Tom Robinson's Trial

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The trials of Tom Robinson and Bertram Cates both speak of the fundamental necessity of the balance between reason and passion. The trials are both housed in strictly biased communities that refuse to sacrifice their beliefs for the greater need to uphold justice and abide by constitutional beliefs. Atticus Finch, in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and Henry Drummond in Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, both struggle to establish the concept of equality in the prejudiced South. Atticus’ primary struggle is to overcome the deeply ingrained Jim Crow laws that have permeated the Southern Community. Drummond strives to establish the concept of secularism and to uphold the ever present issue of having personal beliefs in …show more content…
Atticus’ example in To Kill A Mockingbird speaks of how hard those who advocated social equality had to strive. Tom Robinson’s trial occurred in a period (1936) when Jim Crow laws were strictly enforced despite their unconstitutional basis. Atticus’ futile struggle for racial equality, for establishing the principles guaranteed in the Constitution show the democratic principles he is trying to enforce. Atticus acknowledges this when he says: “There's something in our world that makes men lose their heads — they couldn't be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins. They're ugly, but those are the facts of life...” (Lee 295) The excerpt above highlights the struggle Atticus undergoes to defend Tom Robinson. It shows how his defeat was inevitable, yet he persisted in establishing constitutional …show more content…
They are able to establish the balance between reason and passion. In Inherit the Wind, Cates and Rachel with their love and the right to freedom of thought, reason, are able to overcome prejudice and bigotry. The trials that transpire in Inherit the Wind and To Kill A Mockingbird are based off of trials that raised controversy, these books have been able to establish a Constitutional basis to both trials. The fact that these books are immensely popular, even today, speaks of the reality that they may represent the state of equality in our
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