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Andrew Mendes
Crystal Diaz
ELA 10
11/13/15

Analytical Essay

Ben Franklin once said, Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as
outraged as those who are. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, takes place in the 1930s over
a two year span in Maycomb, Alabama. In the book, the main characters are two siblings named
Scout and Jem. Throughout the book, the kids run into multiple problems, from chasing after the
elusive Boo Radley to watching their father , Atticus Finch defend the wrongfully accused Tom
Robinson and even a near death experience. The most important theme in To Kill a Mockingbird
is justice because in the book some characters in the book got justice while others did not .
Justice is the most important theme in the book because it is overlooked by some and
wanted by others throughout To Kill a Mockingbird. Tom Robinson did not have justice. He was
wrongly arrested and convicted for a crime he didnt do and then was shot 17 times trying to
escape jail. There was no justice for Tom and his family. When the case first started Atticus said,
This case should have never gone to court. This case is as simple as black and white(231).
Black men at the time were believed to be unhonorable people who lied and stole. So in a
courtroom the word of a white man was more credible than the word of a black man. Atticus
knew Tom Robinson was going to have a hard time getting his freedom and getting justice.

Justice was served when Bob Ewell got killed by Boo Radley. Bob was the reason why
Tom
Robinson was convicted and murdered. He was the one who said Tom raped his daughter when it
was him who raped and beat his daughter. During the investigation the sheriff of Maycomb
stated, Bob Ewells lyin on the ground under that tree yonder with a kitchen knife stuck up
under his ribs(266). Bob Ewell got what he deserved when Boo killed him. Bob went after two
young children, Jem and Scout, and broke Jem's arm. That is one of the ways that justice
prevailed in the book.
As previously stated, the most important theme in this book is justice. In the end of the
book there was justice for Tom because Mr.Ewell was stabbed by Boo. In real life there has been
incidents where people have been killed because of their skin color. One incident is the Michael
Brown incident in Ferguson where he was shot and killed and no jail time was given to the
officer. We have come a long way from Tom Robinson time, but that incident proves we still
have far to go.