TKAM Trial: Diary Entry
Austin Zhuang
Mr. Monroe
Lit/Writ 1
12 Feb 2014
To Kill A Mockingbird: Post-Trial Diary Entry
21 November 1935
Dear Diary,
It has come to an end of the trial, and all I am feeling right now is this situation, which feels extremely tense. Tom Robinson, the suspect in whom my dad, Atticus, is defending has still been considered guilty, even after my dad’s long speech of “equality among race” to the courthouse. I have apathy for the cruelty and harshness in the society of Maycomb, and that is treating people by ethnicity type and what skin color they have.
Me, my sister Scout, Reverend Sykes, and so many other gents and ladies have sat on the city courthouse balcony for five or more straight hours and are exhausted. We heard witnesses from Mayella and Robert Ewell, and the suspect himself, Tom Robinson. What they said in their testimonies was somewhat similar, but as Tom Robinson went up to give his testimony the atmosphere tweaked a little bit. His words contradicted what the Ewells exclaimed, which the public believed was factual. What Tom Robinson said was the truth and even Atticus proved that “he” was innocent; he did not perform any actions that led to an assault.
My thoughts to this trial are that Judge Taylor ruled in an unfair way. He still considers Tom Robinson guilty for something he was not at fault with, and yet he is still sentenced to death? I really do not understand this feeling. But today, I have experienced how cruel this society can be to whoever is not of American heritage, and that is the black people. I have experienced it, right there, in the courthouse of “justification.”
Yours sincerely,
Jem Finch
Mr. Monroe
Lit/Writ 1
12 Feb 2014
To Kill A Mockingbird: Post-Trial Diary Entry
21 November 1935
Dear Diary,
It has come to an end of the trial, and all I am feeling right now is this situation, which feels extremely tense. Tom Robinson, the suspect in whom my dad, Atticus, is defending has still been considered guilty, even after my dad’s long speech of “equality among race” to the courthouse. I have apathy for the cruelty and harshness in the society of Maycomb, and that is treating people by ethnicity type and what skin color they have.
Me, my sister Scout, Reverend Sykes, and so many other gents and ladies have sat on the city courthouse balcony for five or more straight hours and are exhausted. We heard witnesses from Mayella and Robert Ewell, and the suspect himself, Tom Robinson. What they said in their testimonies was somewhat similar, but as Tom Robinson went up to give his testimony the atmosphere tweaked a little bit. His words contradicted what the Ewells exclaimed, which the public believed was factual. What Tom Robinson said was the truth and even Atticus proved that “he” was innocent; he did not perform any actions that led to an assault.
My thoughts to this trial are that Judge Taylor ruled in an unfair way. He still considers Tom Robinson guilty for something he was not at fault with, and yet he is still sentenced to death? I really do not understand this feeling. But today, I have experienced how cruel this society can be to whoever is not of American heritage, and that is the black people. I have experienced it, right there, in the courthouse of “justification.”
Yours sincerely,
Jem Finch