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Post by isabeauc on Apr 22, 2006 18:06:44 GMT -5
i feel that the whole trial was unfair. for an honest, young man to be charged with something he did not do, whether he be white or black, is so wrong. for one, he did nothing wrong, and two, he had a family to take care of. the whole thing is just sickening. I agree with Sarah 100%. It is completely unfair and totally disgusting and heinous. I also think it's insanely unfair because he was just trying to help Mayella because he felt sorry for her. He was just trying to help her, and she turned on him and got him arrested and convicted of a crime that is completely fictitious.
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Post by engebrethson on Apr 23, 2006 1:30:15 GMT -5
I Really dont think that Tom has a chance at all because of the way it was back then with all the racism that goes on.
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Post by natemaroon on Apr 23, 2006 1:37:45 GMT -5
yeah everybody sais that atticus and tom dont have any chance just becuase the jury are prejudice. atticus is a rgeat person and a natural leader..i think he can come out in the end and change something..but its true poeple have no respect for tom and are very racist, while they feel and know that atticus is a great man.
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Post by natemaroon on Apr 23, 2006 1:39:03 GMT -5
but yeah tom is kinda screwed becuase of the extreme prejudice times
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Post by surok on Apr 23, 2006 15:01:57 GMT -5
This trial makes me soooo mad! I hate it. And unfortunately, it's completely predictable. White woman accuses black man of raping her.... of course they're going to believe the white woman! I think Atticus made a really good point when he said Mayella's reason to press charges. That she was caught making a move on a black man and the only way out, without shaming her family even more, was to get rid of that reminder, of that temptation. I think it's pretty easy to see how racist Bob Ewell was. If he called his own daughter those things for kissing a black man, it's pretty clear he's a total racist. And of course, as if all this wasn't bad enough, the final verdict of guilty was ridiculous! There was no evidence that could ever make it possible to convict Tom of the supposed crime! And just because this is in the south and because racial issues were dominant, he was found guilty of something he didn't do. I hate racism. i feel better now. but its true, it was ridiculous and a horrible accusation.
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Post by rundel on Apr 23, 2006 21:38:55 GMT -5
Ahh, I finished reading the trial. It was horrible! But very interesting at the same time. What Atticus said about Mayella made so much sense, that it was guilt that motivated her. She knew what she was doing was wrong but did it anyway. And then tried to cover it up by saying that he raped her. Uggh. What a butthead. I mean, I kinda felt sorry for her though, because she was never given an education, and was never loved, really. She had a bad life. BUt still, she shouldn't have some guy put to death.
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Post by rundel on Apr 23, 2006 21:43:41 GMT -5
Like everyone said, it was completely predictable. Which is so sad, that he didn't have a chance. Everyone deserves a fair trial. I think there was a quote somewhere in the book... maybe Ms. Maudie said it... that they were actually making progress because the jury actually deliberated it.
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Post by michelleg16 on Apr 24, 2006 0:05:41 GMT -5
What are your thoughts on the trail? Comment on all aspects, the alleged crime, the reason for Mayella to press charges, the reaction of Bob Ewell, and the final verdict. Give your personal opinions of all that transpired surrounding the trail of Tom Robinson.
The trial was very interesting and kept me glued to my book. I thought Atticus did a wonderful job, and could not have dont a better job of proving Tom's innocence. It was a shame they had to find him guilty, because of his race. It was good that Atticus and the townspeople realized that they took a step in the trial. A step to make the jury take awhile, and to think! It brought contrversy and excitment to the town. It was sad that Tom had to die, and not try for the appeal. The whole thing had gone on so long that, it was very hard to bare. The trial changed a lot of peoples opinions in town. It was a major part in Jem's maturing and growing up, as well as Scout's and Dill's too.
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Post by surok on Apr 24, 2006 20:03:08 GMT -5
the trial was horrible, but it gave the hard facts that pretty much everybody in the south in those days where racist. i think it helps open our eyes to see: they even set them up for failure. a jury of twelve white men against one black man that was accused of rape. who is going to win?
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Post by ahmedb on Apr 24, 2006 21:52:38 GMT -5
The trial was a plot set up by Bob Ewell to save his dignity (assuming his family has one). His daughter Mayela caused some trouble with Mayela and her father needed to cover up her mistakes, so he does what he knows will work: press charges against an African American, because of racism, Bob Ewell has to win. The reason why i believe that Tom Robinson didn't rape Mayela and was approached by her was for three reasons: 1) Mayela was very shaky and "edited" while telling her side of the story most likley afraid of her father while Tom was confident 2) Tom is an African American in mostly racists place and if he does something to a white person he knows very well he will suffer a fate of death. 3) the evidence showed that the left side of Mayela was beat, while Bob was left handed and Tom didn't have a left hand. Since there were no eye witnesses, the case should have been dropped but the jury decided to rule him guilty because they preferred white trash over African Americans. This story affected Jem the most because like Scout, he was raised to not judge people or play favorites by race so he nearly cracked down under pressure while witnessing the world at its worst.
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Post by kohl on Apr 25, 2006 16:50:56 GMT -5
Well, to start off, I'm glad that they atleast gave Tom Robinson a trial. In older days I know they probably would have just taken the white womans word for what happened and hung the black man, but atleast in this he got a trial...though it may not have been completely fair. I think Mayella pressed charges because she didn't want to be looked down upon by everyone else in the county for kissing a black man, also because Bob Ewell beat her for it she needed a story to cover the fact that he does harm her at home. The final verdict was not a surprise to me, but I resented it anyways. It was obvious by the end of the trial that Tom Robinson did not commit the crime, but if they had ruled him not guilty then all the men in the jury would be looked at like they were "nigger lovers" by the other townspeople. Also it was expected that the white people won and not the black man, especially with a jury full of white people. I still find it sad though, that they lost the case, even if I knew it was coming.
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Post by freeman on Apr 26, 2006 0:05:12 GMT -5
really the trial was unfair since like what mr. gibbs said that if a white girl said that she had been raped by a black man that everyone would believe. and they all did, in the begining, but after atticus was questioning the witness, that people started to question themselves. But that wasn't enough especially when he said that he felt sorry for her. people were like you feel sorry for a white girl, so that didn't help at all. And i think also she pressed charges either beacause her father told her or beacause he didn't care for her back so she got pissed.
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Post by bryceg on Apr 26, 2006 1:01:33 GMT -5
The trial was an exciting aspect of the story, but in a bad way. i knew that he would lose the case because of it being in the south and tom being black. even though Tom lost, in a way he won because Atticus got people thinking about the problems with racism and and was only found guilty because of his color. even though tom didnt have a chance, his case was probably the closest to winning of all the trial including african americans.
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Post by isabeauc on Apr 26, 2006 1:23:21 GMT -5
I think that the appointment of Atticus to the trial was the only way Tom could even hope to have a chance. Sadly, even Atticus couldn't get him the correct verdict.
And I agree with Bryce. The trial was exciting. Quite the nail-biter!
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Post by traviszucca on Apr 26, 2006 18:34:05 GMT -5
I agree with barron because Tom has no chance against the white Ewell family.
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