1. What examples of justice and injustice are depicted in the novel? For each example give an explanation of your choice.Identify three key events from the text. Write about what perspectives or ideas these events suggest about justice
Injustice is shown through Tom Robinson’s conviction and the discrimination against Boo Radley. This can be seen as Tom Robinson was convicted after a slew of evidence suggesting he was not the rapist, and Boo Radley was not harmful to anyone and instead was the subject of rumour and conjecture which left him isolated. Tom Robinson’s conviction was the climax of the novel and shows that justice is not actually blind as the law would like us to believe.
2. In failing to arrest Boo Radley at the end, Sheriff Tate is breaking the law, as is Atticus, who knows the truth of Ewell's murder. Do you agree with some critics that Atticus' actions are "wrong" as well as illegal?
I believe that while Atticus’ actions were illegal they were justified in the context of the situation. I know that personally I would do the exact same thing in his situation as a father. His children were at the threat of dying and Boo saved them. If someone saved my children from death I most certainly wouldn’t hand them over to the police, especially if that person he saved the children from had beaten his daughter and had someone wrongfully convicted of rape.
3. Does Tom Robinson receive a fair trial under the law? Why or why not? Would having an all-black jury have resulted in a different verdict?
Tom Robinson was definitely not given a fair trial as his jury was set on finding him guilty. There was substantial evidence that he did not commit the crime and that the girl’s white father did. This was swept aside by the jury and he was convicted anyway. A black jury would not have made the same verdict as they would be free from racial prejudice.
4. According to the novel, is it ever justified to act outside the law in order to ensure justice? If so, when is it justified? If not, what do you do when the law allows injustice?
The novel itself never definitively endorses or denies the moral rightness of acting outside the law, but it shows Atticus’ actions and it shows the actions of several others. I do not think that the novel takes either side but shows that acting outside the law is only good in a matter of opinion and is different in every situation.
5. What's the novel's take on the American legal system? What are its strengths, and what are its weakness?
The novel shows that there are many strengths to the system such as the ways in which a good lawyer can provide sufficient evidence towards a case if a person is innocent, and there are weaknesses such as the way in which a biased jury can decide a man’s fate.
6. What are some examples which show how justice (not punishment) is served outside the confines of a courtroom in Maycomb? How is that justice administered?
Justice was served outside of Maycomb by Boo Radley as he murdered the man who lied about Tom Robison raping his daughter, this man also tried to murder Atticus’ children. This is another example of justice outside the courtroom as Atticus lets Boo Radley get away with the murder because he saved his children.
Injustice is shown through Tom Robinson’s conviction and the discrimination against Boo Radley. This can be seen as Tom Robinson was convicted after a slew of evidence suggesting he was not the rapist, and Boo Radley was not harmful to anyone and instead was the subject of rumour and conjecture which left him isolated. Tom Robinson’s conviction was the climax of the novel and shows that justice is not actually blind as the law would like us to believe.
2. In failing to arrest Boo Radley at the end, Sheriff Tate is breaking the law, as is Atticus, who knows the truth of Ewell's murder. Do you agree with some critics that Atticus' actions are "wrong" as well as illegal?
I believe that while Atticus’ actions were illegal they were justified in the context of the situation. I know that personally I would do the exact same thing in his situation as a father. His children were at the threat of dying and Boo saved them. If someone saved my children from death I most certainly wouldn’t hand them over to the police, especially if that person he saved the children from had beaten his daughter and had someone wrongfully convicted of rape.
3. Does Tom Robinson receive a fair trial under the law? Why or why not? Would having an all-black jury have resulted in a different verdict?
Tom Robinson was definitely not given a fair trial as his jury was set on finding him guilty. There was substantial evidence that he did not commit the crime and that the girl’s white father did. This was swept aside by the jury and he was convicted anyway. A black jury would not have made the same verdict as they would be free from racial prejudice.
4. According to the novel, is it ever justified to act outside the law in order to ensure justice? If so, when is it justified? If not, what do you do when the law allows injustice?
The novel itself never definitively endorses or denies the moral rightness of acting outside the law, but it shows Atticus’ actions and it shows the actions of several others. I do not think that the novel takes either side but shows that acting outside the law is only good in a matter of opinion and is different in every situation.
5. What's the novel's take on the American legal system? What are its strengths, and what are its weakness?
The novel shows that there are many strengths to the system such as the ways in which a good lawyer can provide sufficient evidence towards a case if a person is innocent, and there are weaknesses such as the way in which a biased jury can decide a man’s fate.
6. What are some examples which show how justice (not punishment) is served outside the confines of a courtroom in Maycomb? How is that justice administered?
Justice was served outside of Maycomb by Boo Radley as he murdered the man who lied about Tom Robison raping his daughter, this man also tried to murder Atticus’ children. This is another example of justice outside the courtroom as Atticus lets Boo Radley get away with the murder because he saved his children.
Story SynopsisScout Finch and her older brother Jem, live in sleepy Maycomb, spending much of their time with their friend Dill and spying on their reclusive and mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. When Atticus, their widowed father and a respected lawyer, defends a black man named Tom Robinson against fabricated rape charges, the trial and tangent events expose the children to evils of racism and stereotyping.
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Quotes“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”
― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird “Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of (another)... There are just some kind of men who - who're so busy worrying about the next world they've never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.” ― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird |
Themes
- The importance of moral education and how it factors into a persons view of the world.
- The constant struggle fought by those of colour during the time period when facing the legal system.
- Courage and the way in which you should stand up for your beliefs no matter the cost.