Deprived Blacks Like Tom Robinson example essay topic

To Kill a Mockingbird is set in Maycomb County, an imaginary district in southern Alabama. The time is the years of the Great Depression in the United States. The mood of the novel is mostly light and humorous, especially when talking about the children's antics. However, another mood throughout the novel is somber and calm, because come important issues are being valued and dealt with. Atticus' dealings with the blacks, the negative attitudes of some other members of the community, the trial of Tom Robinson and his gruesome end, depicts a seriousness and a grave reconsideration of accepted beliefs, which is expected of the readers by the author. Atticus Finch, the father of Scout and Jem, is a highly respected and responsible citizen of Maycomb County.

An attorney by profession, he has always tried to instill good values and a sense of moral in his children. Jem is a true brother to Scout, helping her out of scrapes, escorting her to school and back, guiding her at times and comforting her in general. When he is given money to buy something for himself, he buys a gift for Scout too. When he finds out that Scout has eaten the gum found in the knothole of the oak tree, he insists that she gargle her throat. When she muddles up her role in the pageant and is mortified, Jem is the one to console her. He displays much genuine concern and consideration in dealing with his unruly sister.

Scout, because of her age, and being the youngest in the family, is impulsive by nature and extremely emotional too. She unthinkingly rushes into fights and scrapes, cries when her ego is hurt and is generally is rash in her actions. Conflict- The protagonist of the novel is Atticus Finch, who is the prime initiator and coordinator of various events in the novel. In his involvement with the poor whites of the community, like Walter Cunningham, as well as the deprived blacks, like Tom Robinson, he is portrayed as a just, sincere and a greatly considerate human being. He has clear-cut values and beliefs, and it is his sincere wish that his children too grow up with a broad outlook and an unprejudiced way of thinking. He is indifferent to what others have to say or think about his actions, and he is steadfast in his beliefs of equality and liberty.

Bob Ewell serves as the antagonist villain in the novel, with his laid-back way of living and the utter disregard he has for other human beings. In the beginning he comes across only as a slovenly figure, uncaring about his family and brash in his dealings with others. Even after winning the case, on realizing that he has lost his respect in the people (because of Atticus), he even attempts harming Atticus' children, leaving not a bit of sympathy for himself in the reader. The events in To Kill A Mocking Bird build up to the scene of the courtroom, where Atticus tries to defend Tom Robinson from the allegations of Bob and May ella Ewell.

The tension is maintained throughout the trial as to whether Atticus would or would not win the case. Though the audience feels strongly for Tom's plight and it is apparent that he is innocent, the jury delivers the verdict that Tom is guilty. The immediate response to this is extreme disappointment and dejection, but the jury's verdict is final. The most surprising and touching thing is that instead of mocking Atticus for losing the case, the black community rewards him with food, as a gesture of their appreciation for having at least taken up the case and defending Tom. Tom is obviously the most upset, but Atticus is only quiet and exhausted. Ewell, on realizing his lost standing in the community, tries to make life miserable, first for Helen Robinson, Tom's widow, and then even Atticus.

He finally resorts to harming Scout and Jem, but in the process loses his own life. Simultaneously, Scout's long cherished dream of meeting Boo Radley is also fulfilled. The trial reveals a number of accidental as well as expected outcomes. Theme - The theme of innocence and experience in To Kill A Mocking Bird is the novel's suggestion that innocent children can often see large moral issues more clearly than adults. Scout, Jem, and Dill never waver in their horror at the injustice done to Tom Robinson. The adults in the story, however, see all the complexities of the situation to the point of being blinded to the central issue of right and wrong.

However as much as Scout may grow through her exposure to new experiences, one hopes that she will never lose her "childlike" undertaking of justice. To recognize the difference between justice and injustice does not take any special degree of wisdom or sophistication.