TKAM Post #7

"To Kill a Mockingbird"

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

Choice B: Tell how the following characters respond to the jury's verdict: Jem, Aunt Alexandra, Dill, Miss Maudie, and Bob Ewell.

          The book, "To Kill a Mockingbird", written by Harper Lee takes place when black people were not equal to white people.  A white man's word against a black man's word would always dominate.  In Tom Robinson's court case, Tom Robinson was voted guilty of rape because the jury was biased toward white people.  Although Tom's verdict was guilty, not everyone in Maycomb agreed.  Everyone had their individual thoughts and opinions.

          Jem's opinion about the verdict was the most visibly strong.  Jem knew that Tom was innocent.  He had been truly convinced that the jury would decide ethically and find Tom innocent and Bob Ewell guilty of beating Mayella Ewell.  It was a horrible experience for Jem to witness the injustice opinion's of the jury.  Out of all the characters, Jem was the most disheartened that Tom was found guilty, frustrated at the jury for favoring Bob Ewell just because he was white, and stunned at the results of the trial.  Jem probably had the hardest time accepting the verdict because he was too young to have clearly witnessed society racism, but mature enough to understand.  Younger characters, such as Scout and Dill knew that it was not right for Tom to be found guilty.  However, they were too young to make a big deal about the subject and too young to understand racism.  For example, Dill simply did not want the atmosphere to be dim and solemn, so he told Scout and Jem, "I think I'll be a clown when I grow up."  In a child's view, clowns laugh and have fun without a lot of worries.

          Older characters, like Atticus, Aunt Alexandra, and Miss Maudie knew and accepted (even if they did not necessarily like it) that white people in Maycomb usually favored white men over black.  Aunt Alexandra was sorry that Atticus had lost the trial, but she did not seem to have expected a different outcome.  In Maycomb, it was obvious that a white man would be believed over a black man.  Miss Maudie also appeared to have foreseen Tom's unfortunate outcome.  Although Miss Maudie knew that Tom would never win, she knew that Atticus was assigned as defense lawyer in order to better appeal to the jury.  Judge Taylor appointed Atticus defense because he knew that Atticus (one of the best lawyers) would be more convincing than the other lawyers.  The last character, Bob Ewell, was most likely pleased about the verdict (even though his real thoughts and opinions were never revealed).  Although Bob Ewell won the trial, he was angry that Atticus had exposed the truths about his drinking and beating habits.  When he met Atticus in town, Bob threatened him, cursed at him, and spit in his face.  This just shows how the characters in the book react differently to the verdict, some irrational (like Bob Ewell) or some more calm and sensible (like Atticus).