Figurative Language In To Kill A Mockingbird

During the trial, Atticus reveals that, “Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely,”(Lee). Mayella and her father claimed the abuser to be Tom Robinson. As Mayella had been beaten mostly on her left side, Atticus mentioned that Mayella’s father “swore out a warrant, no doubt signing it with his left hand,”(Lee). By showing Mayella’s father’s dominant hand, the newfound information that he was possibly guilty entered the jury’s minds, yet Tom Robinson was still a suspect. To defend Tom, Atticus said that, “Tom Robinson now sits before you, having taken the oath with the only good hand he possesses-his right,”(Lee).

Do you remember him beating you about that face?” - Atticus (page 247) This quote and statement show that Mayells is unsure what she allowed to tell Atiicus she can not think of an alibi as to how there marks on her face is Tom Robinson didn’t inflict the harm Atticus is well aware of Mayella is indeed lying and he asks this to question her false

When Atticus gave his speech he took into account what he had to say and in what circumstances. He was in a courtroom with a bunch of un educated racist white men and women who wanted to see a black man be put to death for the false accusation of a black man raping a white woman. This was how he appealed the ‘ethos’ appeal of the people of Maycomb. Atticus thereafter attacked the ‘logos’ appeal when he called on large facts of the case. For example he brings up the left-handed injuries of Mayella when Tom was right handed.

Kaleb Fisher, Henlie Guy, Jason Harris, Rowan Scripps, Coleman Wright Ms. Brewer Honors English 9 28 February 2023 Excerpt 8 Analysis Essay In Harper Lee's fictional novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus argues that Tom Robinson is an innocent man. In the novel, we meet Tom an African-American man accused of raping Mayella, a young white women. Atticus is appointed as Tom’s lawyer and this is Atticus’s closing statement. Atticus claims that there is no real evidence to convict Tom and he has done nothing wrong.

Atticus once said “you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-until you climb into his skin and walk in it” (Lee 30). This quote perfectly summarizes the moral message of the book, regarding racism and even shyness. In To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee incorporates lots of great figurative language to really improve the dialect and overall pleasure of the book. The best way to really understand the characters thoughts can be done through the use of figurative language. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses figurative language to talk about the Radley House

Once Atticus fully understands what he has been told by Mayella about what happened the day of the crime, he does his job as a lawyer and strongly defends Tom Robinson. He accuses Mayella of lying, knowing that she was only doing it to get what she and Maycomb wanted. “‘Tom, stand up. Let Miss Mayella have a good long look at you. Is this the man, Miss Mayella?’...

Atticus speaks with intellect, demonstrating he has been pursuing the action of law years prior. With such experience, Atticus sees that Mayella isn’t a human, a victim, or partially innocent in this biased courtroom case. Atticus expresses how “She has committed no crime, she has merely broken a rigid and time-honored code of our society, a code so severe that whoever breaks it is hounded from our midst as unfit to live with. She is the victim of cruel poverty and ignorance, but [he] cannot pity her: she is white” (Lee, 207). Atticus illustrates in his argument that Mayella is guilty by default.

During the trial of Tom Robinson, Atticus is the defending lawyer. He tries to turn the jury towards Bob Ewell the father of the rape victim. Atticus shows the jury that Mr. Ewell could have easily beat his daughter. The main idea that Atticus uses is that Tom Robinson didn’t hurt Mayella Ewell it was Bob Ewell. Although, at the end of the trial, Tom is found guilty and Bob Ewell grows a personal vendetta against Atticus.

After the so-called “rape”, Bob Ewell neglected to call a doctor, which leads you to infer that Tom Robinson did not hurt Mayella Ewell, but her father did. Mayella had a bruise on her right eye which implies that someone that is left handed had hit her. Atticus asked Bob Ewell to write his name to see which hand he wrote with and he used his left hand, which leads you to believe Mayella gets abused by her father. That is another reason to feel compassionate towards Mayella. Mayella had not been treated like a lady before, up until

(Lee 232). Atticus was very clever in using this piece of evidence against the opposition. To summarize, Atticus says that Mayella was severely beaten on the left side. He explains how Tom Robinson’s only good hand is his right hand, meaning that it would have been almost impossible for Tom to have beaten Mayella on the left. To add to this, Atticus also says that Mr. Ewell expressed that he was left-handed, a sure tell sign that he could have been the one to beat Mayella up on the left side.

“His left arm was fully 12 inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side” (Lee, 211). This is saying that it could not really be Tom because he does not even have a left hand. And someone that is left-handed is the one to have potentially have beaten up Mayella. And with everything else that they say about Mr. Ewell is making it seem like he is the only person that could have done it. Some examples it says are that he drinks all the time and he is never there for his children so Mayella is always trying to take care of them.

The trial is a clear-cut case that should not have even made it to court, as Atticus says. The only reason the case makes it to trial is the fact that it is an African American versus a white woman. In Atticus’ closing statement, he speaks briefly about the state not producing a single piece of physical evidence that could convict Tom Robinson, as the only physical evidence that can be held against Tom Robinson is the bruise marks Mayella received. This still does not correlate with Mr. Robinson because not only is he not left-handed, but he also has an arm that is lifeless. “...but there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led almost exclusively with his left…and Tom Robinson now sits before you, having taken the oath with only good hand he possesses—his right hand.”

Tom was accused of raping a white woman who was Mayella Ewell, Mayella said he raped her while he was helping her with chores. She later on tells the readers that it was false allegations. The reason why she didn 't tell the truth at her first trial was because, Mayella was afraid of being embarrassed because she kissed a black male. She rather have an innocent man get charged with a crime than that. “However, Robinson was transferred from the state prison to Maycomb 's county jail on Saturday, two days before he stood trial on Monday, and Atticus had to defend him against a lynch mob”.

Ewell's behavior is revealed to be hostile and rash. His English is informal and his behavior is rude. When Robert is proven to be lying about the story he begins to act like how his son Burris did to his teacher. It is also revealed that he was the one to give Mayella all the injuries Sheriff Taft witnessed after it was discovered that Mr. Robinson has no mobile use of his left arm. And if Mayella had a bruised right eye the person must be left handed and it is revealed that Mr. Ewell is left handed after Atticus tested him by asking him to write out his name on a piece of paper.

Mayella Ewell is a victim. Mayella is a victim of her father, Bob Ewell, because he is an alcoholic that abuses her. During the Tom Robinson trial, Atticus proved Bob Ewell to be left-handed. Based on Bob and Heck Tate’s testimonies, Mayella’s right eye was blackened