Questions and Answers
Part 1
1a. Why did Harper Lee select certain parts of each case to create the Tom Robinson case?
By selecting certain parts from the Emmett Till and Scottsboro Boys case, she reveals the truth of the real life tragedies that went on during the Civil Rights Movement. Lee uses similar situations such as disabilities, sexual assault, and the excess torture the defendants endured. The disabilities that Tom Robinson and a few of the Scottsboro boys possessed were overlooked due to the men not being white. Extreme racism and injustice are presented because the jury did not care to look at the facts or evidence. The jury were prejudice due to the race of the defendants despite their vital disabilities. The Tom Robinson, Emmett Till, and Scottsboro Boys case all involved African American men sexually assaulting white women. The mentality of the South was that every African American man had an unhealthy attraction to white women. These type of false assumptions are what created so many of the cases where black men were wrongly accused by white women. Lastly, there were many cases of lynching, however, the amount of unfair treatment that these specific defendants received became unnecessary. In the Emmett Till case, the injuries were so severe that his own family could not recognize him at first sight. On closer inspection, they could only identify him by the ring with his initials engraved on it. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Tom Robinson is shot 17 times as he is escaping prison. Normally, one to three bullets would be enough to kill a human. Instead, seventeen bullets are found in the victim’s body - more than eight times the norm. While in prison, the nine Scottsboro boys were brutally tortured, both physically and mentally. Starting out as young boys when the case began, they left the case as grown men, weary of injustice. The young, innocent boys, were forever scarred by the niniety of abuse while in prison. In conclusion, Harper Lee utilized segments of the Emmett Till and Scottsboro case to unveil the lies surrounding segregation.
1b. To what degree are Lee's arguments applicable to similar social injustices of today? To what degree do you agree or disagree with her arguments?
Lee’s arguments are applicable to the racism shown in today’s society by the injustices still found presently. For example, current news displays social injustices such as the many young black men dying from the gunshots of police officers. Lee is fighting to stop the ongoing racial prejudice between the different ethnic groups.She does not expect an immediate shift in society, but hopes that her efforts will be a start for an improved, interracial society.When compared, the degree of racism in To Kill A Mockingbird exceeds the intensity that is found today. For example, during the Civil Rights Movement, there were many lynching cases in which African American victims were murdered by caucasians. Today, there are less murder cases that consist of white killing blacks due to the decrease of racism. Racism has not completely vanished, but is slowly fading.
2a. Make an argument as to why you believe that Lee elected certain parts of each case to create the Tom Robinson Story.
By selecting certain parts from the Emmett Till and Scottsboro Boys case, she reveals the truth of the real life tragedies that went on during the Civil Rights Movement. Lee uses similar situations such as disabilities, sexual assault, and the excess torture the defendants endured. The disabilities that Tom Robinson and a few of the Scottsboro boys possessed were overlooked due to the men not being white. Extreme racism and injustice are presented because the jury did not care to look at the facts or evidence. The jury were prejudice due to the race of the defendants despite their vital disabilities. The Tom Robinson, Emmett Till, and Scottsboro Boys case all involved African American men sexually assaulting white women. The mentality of the South was that every African American man had an unhealthy attraction to white women. These type of false assumptions are what created so many of the cases where black men were wrongly accused by white women. Lastly, there were many cases of lynching, however, the amount of unfair treatment that these specific defendants received became unnecessary. In the Emmett Till case, the injuries were so severe that his own family could not recognize him at first sight. On closer inspection, they could only identify him by the ring with his initials engraved on it. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Tom Robinson is shot 17 times as he is escaping prison. Normally, one to three bullets would be enough to kill a human. Instead, seventeen bullets are found in the victim’s body - more than eight times the norm. While in prison, the nine Scottsboro boys were brutally tortured, both physically and mentally. Starting out as young boys when the case began, they left the case as grown men, weary of injustice. The young, innocent boys, were forever scarred by the niniety of abuse while in prison. In conclusion, Harper Lee utilized segments of the Emmett Till and Scottsboro case to unveil the lies surrounding segregation.
3. Keeping in mind that she wrote the book in the 1950’s and the historical upheaval that was present in the southern United States, what did she hope to accomplish when creating the Tom Robinson case?
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee created Tom Robinson’s court case for one reason. That reason is to bring out the true racism in people of the 1930s. During the court case Tom had all the evidence on his side. The jury went to come up with the verdict, and came back hours later. The verdict for Tom was guilty. The jury took so long trying to decide whether Tom Robinson was guilty of not because they were debating on whether they should convict Tom because of the evidence or their beliefs. In the end they decided to go with their beliefs and convicted him as guilty. The only reason the jury said he was guilty was because if a white girl claims they have been raped by a black man, that black man is automatically going to be guilty, no matter what evidence supported him.
4. What feelings or messages was she trying to convey to the southern society and society as a whole by using specific moments to use in her book?
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses events to reflect the injustices of society’s. For example, although Atticus had helped the Cunninghams previously, he was still part of the mob against Tom Robinson. This is an example of how good people become inhumane by losing sight of their values when lost in a crowd. Because he was part of the mob, he forgot about what mattered to him like his son. Also, when Calpurnia brought Jem and Scout to her African American church, Lula spoke out wanting them to go to their own church. As it was wrong for Black people use “white only” areas, when the same exclusion happens to white people, it reveals the unfairness that was common at the time. Lula is the example of southern attitudes, while Calpurnia is the voice saying that all people are equal and should be treated equally. Lee uses these examples to represent the unfairness of society.
5. Why did she not use other moments from the real life cases?
Lee ties the scottsboro boys and the emmett till case because she believes these stories of how they were treated would influence the reader to produce sympathy. When Lee adds the Scottsboro case and the Emmett Till case to her book, she puts in a fantasy person who you as the reader should have sympathy for. She does not put any other stories into the book because Emmett Till and the Scottsboro Boys were teenagers when accused. For example, in To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson became crippled and was unable to walk. If Tom Robinson did not have himself crippled, he would not display much sympathetical usage to the reader.
6. To what degree are her arguments applicable to similar social injustices of today? To what degree do you agree or disagree with her arguments?
Lee’s arguments are applicable to the racism shown in today’s society by the injustices still found presently. For example, current news displays social injustices such as the many young black men dying from the gunshots of police officers. Lee is fighting to stop the ongoing racial prejudice between the different ethnic groups. She does not expect an immediate shift in society, but hopes that her efforts will be a start for an improved, interracial society.
When compared, the degree of racism in To Kill A Mockingbird exceeds the intensity that is found today. For example, during the Civil Rights Movement, there were many lynching cases in which African American victims were murdered by caucasians. Today, there are less murder cases that consist of white killing blacks due to the decrease of racism. Racism has not completely vanished, but is slowly fading.
7. According to the evidence you find in To Kill a Mockingbird, for what principles does she believe are worth fighting?
In the story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, she conveys to her audience what beliefs she thinks are worth fighting for. First, she believes that the type of parenting a kid has affects the way the kid acts. She does this through Atticus’s and Alexandra’s parenting styles. Scout and Jem are well behaved and good mannered always. On the other hand, Francis is always sneaking behind his parents backs, and when he gets in trouble he blames it on somebody else. Another thing that she believes is the fight against racism. She shows in her book how racism does nobody any good. All it does is cause trouble. Like during the Tom Robinson case, all of the hate and racism in peoples hearts caused Tom Robinson to be killed in the end, and a widowed mother of 4. Through this book, Harper Lee conveys many principles that she believes in.
8. What is Lee’s overall goal in answering the central questions?
Lee answers the questions given by implanting it in her writing. For example, the people may ask what happened to Tom Robinson after the court case and after a few more chapters, the book explains what happened to him. Another example is, what will happen to Atticus when he is being hunted down by the Cunningham and the rest and Lee uses Scout to talk to Mr. Cunningham. Lee displays a lot of central questions throughout the book, but her goal is to answer every single one of them except the last one in the paragraph. People have to draw conclusions for that one.
9. According to the evidence you find in To Kill a Mockingbird, what does she believe are the individual’s responsibilities in regard to issues of social justice?
Harper Lee believes that an individual is responsible for defending against social injustices. For example, Atticus defends Tom Robinson knowing he will lose. He does this because he feels as a member of society, he must protect against corruption and unfair treatment. Because Robinson is innocent, Atticus defends him from wrongful conviction. Harper Lee expresses responsibility of an individual by, as best they can, protecting from social injustices.
1a. Why did Harper Lee select certain parts of each case to create the Tom Robinson case?
By selecting certain parts from the Emmett Till and Scottsboro Boys case, she reveals the truth of the real life tragedies that went on during the Civil Rights Movement. Lee uses similar situations such as disabilities, sexual assault, and the excess torture the defendants endured. The disabilities that Tom Robinson and a few of the Scottsboro boys possessed were overlooked due to the men not being white. Extreme racism and injustice are presented because the jury did not care to look at the facts or evidence. The jury were prejudice due to the race of the defendants despite their vital disabilities. The Tom Robinson, Emmett Till, and Scottsboro Boys case all involved African American men sexually assaulting white women. The mentality of the South was that every African American man had an unhealthy attraction to white women. These type of false assumptions are what created so many of the cases where black men were wrongly accused by white women. Lastly, there were many cases of lynching, however, the amount of unfair treatment that these specific defendants received became unnecessary. In the Emmett Till case, the injuries were so severe that his own family could not recognize him at first sight. On closer inspection, they could only identify him by the ring with his initials engraved on it. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Tom Robinson is shot 17 times as he is escaping prison. Normally, one to three bullets would be enough to kill a human. Instead, seventeen bullets are found in the victim’s body - more than eight times the norm. While in prison, the nine Scottsboro boys were brutally tortured, both physically and mentally. Starting out as young boys when the case began, they left the case as grown men, weary of injustice. The young, innocent boys, were forever scarred by the niniety of abuse while in prison. In conclusion, Harper Lee utilized segments of the Emmett Till and Scottsboro case to unveil the lies surrounding segregation.
1b. To what degree are Lee's arguments applicable to similar social injustices of today? To what degree do you agree or disagree with her arguments?
Lee’s arguments are applicable to the racism shown in today’s society by the injustices still found presently. For example, current news displays social injustices such as the many young black men dying from the gunshots of police officers. Lee is fighting to stop the ongoing racial prejudice between the different ethnic groups.She does not expect an immediate shift in society, but hopes that her efforts will be a start for an improved, interracial society.When compared, the degree of racism in To Kill A Mockingbird exceeds the intensity that is found today. For example, during the Civil Rights Movement, there were many lynching cases in which African American victims were murdered by caucasians. Today, there are less murder cases that consist of white killing blacks due to the decrease of racism. Racism has not completely vanished, but is slowly fading.
2a. Make an argument as to why you believe that Lee elected certain parts of each case to create the Tom Robinson Story.
By selecting certain parts from the Emmett Till and Scottsboro Boys case, she reveals the truth of the real life tragedies that went on during the Civil Rights Movement. Lee uses similar situations such as disabilities, sexual assault, and the excess torture the defendants endured. The disabilities that Tom Robinson and a few of the Scottsboro boys possessed were overlooked due to the men not being white. Extreme racism and injustice are presented because the jury did not care to look at the facts or evidence. The jury were prejudice due to the race of the defendants despite their vital disabilities. The Tom Robinson, Emmett Till, and Scottsboro Boys case all involved African American men sexually assaulting white women. The mentality of the South was that every African American man had an unhealthy attraction to white women. These type of false assumptions are what created so many of the cases where black men were wrongly accused by white women. Lastly, there were many cases of lynching, however, the amount of unfair treatment that these specific defendants received became unnecessary. In the Emmett Till case, the injuries were so severe that his own family could not recognize him at first sight. On closer inspection, they could only identify him by the ring with his initials engraved on it. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Tom Robinson is shot 17 times as he is escaping prison. Normally, one to three bullets would be enough to kill a human. Instead, seventeen bullets are found in the victim’s body - more than eight times the norm. While in prison, the nine Scottsboro boys were brutally tortured, both physically and mentally. Starting out as young boys when the case began, they left the case as grown men, weary of injustice. The young, innocent boys, were forever scarred by the niniety of abuse while in prison. In conclusion, Harper Lee utilized segments of the Emmett Till and Scottsboro case to unveil the lies surrounding segregation.
3. Keeping in mind that she wrote the book in the 1950’s and the historical upheaval that was present in the southern United States, what did she hope to accomplish when creating the Tom Robinson case?
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee created Tom Robinson’s court case for one reason. That reason is to bring out the true racism in people of the 1930s. During the court case Tom had all the evidence on his side. The jury went to come up with the verdict, and came back hours later. The verdict for Tom was guilty. The jury took so long trying to decide whether Tom Robinson was guilty of not because they were debating on whether they should convict Tom because of the evidence or their beliefs. In the end they decided to go with their beliefs and convicted him as guilty. The only reason the jury said he was guilty was because if a white girl claims they have been raped by a black man, that black man is automatically going to be guilty, no matter what evidence supported him.
4. What feelings or messages was she trying to convey to the southern society and society as a whole by using specific moments to use in her book?
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses events to reflect the injustices of society’s. For example, although Atticus had helped the Cunninghams previously, he was still part of the mob against Tom Robinson. This is an example of how good people become inhumane by losing sight of their values when lost in a crowd. Because he was part of the mob, he forgot about what mattered to him like his son. Also, when Calpurnia brought Jem and Scout to her African American church, Lula spoke out wanting them to go to their own church. As it was wrong for Black people use “white only” areas, when the same exclusion happens to white people, it reveals the unfairness that was common at the time. Lula is the example of southern attitudes, while Calpurnia is the voice saying that all people are equal and should be treated equally. Lee uses these examples to represent the unfairness of society.
5. Why did she not use other moments from the real life cases?
Lee ties the scottsboro boys and the emmett till case because she believes these stories of how they were treated would influence the reader to produce sympathy. When Lee adds the Scottsboro case and the Emmett Till case to her book, she puts in a fantasy person who you as the reader should have sympathy for. She does not put any other stories into the book because Emmett Till and the Scottsboro Boys were teenagers when accused. For example, in To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson became crippled and was unable to walk. If Tom Robinson did not have himself crippled, he would not display much sympathetical usage to the reader.
6. To what degree are her arguments applicable to similar social injustices of today? To what degree do you agree or disagree with her arguments?
Lee’s arguments are applicable to the racism shown in today’s society by the injustices still found presently. For example, current news displays social injustices such as the many young black men dying from the gunshots of police officers. Lee is fighting to stop the ongoing racial prejudice between the different ethnic groups. She does not expect an immediate shift in society, but hopes that her efforts will be a start for an improved, interracial society.
When compared, the degree of racism in To Kill A Mockingbird exceeds the intensity that is found today. For example, during the Civil Rights Movement, there were many lynching cases in which African American victims were murdered by caucasians. Today, there are less murder cases that consist of white killing blacks due to the decrease of racism. Racism has not completely vanished, but is slowly fading.
7. According to the evidence you find in To Kill a Mockingbird, for what principles does she believe are worth fighting?
In the story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, she conveys to her audience what beliefs she thinks are worth fighting for. First, she believes that the type of parenting a kid has affects the way the kid acts. She does this through Atticus’s and Alexandra’s parenting styles. Scout and Jem are well behaved and good mannered always. On the other hand, Francis is always sneaking behind his parents backs, and when he gets in trouble he blames it on somebody else. Another thing that she believes is the fight against racism. She shows in her book how racism does nobody any good. All it does is cause trouble. Like during the Tom Robinson case, all of the hate and racism in peoples hearts caused Tom Robinson to be killed in the end, and a widowed mother of 4. Through this book, Harper Lee conveys many principles that she believes in.
8. What is Lee’s overall goal in answering the central questions?
Lee answers the questions given by implanting it in her writing. For example, the people may ask what happened to Tom Robinson after the court case and after a few more chapters, the book explains what happened to him. Another example is, what will happen to Atticus when he is being hunted down by the Cunningham and the rest and Lee uses Scout to talk to Mr. Cunningham. Lee displays a lot of central questions throughout the book, but her goal is to answer every single one of them except the last one in the paragraph. People have to draw conclusions for that one.
9. According to the evidence you find in To Kill a Mockingbird, what does she believe are the individual’s responsibilities in regard to issues of social justice?
Harper Lee believes that an individual is responsible for defending against social injustices. For example, Atticus defends Tom Robinson knowing he will lose. He does this because he feels as a member of society, he must protect against corruption and unfair treatment. Because Robinson is innocent, Atticus defends him from wrongful conviction. Harper Lee expresses responsibility of an individual by, as best they can, protecting from social injustices.