TKAM / Post 7 / Writing Prompt

When the jury chose “guilty” in the Tom Robinson trial, what was the main deciding factor? The main reason was race. Regardless of which side is actually right, the jury chose the white side. Why? Because its Maycomb in the 1900s. Like most of America, Maycomb is a “racist” town, and the “white” people felt superior to the “blacks”. They expressed their ideals with no subtlety. Racism played a big part in life at that time, and was certainly a powerful theme in the book. Although it is an important factor in the book, it may not be what the book is about.

As in class, there were a bunch of assorted “classes” in Maycomb, the Finches (classified as upper class), the Cunninghams, who were basically lower class & the Ewells. The Ewells would be nowadays called “hobos”, or paupers. People treated the Ewells badly, but they especially prejudiced against the colored folks, which was kind of disturbing. So the factor of race was bigger than class, but that's also not what this book is about.

In this book there is a lot of segregation, people have a tendency to disrespect others, whether from gender, class and color of skin. For example when the Ewells pitted against the colored folks, the Ewells won. The jury did not see it as a question of fairness, they saw it as a question of white and black. I believe that this book is not about class, or race, but is about morals & ethics. When Tom Robinson was found guilty, all the jury looked away because they knew they made the wrong decision. They were responsible for his predicament. They would have found him innocent, but since Maycomb is so one-sided, they were worried about getting punished. Essentially, they committed fraud They did not have the courage to save Tom Robinson. I think the message in the book, is that although people may be different, they should be treated with the same respect, and that good or bad decisions can either save, or destroy a community. People's race or class is irrelevant So the main theme in the book is morals, but race and class are affected by it. People should always do the right thing.