Wednesday, April 27, 2016

In To Kill a Mockingbird, what specific evidence did Atticus Finch use in the courtroom to prove Tom Robinson's innocence?

During
's brilliant defense of Tom Robinson, he presents several important details of the incident,
elaborates on Bob and Mayella's motivations to fabricate their testimonies, and makes Mayella
contradict her statements, which proves his client's innocence. Atticus initially focuses on the
location of Mayella's injuries as Sheriff Tate testifies that the majority of the bruises were
located on the right side of her face. After Bob Ewell confirms Tate's testimony, Atticus
illustrates that Bob Ewell is left-handed, which suggests that his punches would have landed on
the right side of Mayella's face. Atticus then cleverly shows the jury that Tom Robinson is
handicapped and his left arm is virtually useless, which means he could not have inflicted those
injuries. Atticus implies that Bob was his daughter's perpetrator.

Atticus
proceeds to mention that there was no medical evidence to suggest that Mayella was raped, and
his hard line of questioning influences her to contradict her story on the witness stand. After
emphasizing Mayella's lies, commenting on the lack of medical evidence, and reminding the jury
of Tom's handicap in relation to the location of Mayella's injuries, Atticus then comments on
her motivation to lie. In his closing remarks, Atticus mentions that Mayella had broken a
time-honored code by tempting a black man and was motivated to cover up the incident in order to
avoid public shame as well as her father's wrath.

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