Kyle Maziarz

Mr. McConnell
English
January 23, 2017
To Kill a Mockingbird court case
Justice, the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness
(dictionary.com). Justice is a main theme we see occurring in the case of Tom Robinson. In this
case, Mayella Ewell is accusing Tom Robinson of rape. Mayella is a white girl and Tom is a
black man which means there is no way that Tom could win this court case. Witnesses who
testified against Tom were Heck Tate, Bob Ewell, and Mayella Ewell. So far all of their stories
have lined up. The jurys verdict was guilty, but looking at the evidence, I would say the verdict
is wrong and Tom is not guilty. This verdict was based simply on the fact that he is black and that
he is on the outer rim of the universe of Obligation.
The verdict of Tom Robinsons case was guilty. Mayella Ewell testified, I turned around
and before I knew it he was on me. (Lee 241) He hit me again and again. (Lee 241). Along
with Mayellas testimony, there were two other people who testified against Tom. These people
were Heck Tate and Bob Ewell. The three stories all lined up to sound the same, so in essence, it
was three white people against a black male. At the end of the day, the jury believed this, That
nigger yonder took advantage of me an if you fine fancy gentlemen dont wanta do nothin about
it then youre all yellow stinkin cowards, the lot of you. Your fancy airs dont come to nothinyour maamin and Miss Mayellerin dont come to nothing, Mr. Finch. (Lee 251).
On a personal level, I disagree with the verdict and think Tom is not guilty. For one thing,
the testimony of Mayella had red flags all over it. She stuttered, stalled, looked at her father for

answers, and simply just couldnt hold herself together on the simplest questions. One of the
biggest mistakes I saw during Mayellas testimony was when Atticus asked if her father, Bob
Ewell, was nice to her. Mayella starts off by saying, Hes tolerable except when- . When she
says this, we get a suspition that maybe it was her father who beat her, and not Tom (Lee 245).
Next testimony we see was Tom Robinson. Either Harper Lee made Tom an honest sounding
character, or Tom was telling the truth. All his evidence added up, and we find out it wasnt even
possible for Tom to have done the things Mayella is saying he did. Tom is called to the stand, but
when he gets there we see his left hand is dead (Lee 254). To hit Mayella in the right eye, and
strangle her around the neck he would have to use both hands, which he does not have.
The verdict of guilty, I feel, is based on the universe of obligation and because Tom is
black. The universe of obligation is a social system we see being used in the novel To Kill a
Mockingbird. It is how the people of our society view other people and their importance. In the
novel, Tom Robinson is a black male, and Mayella Ewell is a white female. Looking at the order
of importance on the universe of obligation, the most important is a white female, and the least
important is a black male. Knowing this, it is the most important going against the least. Going in
to the court we all knew that no matter how much of a fight that Atticus put up, Tom would have
always lost.
The verdict of the jury was guilty, but looking at the evidence, I would say it is wrong
and Tom is not guilty. This verdict is based simply on the fact that he is black and that he is on
the outer rim of the universe of Obligation. The jury believed Mayellas word against Toms.
Even though the evidence points to Tom Robinsons as not guilty, we see the use of the universe
of obligation being put into work. It was a white girls word against a black male. It is someone
who is greatly protected verses someone who is treated as nothing.