to the two women, they were charged with sexual assault and killed. This is quite relevant to the trial in TKAM because of the similarities in the time it took place.
     Overall, courthouses are not as much as a "safe or fair place" as we make them out to be, which can and probably will continue to be true far into our loves and future.