Tom Robinson

Personally, I do not believe that Tom Robinson committed the crime that he was accused of.  I believe this because, when Tom stood up, "His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side.  It ended in a small shriveled hand, and from as far away as the balcony, I could see it was no use to him. (108)"  I believe this helps prove that Tom is not guilty because Mayella had been punched in the right eye, and most likely any person who had done it would have used their left.  The single story that Bob and Mayella Ewell have about Tom Robinson is that he  devalues their property and he is dangerous.  I know this is true because on page 175, Bob sad that,"'Jedge, I've asked this county for fifteen years to clean out that nest down yonder, they're dangerous to live around 'sides devaluin' my property-"'  This shows that their opinion is clearly stated and believe based on Tom's race.  This single story is dangerous for Tom and the other African Americans in Maycomb because Bob Ewell is not the only person that believes in this single story, and leads to Tom and the others being treated unfairly in Maycomb.  I believe that Atticus hopes to disprove this single story by showing that Tom was nowhere near the crime, and that Bob Ewell was a liar, and therefore no better than an African American.  #freeTom  #tomaintdonenothin

TKAM and Oratory

The danger of creating single stories is that they oppress the people that they are directed at by changing how people look at them and think of them.  The oppression can sometimes follow them through their life and permanently oppress them.  One example of this came from my oratory article entitled: In Egypt, Sowing Seeds of Gender Equality.  In this article, it is stated that, "because of resistance from men - fathers, brothers, and husbands - many women still end up living in cages."  This quote shows that because males have grown up with the assumption that they are superiors, women live a rather horrible life.  One quote from To Kill a Mockingbird that also supports the single story that women are inferior took place on page 38.  On this page, Jem said , "'I swear Scout, sometimes you act so much like a girl it's mortifying."'  This quote shows that Jem believes that being a male is better than being a female, again regarding the feeling of superiority among males.  Overall, women in both times lived in oppression because the people around them were raised to believe that females are inferior and have inferior ways of living in comparison to males.  #femalesareNOTinferior #watchyourmouthjem

Practice what you Preach

Based on the quote in which Atticus says that before he can tell others what to do, he needs to be able to listen and stand by his own beliefs, I would have to believe that Atticus is a responsible parent that makes sure that he practices what he preaches.  I believe that he is trying to teach Jem and Scout that in life, they should always follow and do what they believe in.  One place where this occurs in the book is when Scout comes home from school and asks her father about representing a negro.  In response to this, Atticus explained to his children that in order to follow what he believes in, he had to ignore the chatter from the town that he should not defend Tom Robinson.  This shows that Atticus believes that in order for him to be able to live with himself, he had to do what he believed in.  #admireatticus #practicewhatyoupreach #respect