Tom Robinson and Emmett Till Differences
- Robinson is a rape case and Emmett Till is a murder/lynching case. For example, on the day of the raping, Heck Tate “was just leaving his office to go home when… Mr. Ewell came in...and said to get to his house..., some [black person] raped his girl” (Lee 190). In the Emmett Till case, white men were accused of murdering/lynching an African American boy. Though both were involved with an African American, Robinson was accused of rape while Emmett Till was murdered and lynched.
- Emmett TIll: White men were the defendants whereas for Tom Robinson’s case was a black man was the defendant. For example, as Scout saw Robinson in the court, she noticed he “was a black-velvet Negro, not shiny, but soft black velvet” (Lee 219). The Emmett Till case however, was about white men on trial whether they should be punished for lynching a Emmett Till, a fourteen-year-old African American boy. Though in both cases there was a trial, Tom Robinson’s case was of a black man while the Emmett Till case was of a white men.
- Tom Robinson was invited into a white woman’s house whereas Emmett Till just walked into a public place with his relative. First, on the day of the alleged rape, Robinson was “just passin’ by, when [Mayella] says for me to come there and help her a minute” (Lee 219). Also, in the Emmett Till case, he came into a public store and whistled at the white clerk as she went to her car. In the Robinson case, he was invited into a private area while in the Emmett Till case, he was out in public
- In the Tom Robinson case, Mayella came on to him while in the Emmett Till case he came on to the white woman. For example, when Robinson was invited into Mayella’s house, “she reached up an’ kissed [his] side of th’ face” (Lee 221). Also when the clerk in the Emmett Till case came out of the store to get to her car, he whistled at her. In Robinson’s case, Mayella approached him, while in Till’s case, he approached the woman.
- Tom Robinson was falsely accused, whereas with Emmett Till he clearly whistled at a white girl. Firstly, Atticus is giving a speech to the jury about why Tom Robinson is not guilty and why he should be free because “[Mayella] did something every child has done-she tried to put the evidence of her offense away from her” (272). Mayella lied about Tom Robinson raping her, so that society did not see her as a someone who likes to kiss black people. Mayella lied for one reason only, and that reason is to save her own womanhood.
Differences 1-4 were made by Jared Ongsing
Difference #5 was made by Krys Ciardi
Difference #5 was made by Krys Ciardi