Friday, March 13, 2009

Changes

How does the trial and everything surrounding it change the town? Change Jem and Scout? Did it change you?

5 comments:

Seth and Julie said...

The trial is very frustrating!

It is just ridiculous that the evidence that was provided was not enough to free Tom. It made me wish that the jury could not see Tom. If they could just read the transcripts they would have found him not guilty for sure.

No matter how hard they try to find an unbiased jury there is no way to completely succeed. Our prejudices and opinions run so deep that I think that we are not even aware of them sometimes.

I do love Atticus though. I think his resolve to prove that Tom wasn't guilty opened a few peoples eyes.

When you make people aware that what they just consider "their way of life" is a problem, change can begin.

March 17, 2009 at 5:19 PM
Cheryl said...

It didn't feel like it changed the town much but I'm sure it did.
I think it helped the black people in the community to see that some people would stand behind them.
I think it changed Jem and Scout and Dill. I loved the scene when Dill started crying. It showcased so well the innocence of children. It's like when you go to a park and the kids just play together not caring about where they are from and who they are. We lose that as we grow up.

March 17, 2009 at 6:48 PM
The Kings said...

The trial was such a travesty...no right and fairness came out of it. And Tom lost his life because of the decision that came from the jury. People that really cared about justice were discouraged by the outcome. Dill cried, Jem was hurt and angry by the totally wrong verdict and I think for a long time distrusted and was confused by the judicial system, and Scout didn't understand how the verdict could happen. She, as young as she was, knew that it was wrong. Atticus must have been so discouraged that in spite of the evidence people still choose to ignore it because of prjudice. The book didn't go into it but I wonder how Mayella felt knowing she lied and another man lost his life because she was so afraid of her father.

March 26, 2009 at 6:14 PM
Mark and Callie said...

the trial is obviously frustrating. People allowed their racist views to overlook the obvious evidence and truth. Not to get all political here, but i think this book showcases the justice system then and even today. I have a teacher who refers to the death penalty as a way to kill black people. (because a black person can commit a crime and has a 9 in 10 chance of getting the death penalty, where a white person can commit the same crime and have a 3 in 10 chance of getting the same penalty. our prejudices are so intact, that we look for excuses to penalize a minority just because we feel they are beneath us and therefor, could NEVER be innocent.

I don't think it changed the town at all. They got just what they wanted out of it. I think it definitely changed the kids because they could see that the town was wrong and that the only person willing to tell them that was Atticus. I think it helped them to realize that just because most or all people feel something is right, doesn't meant that it is.

April 3, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Sanya said...

But like Atticus said, just the fact that the jury took that long to find him guilty, rather than just right away, is a step in the right direction. You can't completely reverse the effects of generations of prejudice and racism in one day, no matter how good of a lawyer you are! So maybe it started them thinking in the right direction, and the kids who were so distraught about it - Jem, Scout, and Dill - will be the ones to make sure that real change comes about when they are adults. They were so impacted by it that you can be sure they wouldn't stand for that kind of social injustice as adults; they would stand up to it, like Atticus.

April 7, 2009 at 3:51 PM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)