To Kill A Mockingbird Similarities In Tom — страница 2

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Children who have only heard shady stories of such an incident, put it on display for the whole neighborhood to watch. They do not ask their father if the story ever happened or ask the sheriff, who was supposedly involved. They simply assume his guilt. The story itself seems ludicrous, but its absurdity does not hamper the children in retelling the story on their porch. Once they hear a story they want to believe, they refuse to examine any evidence proving them wrong. Tom Robinson’s trial is another travesty of justice. For most of Maycomb county, his guilt never comes into question during the trail. Atticus says that the trial had: “An inevitable verdict (pg. 222)” The mob that wanted to lynch Tom also assumed his guilt. They do not wait until he can have his day in

court, they want to execute the punishment they deem acceptable — a lynching. The leader of the mob challenges Atticus: “You know what we want … Now get aside from the door Mr. Finch” (pg. 151). In the 30’s, blacks were assumed to have committed any incidents the white members of society accused them of, without looking at evidence or hearing the blacks’ story. In Tom’s case, the mob believes Bob Ewell’s story of Tom raping Mayella Ewell, without having any hesitation about the truth, and they are unwilling to look for any proof indicating Tom did not commit such a heinous crime. People different from the “normal” citizens in a society often become misunderstood because they do not exhibit the same values and beliefs as the majority of society. Boo happens to

be a recluse whose recent appearances in society can be counted on a single hand. People, such as the children, do not understand why he feels it necessary not to venture out into the world and become a part of Maycomb. They do not understand his logic, so they think he must be a lunatic without human notions. Another poorly developed relationship in the 30’s existed between black and white communities in the South. In Maycomb County, the average white citizens do not trust any black man around an unaccompanied white woman. When Bob Ewell accuses a black man, Tom, of raping his daughter, the town has heard enough to believe Tom becomes dangerous enough to die. No matter the reputation Bob has as a drunkard and burden on society, they will believe him over any black man. In both

of these cases, society presumes the stories about them as the truth, without scrutinizing the evidence. The last parallel concerns the two men’s generosity. Tom makes it clear in his testimony at court that on several occasions he performed certain chores for Mayella free of charge. Atticus asks Tom if he had been inside the Ewell’s fence at anytime, and Tom’s answers: “Seemed like every time I passed by yonder she had something for me to do — choppin’ kindlin’, totin’ water for her (pg. 191)”. By almost any social standard at the time period of the novel, the Ewells remain the higher class when compared to any group of blacks. Tom works hard every day of his life in a physically demanding job, and after all of his efforts he still performs chores for Mayella

without taking any money. He realizes the suffering and burden that Mayella carries, so he helps her when he can, even though he does not always receive any gratitude. Boo Radley’s generosity benefits Jem and Scout. The gifts Jem and Scout receive are never directly attributed to Boo, but every indication points toward him. The gifts include, “a pocket watch that wouldn’t run, on a gold chain with an aluminum knife” (pg. 60). Boo has very little, as his gifts indicate, yet he gives his some of his possessions to the children anyway. More surprisingly, he gives them to children that have harassed and pestered him. Maybe, in a indirect way of trying to get the children to appreciate him, he leaves gifts for them. However, Jem and Scout never formally enact their gratitude

to Boo. In the only way he knows how, Boo tries to brighten the children’s lives through his anonymous presents to them. Society as a whole considers Tom and Boo as outsiders and miscreants, but the two men’s generosity far exceeds most of that of the high class in Maycomb county. Two people who have never met yet seem to share certain aspects of their lives, and do what they can for people that may not always appreciate it. Their actions often go unnoticed and without any direct appreciation, but their generosity continues. These two men are on the outskirts of society, and their lives have certain resemblance’s because of that quality. They are generally not trusted, deemed a threat, and people fail to understand them. Harper Lee created such unique characters with a very