The Verdict (Chapters 21-25)

This picture is of a gavel pounding, calling a court to order or attention. Although the majority of the court parts happened in the last section, this section revealed the verdict of the jury – that Tom Robinson was guilty of something he did not commit. The whole situation calls on Atticus to explain the happenings of life to his children. He has to explain that not all people have the same beliefs as them, and people are influenced by the others around them and the beliefs they were taught from a young age. Not everyone is all good, and many people make bad decisions that are often fueled by these bad sources. It is a hard lesson for Jem and Scout, especially Jem, because he felt deep down that Tom was innocent and couldn’t imagine an innocent man going to his death while guilty ones walk free.

Advances in Racial Relations (Ch 21-25)

In these chapters, the racism is starting decease. More and more everyday, black people are becoming more accepted. This is something that affects all people, especially today. Racism is something that ruins lives, ruins reputation, yet people still go through with it during their everyday lives. They may not know that they are doing it, but its there. Avoiding black people when you see them, staring at them, using racial remarks, all these are example of racism. Most people imply that they aren’t racist, they just don’t feel comfortable around those type of people. But what type of people are they? We are all the same, all human beings that have emotions and feelings. People need to stop stereotyping other people, and get to know the person. In the book, the racism seems to be less of an influence on the case. First the Judge specifically chooses Atticus to be the defender because he knows that Atticus will give Tom Robinson a fair trial, not because of his skin color but because that was his job. Also the jury is staying out longer than usual, which shows they are treating this case seriously, focusing on the evidence rather than his race.

-RBN

Inherently Good (Chapters 21-25)

Throughout the story, all three of the children try to act older than they are, Jem especially. Yet their age is revealed through their beliefs. For as much as Jem tries to act like a grown man, his naivety about the Tom Robinson case shows he is really just a mature twelve year old who, no matter what, is still a twelve year old. He can see no other outcome in his father’s case besides a win. Sure, the evidence (or lack thereof) and testimony more than proves that Tom Robinson did not do what is claimed, but Jem still inherently thinks that everyone is good and will not let personal opinions sway their decision. He still thinks that no matter what, the good thing will happen over the bad. He can’t see that racism played a part in the decision.

I remember days like that. I remember being so naïve that I couldn’t believe the terrible things that happened actually happened. For example, 9/11 – I can remember the day perfectly from the moment I woke up. I was almost eight and could grasp the gravity of the situation, that all those people had died and those buildings had come down, the tallest ones in the world… yet when I listened to the newspeople say things like terrorism I didn’t understand, even when my mother explained it to me in simple terms. I didn’t get it. Bad things were mistakes. Bad things weren’t done with intent, at least not in my seven-year-old world. But eventually I reached a point where my naivety was wearing off and I was starting to realize that bad things did happen because of people. And just like Jem, it was a terrible experience. Being young and believing everyone is good puts a weight off of your shoulders. This experience for Jem adds onto the evolution his character has gone through during the book and is a very powerful one.

17-20 Group post, Pushing up with one arm

I like picture posts better than quotes and music.
Yes this guy has two arms, one is behind his back.

I believe this picture represents these chapters because it shows how Tom, the man who can barely use one of his arms will hopefully overcome these challenges that have been presented to him, even though thinks look bleek and undoable. He seems like a man who would tell the truth, and hopefully he will and possibly the jury may have a change of heart and realize that Tom is innocent. So far everyone has hated Atticus and Tom, but here is their time to prove everyone wrong that people can change and african americans aren’t just a criminal race and standing up for the right person is always good.

17-20 Mocking Bird – The one arm

These chapters in To Kill a Mockingbird are probably as good as the book will get. Oh well. This is the section in the book where we watch Tom Robinson’s law case, and it does strike me as odd because this has absolutely nothing to do with Boo Radley, I thought he was supposed to be the main focus of this book. Mayella, the supposedly called victim, testifies about what happened to her from her side of the story. Supposedly Tom Robinson attacked her and raped her and bruised up the right side of her body when his right arm is broken. I think people are too stubborn to change their opinions on people. People always think, oh this guy is guilty, he’s black, he looks like a criminal, there’s evidence, its over. They don’t seem to care enough to wonder about certain things, like why would Tom do such a thing in the first place, or why couldn’t a girl stop a man who has one arm with anything around the house such as a knife? Taking total advantage of someone is probably extremely hard, and probably even harder if you have one arm to use. Anyhow, Mayella’s testimony isn’t very convincing what so ever. We all know Tom will win the case because a lot of people wouldn’t like this book if he didn’t, and since it’s like book of the year, obviously it will end happy.

-gietz

Stereotypes (Chapters 17-20)

I’m just on a roll with these quote posts.

“You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to trusted around women – black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men. There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman without desire.” (Page 204)

Atticus, when he sums up his defense in to the jury, says this certain quote. It revolves mostly around racism and stereotypes. It addresses to more than one type, though; even though only black men are referenced, similar racism and stereotypes can still be found today, like how if you’re Muslim, it makes you a terrorist in the jihad. These particular ones are ones that are the most basic – black people lie, are immoral, and lust after women. Of course, these are all untrue. Bad people come from every type of people, not just races other than white. I think this is one of the strongest segments in To Kill a Mockingbird, if only just because of the message.

The Case (Ch 17-20)

This is where the book really heated up. Im really into those law and order type shows, so these chapters really appealed to me. So during the case, the subject that probably was most abundant and the most obvious was stereotype. A lot of people have their stereotypes. Some things are good and some things are bad. It just depends on how we are using it. A lot of teenagers these days like to stereotype with races. People stereotype different names, personal looks, or personal traits. Those sometimes can get out of hand and turn into racism. Which is kind of happening during this case. A lot of people in the town blame Tom Robinson for the rape because he is black. It happens with a lot of cases or conflicts containing different races. They always patronize and accuse people for something just because of their skin color. Thats something that really gets to me. People need to get that out of their heads and not judge because of someones skin color. Be mature people

-RBN

Runaway Love (Ch 13-16)

So these chapters were really interesting to read. One thing that really stood out to me in these chapters was the subject of Dill running away because of his parents. That’s one thing that really makes me angry. Parents don’t really care for their children as much as they used to. They are so irresponsible and just so….ugh. They don’t care what happens to their kids, as long as they aren’t affected by it. So when Dill ran away, it really made sense to me why. I mean running away isn’t something that all kids should do when their parents are like that, but Dill did make the right decision on the place he was going. He went somewhere he felt very welcome and a place that he knew people would care about him. One thing i also liked is that Atticus was really cool about it. He wasn’t going off on Dill for running away and screaming at him, instead he welcomed him. I think that was a good thing because a lot of people would say that what Dill did was wrong. But in reality he made a very good decision.

-RBN

A Courtroom Spectacle (Chapters 17-20)

This section of To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most exciting and interesting sections in the book. This section is the main one with court scenes on the case of Tom Robinson and if he really raped Mayella. There is a lot of testifying and cross-examining done by both parties, and we learn a lot of about a bunch of different characters.

The characters who testified in this section were Mr. Heck Tate, Bob Ewell, Mayella Ewell, and Tom Robinson. Virtually all of them except for Mr. Tate, who had been mentioned before several times, were complete strangers. In the first section, we had learned about the Ewell family and how their lives worked, and now we see it in person. The Ewells are illiterate people who live like animals outside a city dump. Bob Ewell, the patriarch, sits around on his bottom and drinks all day long, while his oldest daughter, the very Mayella, tends for her seven children. Mayella never lived a normal childhood or adolescnece; she went to school maybe two years and the only people she ever talked to were her family and a passing Negro, Tom Robinson.

She was so uneducated and secluded from normal life, when someone called her ‘ma’am’ she thought they were mocking her. Her story is convoluted and twisted, like she didn’t make it up herself. She backtracks, decides aganist parts, magically remembers others, and etc. She claims she asked Tom Robinson in to bust up a dresser for her when she seduced him, and to show her horribly stunted social skills, she tells him ‘I ain’t never kissed a man. What my papa does to me doesn’t count.” Her father is so abusive to the point of being sexually abusive. Apparently, he isn’t the most innocent when it comes to lying a hand on her.

In the end, everyone pities Mayella – white Mayella! – when to comes to her ignorance. Once she stops answering questions, she is not held in contempt, but just allowed to sob on the stand. She comes off as a young girl, abused by her father, who was forced to uphold this story to support any type of ‘honor’ this family might hold.

Mixed Children (Chapters 13-16)

Here I am with my third quote post in a row.

“What’s a mixed child?”

“Half white, half colored. They’re real sad. [...] They don’t belong anywhere. Colored people won’t have ‘em because they’re half white; white folks won’t have ‘em ’cause they’re colored, so they’re just in-betweens, don’t belong anywhere. [...] Around here once you have a drop of Negro blood, that makes you all black.” (Pages 161-162)

I mentioned this quote a bit in my last post, but it was too good not to focus on once again. Living in the twenty-first century in a moderate place, we as teenagers don’t see a lot of racism daily. Sometimes it seems as if there is no racism or sexism at all in our secluded little world, but we have to look beyond our comfort zones to see the truth burning brightly. In places like the south, there’s still a lot of prejudice and racism to be found. Perhaps not as much as in this quote set in the thirties, but it’s still a palpable thing. We don’t think about ‘mixed’ people. At least I don’t. I have half black friends. I don’t think of them like that. They’re like anyone else. But in this quote a half black, half white person is a foreign, alien-like person that Scout, at age eight, doesn’t even know exists. And it’s a really sad story, too. In that world, they were not accepted by any culture, unlike today. I can’t imagine that. The segregation and the racism is bad enough, but to be abandoned by everything you can relate too would be something mind-boggling.