Tom Robinson is found guilty by the all-white jury but is innocent of the charges of raping Mayella Ewell. Atticus proves Tom is not guilty by showing that it was impossible for Tom to hit Mayella and blacken her right eye with his deformed left arm. Mayella was hit by a man who was left-handed, and Atticus' defense of Tom strongly implied that Bob Ewell hit her. Despite Atticus proving Tom Robinson was innocent, the...
Tom Robinson is found guilty by the all-white jury but is innocent of the charges of raping Mayella Ewell. Atticus proves Tom is not guilty by showing that it was impossible for Tom to hit Mayella and blacken her right eye with his deformed left arm. Mayella was hit by a man who was left-handed, and Atticus' defense of Tom strongly implied that Bob Ewell hit her. Despite Atticus proving Tom Robinson was innocent, the jury’s racial and social views caused them to vote guilty. An all-white jury would never take the word of a black man over a white woman and her father’s testimony. The one bright spot in the trial was that the jury was in deliberation for several hours. Miss Maudie commented that having the jury deliberate for so long was a good sign that things could change in Maycomb.
In the end when Tom Robinson tries to escape the injustice of his prison sentence, he is shot 17 times. Atticus’ attempt to prove Tom Robinson’s innocence was doomed from the very beginning because of the deeply embedded social and racial values of Maycomb. At least as readers, we understand the injustices of the trial and can empathize with one of the book’s most important mockingbirds, Tom Robinson.
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