Fairness In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Pages: 3

To Kill A Mockingbird is about the morality of human beings and the goodness or evilness of people during a racist time in Alabama. Mayella is a desperate, traumatized, and dishonest girl who falsely accuses Tom, a black man, of rape. She does this knowing that she will win due to the unfair racist system of Maycomb.

Mayella comes from being secretly abused, a dead mother, an alcoholic father, and lives in the literal town dump. This is perceived that Mayella and the rest of the Ewell's are neglected and desperate: "Long's he keeps on callin' me ma'am an sayin' Miss Mayella. I don't hafta take his sass, I ain't called upon to take it" (Lee 243). Atticus is doing nothing but being kind and respectful. Mayella doesn't know what kindness is
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Mayella is portraying this sense of guilt and nervousness. It begins to seem as if she speaks under duress as she attempts to remember what she was told to say. She had a response to the questions being asked but once Atticus begins deeper interrogating she can't keep the story straight and becomes hostile. But since Mayella is a white girl, accusing a black man of rape, she will win even if she's dishonest because of the unfair justice system. Tom is a hard working black man in a racist town and a racist justice system. Everyone figured out the truth that Tom did not lay a hand on her. But that doesn't matter because the people of the court would never let a black man win against a white.

Through all of Mayella's desperation, trauma, and dishonesty she ends up winning the trial. It was never going to be a fair trial if a black man is up against any white individual. The jury knew the truth and so did everyone in the courtroom but no one could admit that because the town of Maycomb is scared of change. The people are scared to be different and be thought of as different in the small judgemental town. The judiciary have respect and power and still retain from looking past the skin color to see the real scene and truth being