How Does Tom Robinson Have A Fair Trial In To Kill A Mockingbird

Imagine that you are a black man that was caught at the scene of a crime that you did not perpetrate, but you are to blame completely based on the color of your skin. Tom Robinson is a black man who is accused of raping a white girl named Mayella Ewell. Since Tom is black and Mayella white, he is automatically convicted of that crime and sentenced to death. The authorities would take the word of Mayella over Tom any day. Scout and Jem are the children of Atticus Finch, the lawyer who is trying to defend Tom Robinson in the court. In the article, “There are more slaves today than were seized from Africa in four centuries of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The modern commerce in humans rivals illegal drug trafficking in its global reach--and
In the article “There are more slaves today than were seized from Africa in four centuries of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The modern commerce in humans rivals illegal drug trafficking in its global reach--and in the destruction of lives.” by Andrew Cockburn, he talks about one girl named Victoria, who was raped and sold as a slave. “They led her on foot into serbia and raped her, telling her that she would be killed if she resisted. Then they sent her under guard to bosnia, the balkan republic being rebuilt under a torrent of international id after its years of genocidal civil war. Victoria was now a piece of property and, as such, was bought and sold by different brothel owners ten times over the next two years for an average price of $1,500”(Cockburn 2). Victoria had been traded between slave owners for two whole years. She most likely lost any hope she had to survive the situation. When she was raped in Serbia, it represents her loss of innocence. When she was led out of Serbia and went even further away from freedom, she lost her innocence even more, knowing that she might never escape this situation. Scout does not have any idea how offensive or awkward her words might be to some people. “Uncle Jack … Ma’am … What's a whore lady?” (Lee 115). She does not realize that calling someone a whore lady is very offensive. As explained with the previous quote, scout does not know that asking these questions
Atticus has influenced his children to speak like him, in a professional and polite manner all the time. “Don’t know, I’ll show it to Atticus (Lee 81). His children call him Atticus instead of dad because they have just gotten used to a formal way of speaking that they are used to calling him Atticus. Since Scout and Jem are always used to hearing people call him Atticus, they just naturally picked up on it. Without Atticus telling them to call him dad, they didn’t think of it. Mob mentality is another example of power of words, but in a different sense. “I sought once more for a familiar face, and at the center of the semicircle I found one … Hey mr. Cunningham” (Lee 204). As soon as scout spoke Mr. Cunningham's name out loud, he lost his mob mentality and his invisibility within his group. Once Scout goes into detail about Mr. Cunningham's entailment, it gets worse, and he decides to leave before matters get worse. This is how powerful words can be against another, Scout single handedly stopped a mob from breaking into Toms Jail cell. Atticus also explains to Jem and Scout that they cannot always win, but that it doesn't mean they should give up. “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win” (Lee 101). Atticus tells them that winning the case is hopeless but that they will try anyway. He knows deep down that they could never in a million years win this