Breaking Social Codes

Finally, we have gotten to the closing argument! This part was very intriguing to me! This was a part where we got to listen to Atticus use his knowledge and skills to persuade the jury to say that Tom is not guilty. he starts off by saying that the case isn't even hard at all. It's easy what verdict should be given to Tom. Bob and Mayella don't have any evidence that supports their claim of Tom raping Mayella. In fact, they have more evidence that Bob himself beat Mayella. So, if it's this easy, why did this happen? Why are we in a courtroom discussing this? It's because of Mayella breaking a social code. A social code that when broken, can make a person a social outcast that is hated by all the whites. Mayella was kissed Tom, an African American man. In the 1930s Jim Crow South this is not acceptable. Mayella had decided that to not be hated by everyone, that she should hide all the evidence that she did this. The only way of doing this is to lynch Tom. Bob and Mayella were hoping that the whole jury would assume that all African Americans are evil. Atticus calls the jury out on this and says that if anyone thinks like this they are just as stupid as the Ewells. This was a smart thing for Atticus to say because it makes the jury want to not think like this. The Ewells are considered to be inferior compared to the rest of Maycomb. The jury obviously wouldn't want to be considered equal to them in thought. I thought that the closing argument that was given by Atticus was very powerful and gives some food for thought for the jury. Although I feel like this should be enough to make the jury come to the verdict of not guilty, I feel like the jury might still say that Tom is guilty. Although I don't want this to be the outcome, I feel like the book might pull a twist on us and make this the verdict. I would be mad at the book if this were the ending. Keeping my fingers crossed it turns out good!