Justice and Law Flashcards
“Our courts have our faults, as does any human institution, but in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal.”
-Atticus closing statement at trial to jury.
-Appeals to patriotism of jury by suggesting that American courts ensure equality.
-But TR is still wrongly convicted.
-Shows deep bias in the court system and disproves Atticus’s point.
-Reveals the instance between the ideal of American courts and the reality.
“Atticus Finch won’t win, he can’t win, but he’s the only man in these parts who can keep a jury out so long in a case like that.”
-Miss Maudie to Jem and Scout.
-They are disappointed that their father lost the trial.
-Reaffirms Atticus’ exceptional character.
-Emphases that structural injustice made the case unwinnable from start.
-Suggests that social change does not occur quickly but is accumulated over time.
-The long jury deliberation indicates a potential future of change and represents a step in right direction.
“The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box.”
-Atticus to Jem and Scout.
-Complicated relationship between the justice system and the individuals who participate in it.
-Some institutions seem fair on paper but each trial is in some way biased by the judge, jury, lawyers and other individuals in the courtroom.
-Says that despite this inherent bias, each individual must strive to make their participation in the trial as free of prejudice as possible.
“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”
-In the third quote, Atticus talks about the injustice of the Tom Robinson case as a microcosm of racial prejudice on a larger scale.
-The third quote highlights the injustice in the courts and the failure of the legal system to provide a fair trial to all, regardless of race:
The fact that the jury convict Tom without looking him in the eye supports this argument:
Through this, Lee exposes the unfairness of Jim Crow Laws and draws attention to the plight of African American people, perhaps to increase support for the Civil Rights Movement
