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The Need for Social Justice 
  • Did Atticus do any good in taking the case to trial?
  • After reading Mr. Underwood’s editorial, Scout realizes, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case.  Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed” (276).  Did Atticus really use every tool available?  Was there anything else that could have been done? 
  • At one point after the trial, Scout is playing with a bug, but when she tries to smash it, Jem stops her.  From the text: 

“Why couldn’t I mash him? I asked.

“Because they don’t bother you,” Jem answered in the darkness.  (273).

                Where do you think Jem got his soft spot for the bugs?  
Posted by On October 13, 2014 at 11:17 AM  12 Comments

Comments
Chayne Cooper (Guest) said On November 12, 2015 at 12:07 PM
Yes, I do believe that Atticus did do good by taking the case. He made the people of the town that were on the jury think which is evident in the way that a trial like this would usually be quick, while this one was longer. Yes, Atticus did use every tool available in his arsenal to save Robinson. But, that wasn't enough to save him because the town was so rooted in hatred and prejudice, so there was really nothing else that could have been done.  
Krutik P (Guest) said On November 11, 2015 at 9:50 PM
Atticus does do well in taking the case to trial because he helped people understand that Tom Robinson is not bad and guilty. There was no way Atticus could of help save Tom because he used ever resource. For instance it states on page 276, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case.” Atticus tried arguing to prove Tom innocence and get all the evidence possible. However, Tom was still guilty for the crime and there wasn’t much he can do. After the trail Scout is playing with the bug, but tries to smash it, and Jem stops her. I think Jem got his soft spot for the bugs after seeing how Tom is innocence just like the bug. In the story, Jem believes if the bug did not do anything wrong you should not harm it. This relates to how Tom Robinson was completely innocence for convicting the crime and did nothing wrong.  
Krutik P (Guest) said On November 11, 2015 at 8:01 PM
Atticus does do well in taking the case to trial because he helped people understand that Tom Robinson is not bad and guilty. There was no way Atticus could of help save Tom because he used ever resource. For instance it states on page 276, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case.” Atticus tried arguing to prove Tom innocence and get all the evidence possible. However, Tom was still guilty for the crime and there wasn’t much he can do. After the trail Scout is playing with the bug, but tries to smash it, and Jem stops her. I think Jem got his soft spot for the bugs after seeing how Tom is innocence just like the bug. In the story, Jem believes if the bug did not do anything wrong you should not harm it. This relates to how Tom Robinson was completely innocence for convicting the crime and did nothing wrong.  
Krutik P. (Guest) said On November 11, 2015 at 7:33 PM
Atticus does do well in taking the case to trial because he helped people understand that Tom Robinson is not bad and guilty. There was no way Atticus could of help save Tom because he used ever resource. For instance it states on page 276, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case.” Atticus tried arguing to prove Tom innocence and get all the evidence possible. However, Tom was still guilty for the crime and there wasn’t much he can do. After the trail Scout is playing with the bug, but tries to smash it, and Jem stops her. I think Jem got his soft spot for the bugs after seeing how Tom is innocence just like the bug. In the story, Jem believes if the bug did not do anything wrong you should not harm it. This relates to how Tom Robinson was completely innocence for convicting the crime and did nothing wrong.   
Krutik P. (Guest) said On November 11, 2015 at 7:31 PM
Atticus does do well in taking the case to trial because he helped people understand that Tom Robinson is not bad and guilty. There was no way Atticus could of help save Tom because he used ever resource. For instance it states on page 276, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case.” Atticus tried arguing to prove Tom innocence and get all the evidence possible. However, Tom was still guilty for the crime and there wasn’t much he can do. After the trail Scout is playing with the bug, but tries to smash it, and Jem stops her. I think Jem got his soft spot for the bugs after seeing how Tom is innocence just like the bug. In the story, Jem believes if the bug did not do anything wrong you should not harm it. This relates to how Tom Robinson was completely innocence for convicting the crime and did nothing wrong.   
Zoha E (Guest) said On November 11, 2015 at 6:53 PM
By taking the case to trial, Atticus did do good, even if the results couldn’t be seen immediately. Atticus brought the problem of prejudice and racism to light. It might’ve been inevitable that Tom would get convicted, but Atticus helped bring the town one step closer to change. He planted the seed into the town’s mind that maybe their way of life wasn’t right. The jury spent hours to decide Tom’s fate. They knew deep down that Tom was innocent, but their past prejudices stopped them from letting Tom go. But from Atticus’ actions, the townspeople had been exposed to the truth and eventually even the most hard set prejudices can be changed. Atticus tried his best to prove Tom was innocent. He protected and fought for Tom the best he could. Atticus even protected Tom when the gang of men tried to kill him. Jem got his soft spot for bugs from Tom’s death. Tom was innocent but in the end still got killed. Just like the bug, Tom didn’t do anything bad to anyone. Jem compared the bug to Tom and felt bad for it. That’s why he yelled at Scout for trying to kill it.   
Xerxes T. (Guest) said On November 10, 2015 at 1:05 PM
To be very honest, I think that he didn’t do any good in taking the case to trial. If we analyze what the case would’ve been without him, it would’ve ended the same. The prejudiced jury would have reached the same conclusion even had Atticus been the best lawyer in the world, only because of his skin color. Tom would’ve died anyway, and so the only difference there was his going out on his own terms. The only true difference was that Atticus now had thrust himself and his family into a harsh spotlight of threats and violence towards him for being supportive of the black man. Atticus truly did use every tool at his disposal. He attempted to win over the jury with logic and empathy and compassion and did indeed try every approach he possibly could. The only difference was that he was inevitably taken down due to skin color. There was, unfortunately for Tom, nothing else that could be done about it. Jem possibly got his soft spot for said bug due to their not having done anything. It was a similar case to when Mr. Underwood thought, “He likened Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children.” Tom is a representation of the mockingbird who cannot be shot, and the bug is a representation of Tom. It would be senseless to kill something or even someone who does not harm you, bother you, and does nothing at all to disturb your life other than just merely being there. Jem’s soft spot could show his changing from the young impressionable character ready to shoot any bird, he now has compassion and understands the world a little better.  
Shri P. (Guest) said On November 09, 2015 at 9:02 PM
Atticus does do fine in taking the case to trial because he changed people’s understanding of Tom Robinson. He helped people knows that just because he is black it does not mean he is guilty. Atticus used ever tool possible to help save Tom Robinson. For example, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case.” (pg.276) Atticus used every method of saving Tom by arguing and getting evidence. When Scout is playing with the bug and tries to smash it, Jem stops her. I think the bug shows Tom Robinson’s innocence towards the case. If he didn’t do anything wrong you should not harm it. As you see, both are innocence and did not do anything bad.  
Shreya G (Guest) said On November 09, 2015 at 8:12 PM
Atticus has done some good in taking the case into trial. First and foremost, it can be seen that there was difficulty choosing a verdict as the jury took a longer time than usual to make a decision. This implies that maybe they were considering to take Tom Robinson’s side. Atticus uses all the tools and resources available to help Tom. For example, he uses all tactics possible to show to the court that Tom is innocent. Atticus also tries to make others empathize with Tom. However, in the end, no matter how guiltless Tom was, it was simply a case of a white man’s word versus a black man’s. For these reasons, there was nothing that could really be done to prove Tom’s innocence. At one point after the trial, Scout is playing with a bug, but when she wants to smash it, Jem stops her. I think Jem got his soft spot for the bugs from the Tom Robinson case. I feel that for Jem, the bug symbolizes Tom. The bug did not do anything wrong and neither did Tom. Therefore, he stops Scout from smashing it.   
Jasmine R. (Guest) said On November 09, 2015 at 4:34 PM
I don't believe that Atticus did any good in taking the case because the verdict was still guilty. No one changed based on the outcome because it was expected. Tom Robinson had a very slim chance of being claimed innocent. The children in school even pity Scout and Jem for having Atticus as a father. Although the verdict was guilty, I think that Atticus used every tool available because he found all the evidence he could to prove Tom Robinson was innocent. There was nothing else that he could have done, the jury still was racist and chose Mayella over Tom Robinson. Jem created a soft spot for bugs because the bug reminded him of Tom Robinson, innocent and harmless. The bug didn't do anything to Scout, so Jem did not believe that she should kill it.  
Emily N (Guest) said On November 09, 2015 at 12:33 PM
Atticus does do some good in taking the case to trial, yet also does some bad. It's good because he changes the perspective of some individuals with showing them Tom is not guilty. The trial lasted longer than most would have predicted because the jury had a difficult time deciding. He helps build the shape that just because he's black, it doesn't mean he's guilty. He lets others in Tom's shoes and see Tom's point of view. There is nothing else Atticus could of truly done to save Tom. It is even stated, "Atticus has no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed." People back then will obviously believe a white women over a black man. There is no justice for black people. At one point after the trial, Scout plays with a bug, but when she tries to smash it, Jem stops her. Jem has a soft spot to the bug because she sees the bug as Tom Robinson. Why kill a bug that didn't do any harm to you? So why convict Tom as guilty if he's an innocent man. It isn't right. They both don't deserve it. There's no justice for either of them.  
Darin M (Guest) said On November 09, 2015 at 12:30 PM
In my opinion no Atticus didn't help improve the situation at all by taking this case. A lot of people still think the same way and even the children at Scout and Jem's school feel pity for them for having a father like Atticus. Atticus did use every tool he had to try to free Tom Robinson. He tried to use arguments that proves his point and I think we can all agree Atticus was right about what happened. But even though all the evidence was laid out that Tom Robinson was innocent he was still convicted of the crime he didn't do. So in the end there really wasn't much Atticus could do to save him. I think for Jem the bug symbolizes Tom Robinson and how he was completely innocent and did nothing wrong. That was why he told Scout not to step on the bug because it would basically be like convicting Tom Robinson even though he did noting wrong.   
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