Historical influences on To Kill a Mockingbird
The Great Depression was a time of devastation and uncertainty (McCabe 12). The great depression was a time when the stock market crashed causing many people to lose their jobs and homes. This novel is based on the time around the Great Depression. There were many historical influences in the book To Kill a Mockingbird such as the Jim Crow laws, mob mentality and the Scottsboro trials.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee the first influence is on the Jim Crow laws. There were many laws that the black people were required to follow. The Jim Crow laws were a way of life back then for Black and White people. In the article Jim Crow laws they stated that “Many Christian ministers and
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Mob mentality is a behavior that happens to people in large groups that are supporting one thing (Smith). People in mobs think that it is okay to do things such as trash homes and buildings since everyone else around them is doing it too. In the articles the reader read, people decided they wanted to be in mobs because it can be exciting and powerful (Edmonds). They also decide to join the mob because if several others were doing something, it must be worthwhile or they would not be doing it (Smith). Sometimes when a riot is very long some people can forget why they are even there. They also think that if they did something wrong they would be less likely to get caught because there are more people doing it. This can also result in individuals feeling less guilt (Edmonds). When a riot gets to a high level, property such as homes and buildings are destroyed or vandalized. Mob mentality can be seen in the novel when at the courthouse when Atticus leaves everyone else stands. Some people don’t really know what is going on so they do what others around them are doing and stand as well. This shows mob mentality because these people are standing up for him because it's what they believe in (Lee 283). Not only was mob mentality a historical influence in the novel but also the Scottsboro …show more content…
The Scottsboro trials was an incident involving nine black boys and two white women. One day in the 1930’s an unspeakable event happened. Several groups consisting of both black and white people were riding the rails. On one of the train cars, the black and white people began fighting (Johnson). When two white women got involved they were thrown off the train with the rest of the people in the fight. After they were off the train they immediately yelled rape (Anderson). A group of black men were sent to jail soon after(Johnson). The day of their trial was April 6, 1932, just twelve days after the arrest. It was a very short and chaotic trial where eight of the nine men accused were sentenced to death. The other man was considered too young and was sentenced to life in prison (Johnson). The executions were later suspended and the trial was moved up to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ordered a new trial because the representatives were not considered to be in their right mind (Johnson). Ruby Bates, one of the women involved, later stated that they were never raped. On April 9, 1933 the first of the defendants was again found guilty and his punishment was execution, which was later delayed. After that, yet another trial took place. The local judge overturned the jury and ordered a new trial (Johnson). During this time, the defendants were held in prison. Two years passed before any
After the trial was done a serial killer named Brian Dugan confessed to the murder of Jeanine Nicarico and after that Cruz’s attorney proceeded to reverse the convictions on the grounds of “prejudicial errors by prosecutors and the trial court judge.” The appeal was not granted due to the fact that the attorney didn’t included the fact that Dugan had confessed to the crime. So Cruz was sentenced back to death. Assistant Attorney General Mary Brigid Kenney sent memo stating that the first trial was full of ‘perjured testimony” and “fraudulent investigations by local officials.” After it was ignored she resigned in protest.
On July 20, 1958, an elderly couple in Christian County, Kentucky were beaten to death in their home by intruders with a tire iron. Two suspects, Silas Manning and Willie Barker were arrested shortly after the murders and indicted by the grand jury on September 15, 1958. The prosecution believed the case against Manning was stronger; therefore, chose to try Manning first in hopes that once convicted, he would testify against Barker. Manning, of course, was not willing to incriminate himself. At the start of of Manning’s trial on October 23, 1958, the prosecution requested and obtained the first of what would amount to be 16 continuances in Barker’s trial.
He accused Charlie Weems and Clarence Norris of raping Price and Bates. Despite him later claiming his statements were coerced, his own trial ended in eleven jurors voting for a death sentence and one seeking life in prison. He spent the next six years in jail without a retrial before finally
The Scottsboro Trials were a set of trials where nine black boys named Charlie Weems, Ozie Powell, Clarence Norris, Olen Montgomery, Willie Roberson, Haywood Patterson, Eugene Williams, Andrew Wright and Leroy Wright were accused of on March 25th, of raping two white women Ruby Bates and Victoria Price. These women were pressured to accuse the nine men. The white men that pressured the women told the conductor to stop at the next town so they could get the police. The police arrested the Scottsboro Boys and they were brought to trial. Eight out of nine of them were sentenced to death.
On March 25, 1931 the lives of nine black teenagers changed after they were allegedly accused of being involved in a gang rape of two white females. This began when a fight broke out on a train after a white male named Orville Gilley stepped on the hand of a black male named Haywood Patterson who was hanging from the train itself (Linder, “The Trials of the Scottsboro Boys”). The white males involved went to a stationmaster to report the alleged assault which resulted with posse members coming to take the nine black males away. (Linder, “The Trials of the Scottsboro Boys”). Two white, female mill workers named Ruby Bates and Victoria Price also accused the nine black males to raping them.
Both men were successful in their appeals as a verdict of guilty could not be settled upon as the case was based on improbabilities and circumstantial evidence that could not lead to a definite
"At once the crowd surged after [him], ...screamed, struck, bit, tore," (Golding 169) these words demonstrate a repercussion of mob mentality. This phenomenon refers to the behaviours that one exhibits when in a group situation or mindset. Besides literature, it can be seen in everyday such as the riots in Vancouver or the short-lived popular trends. But how does this occur in the first place? Well, the existence of mob mentality in the modern world and in Golding's Lord of the Flies both suggest that the situation occurs because people are influenced by by their peers, the environment, and by their emotions.
The trial began in 2006, evidence upon evidence was brought in to support the 27 counts of murder. The defense brought into question the legitimacy of
Many people were hopping onto freight trains to travel to the next city in hopes of finding work. A website and museum dedicated to the Scottsboro boys described the event which led to their imprisonment. A museum and organization that speaks on the boys lives and what injustice they had said that on March 25, 1931 nine black teens ages thirteen to nineteen and many other people were aboard a freight train heading South (“History”). A famous author and historian said a fight broke out when a white male stepped on Haywood Patterson 's hand. A stone throwing fight ensued.
Outline Thesis: Much of the success of Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, is based upon Lee’s choice of an adult first person narrator Scout Finch, reflecting upon her childhood experiences during the Great Depression. I.Adds more detail to the situation. A.Scout explains the situation with more thorough detail.
Rabina Mainali Sign 111 Dr. Dulan 3 November, 2015 Witnesses of the Scottsboro trials The Scottsboro trials came about during the year 1931 when Great Depression had hit the South hard. In search of work several individuals boarded a freight train from Chattanooga to Memphis, Tennessee not knowing their future ahead wasn’t so bright. While in the train a white man stepped on a black man’s hand, later identified as belonging to Haywood Patterson. A fight between the white youths and Patterson’s
In this world, some people already know what mob mentality is, but some people don’t know what it is, so now I will tell them what is mob mentality. Mob mentality is when people get influence from a group and turn that people to violent. In a large group, people who have mob mentality usually have the same behavior and characteristic as another. Mob mentality makes people feels aggressive which means crazy and chaotic which means confuse in a group. Other people also use herd behavior and herd mentality to tell their similarity behavior.
Mob mentality occurs in The Lord of the Flies, especially when order is given to a group of people. “All at once the crowd swayed towards the island and were gone-following Jack. Even the tiny kids went and did their best among the leaves and broken branches” (Golding 38). This passage is showing leadership. The reader are also showing how Jack is the leader and everyone follows him and his orders.
Injustice The Scottsboro Case shed light on the racial practices expressed in law that made a great impact on the legal system today. The actual victims of the Case did not receive a fair trial due to the color of their skin. The ones who played the victims planned the crime, and their stories made no sense. But like many of the trials during the time it wasn’t based on the actual evidence that was found,or even the defendants ' stories.
The Great Depression influenced Harper Lee in many ways which is mirrored in her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. During the Great Depression, people had a hard time feeding