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Tre Brown English I Persuasive Essay

Tom Robinson: Innocent or Guilty
Evidence that is called into serious question and has been contradicted, has lead to the conclusion that the defendant is not guilty, but

someone in the courtroom is. In Harper Lee's book To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson, a local black man, was accused of raping Mayella

Ewell, the daughter of the nastiest man in Maycomb County, Bob Ewell. Tom made a very convincing testimony while Mayella, on the other

hand, did not. Atticus, Tom's lawyer, tricked Bob and Mayella Ewell into things that made Tom sound innocent. Atticus also stated many

convincing reasons why Tom Robinson was not guilty. Tom Robinson is not guilty because he states he is innocent, he helps Mayella Ewell,

and he is unable to use his left arm. Although Tom Robinson is believed to be guilty by many people, he is innocent.

To begin with, Tom Robinson is not guilty because he stated it in his testimony and had reasons to back it up. Tom told the courtroom

that he never raped Mayella Ewell. He was only in her house because she said she needed help with a job and the money she was going to

pay him was inside. He also said that Mayella came on to him first and he never meant to harm her in any way. Tom looked honest and his

testimony was convincing which should have led the jury to believe that he is innocent. Also he was in the house a couple of times before,

doing other jobs for free and an incident hadn't occurred then.

Secondly, Tom Robinson is innocent because the mockingbird represents him. In this story Tom resembles the mockingbird because like

the bird, Tom is an innocent young man who doesn't want any trouble but gets it anyway. A mockingbird doesn't do anything but sing and yet

some people will kill them. That is exactly what happened to Tom. He was innocent but still he was killed for no good reason similar to that

of a mockingbird.

Mainly Tom Robinson is innocent because he is unable to use his left arm. When he was younger, Tom got his left arm stuck in a cotton

gin and is now unable to use that arm. Atticus called Bob Ewell to the stand and found out that Mayella Ewell was beaten on the right side of

her face. This means that a left handed man had to have beaten her so it couldn't have been Tom. With more investigating, Atticus

discovered that Bob Ewell is left handed. Did Bob Ewell beat his daughter and use the Tom Robinson story as a cover-up?

In conclusion, Tom Robinson is innocent because of three convincing reasons. The first being that he stated he was not guilty and backed

it up with facts and a convincing testimony. He is also innocent because he resembles the mockingbird, being innocent but still harmed.

Lastly, Tom is innocent because he can not use his left arm and Mayella was beaten by a left handed man. These reasons clearly help state

why Tom Robinson is an innocent man.