Sophia Elias

Mr. McConnell
English
January 27, 2017
The hatred of blacks by the whites was so prevalent during the Great Depression of the
1930s that it was common to see blacks being lynched by mobs even into the 20th century. This
prejudice is the storyline in the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, by author Harper Lee. In the book,
prominent white lawyer, Atticus Finch, defends an innocent black man. Tom Robinson is
unjustly accused and convicted of raping a young white girl named Mayella Ewell. The sleepy
little town of Maycomb, Alabama is very slow moving and filled with racism. Scout refers to
Maycomb as having, nowhere to do, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with (Lee 6).
Times were hard and blacks were still treated unequally and were powerless amongst the white
people. When Tom Robinson is accused of raping a white girl, it is a hopeless case against a
prejudiced white jury. The trial is a big deal in Maycomb and symbolizes the division amongst
black and white. Even though Atticus provides a cut and dry case of Toms innocence and he
provides the judge and jury with substantial evidence, Maycomb is detached from their
Universe of Obligation which affects the outcome of this case.
Unfortunately, Tom Robinson does not stand a chance of having a fair trial in Maycomb,
the town full of hatred and discrimination against blacks. Considering that the judge and jury are
both white and Tom is a black man, he is destined to be found guilty. The racism and prejudice
between African Americans was so immense in the 1930s, that even when it came to life or
death, the whites would always prevail. All of the townspeople were gathered and ready for the
trial and were anxiously awaiting the guilty verdict. If not given a guilty verdict the judge knew

he would have a riot on his hands even though he and the town knew the horrible reputation that
the Ewell family had. Bob Ewell was a drunk who was known to beat Mayella and even
possibly molest her. Mayella had no friends and an awful family life (Lee 245). When Tom
Robinson testifies that he actually felt sorry for her, it angered the courtroom even more because
blacks were never supposed to feel sorrow for the whites. Despite the overwhelming evidence
against the Ewells and Mayellas fabricated story, the judge still finds Tom guilty.
Atticus Finch, a well-known lawyer in Maycomb, presents a cut and dry case to the jury
of black man Tom Robinsons innocence. Atticus is able to provide the court with evidence that
accusers, Bob and Mayella Ewell, are lying about the accusations of Tom Robinson raping
Mayella. In reality, Mayella came onto Tom and her father saw this through the window and he
looked at her as a whore and beat her for it. Atticus provides clear evidence that the marks on
Mayellas face are from her father, not Tom, due to the fact that Mr. Ewell is left handed which
would coincide with the bruises being on her right side of the face. Tom is disabled on his left
arm which proves it could not be him who gave Mayella the bruises to her right side. His left
arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side (Lee 248). Atticus
even brings up that fact that a doctor was never called to examine Mayella after the so called
rape. Tom Robinson has the reputation of being a hard working honest black man and in fact his
white employer, Link Deas stands up for him in court saying that in the 8 years of his
employment he has never had any trouble from him. The townspeople know that the Ewells
have a poor reputation, they are dishonest, low class people and despite their reputation versus
Toms good reputation, good does not prevail over evil. Atticuss evidence is meaningless in the
courts prejudice eyes.

Maycomb is clearly detached from its Universe of Obligation since there is little
excitement in the sleepy, slow moving town, having a black man stand on trial is quite an event.
People from all over the county journey to the old town for the big trial. Even wealthy Dolphus
Raymond who is involved with a black woman and has an inter racial child attends. They to are
anxiously awaiting the outcome of the poor black man, Tom Robinson. Maycomb was a very
poor, old town battling the effects of the Great Depression. The racial segregation between the
blacks and whites was still very strong. The blacks have little rights or privileges and it was
exactly these people that the whites should have been standing up for because they were being
taken advantage of. The Maycomb Universe of Obligation shows that even though some of
the towns people are softer than others towards the blacks, those people were not enough to
make a difference or to sway the jury. Atticus was brilliant, and white and was defending a black
man. His kids attended church with his black maid Calpurnia and they have black friends, yet
the community calls them nigger lovers. They are unable to see the blacks as equals, as human
beings such as themselves. The outcome of the trial leaves Jem and Scout very upset about the
injustices in the world, mostly the injustices in their own backyard of Maycomb.
Due to the fact that the story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place during the
Great Depression when segregation between blacks and whites was in its prime, Lee uses a
hardworking, honest black man, Tom Robinson to represent the injustices shown towards blacks.
He was accused of raping a white girl in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama and despite
having the representation of the best white lawyer in town, the jury found him guilty. Atticus
Finch provides a clear cut case of Toms innocence. He provides facts and witnesses that prove
that Tom could not have done what he was accused of. When Maycomb should have stood up
for the poor black man being falsely accused when all evidence showed clearly to be a lie, they

instead turned their back on him and detached themselves from any Universal Obligation that
they had to defend what was good and just.