Comparing Real Life and Fictional Court Cases of Emmett Hill and Tom Robinson
American history has changed in many ways, whether it’s from civil rights to daily American life. The court system has also changed in many ways, one of which being racism. Two trials in particular are the Emmett Till case and a fictional case, which is the Tom Robinson case from Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Both men are similar because they were both being accused of sexual transgression and both were also victims of excessive violence. Both Emmett and Tom were African Americans who lived through the times of terrible racism in the south. Because both men lived through racism in the 1900’s, their lives were affected with the time honored code, that white men would stick together and stand against any black man, and lastly, they suffered through accusations and punishment without evidence.
Throughout the 1920’s to the1950’s racism ran very deep in the lives of Americans. White Americans hated all black men and women and did whatever they could to demoralize them and make them feel like they did not belong because of their skin color. In both cases, Emmett Till and Tom Robinson were black men accused of going too far with white females. The Emmett Till case took place in the 1950’s. Emmett was a fourteen year old black male accused of “wolf whistling” at, twenty-one year old, white female, Carolyn Bryant from Money, Mississippi. Emmett never physically touched Carolyn Bryant. While visiting his family on vacation, he noticed her from a distance and whistled in a way she took offensively. This was mainly a problem due to the fact that Emmett Till was African American and Carolyn Bryant was not. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, the author, Harper Lee, created a fictional case that demonstrates lifelike problems that real people had to deal with. The Tom Robinson case took place somewhere between the late 1920’s and the early 1930’s in Maycomb County, Alabama. During this time Alabama’s racist roots ran very deep. So many people were struggling
Throughout the 1920’s to the1950’s racism ran very deep in the lives of Americans. White Americans hated all black men and women and did whatever they could to demoralize them and make them feel like they did not belong because of their skin color. In both cases, Emmett Till and Tom Robinson were black men accused of going too far with white females. The Emmett Till case took place in the 1950’s. Emmett was a fourteen year old black male accused of “wolf whistling” at, twenty-one year old, white female, Carolyn Bryant from Money, Mississippi. Emmett never physically touched Carolyn Bryant. While visiting his family on vacation, he noticed her from a distance and whistled in a way she took offensively. This was mainly a problem due to the fact that Emmett Till was African American and Carolyn Bryant was not. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, the author, Harper Lee, created a fictional case that demonstrates lifelike problems that real people had to deal with. The Tom Robinson case took place somewhere between the late 1920’s and the early 1930’s in Maycomb County, Alabama. During this time Alabama’s racist roots ran very deep. So many people were struggling
Cited: Crow, Chris. “The Lynching of Emmett Till.” The history of Jim Crow. n.d. Web. 2 May 2011. <www.jimcrowhistory.org> Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Warner Books, 1960. Print. Devery, Anderson. “A Boy Named Emmett” Case Overview. Emmett Till Murder. 19 November 2011. Web. 2 February 2012 <www.emmetttillmurder.com>. Devery, Anderson. “The Trial of the Killers and Its Aftermath” Case Overview. Emmett Till Murder. 19 November 2011. Web. 2 February 2012 <www.emmetttillmurder.com>.