Johnny Russell
12 Angry Men vs. Tom Robinson
Have you ever felt that life is unfair? Tom Robinson and the nineteen year old
boy must feel this way. Tom Robinson is black and lives in a white dominated area. The
nineteen year old boy is a kid who was born and raised in the slums. So for them it is
unfair. Because prejudiced people are everywhere in the world we live in this brings
many similarities and differences between Twelve Angry Men and Tom Robinson. Tom
Robinson and the Nineteen year old boy have so many similarities and differences.
There are many similarities in the two books. In To Kill a Mockingbird people
hated the blacks. “Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when any case involves a
Negro.” (Lee Ch. 17) Everyone knew it was really Bob Ewell who raped his daughter
but, Tom is black so they don’t like him. Tom is black and the whites hate the blacks.
The white people are running the society so the odds are against Tom. Unfortunately the
case went against Tom Robinson. They were deciding on if the boy was guilty or not. So
they took their time to decide. “There is a boys life at stake here can’t we all talk about it
for atleast an hour.” (Pg.19) a boy’s life is at stake so it is important to at least take some
time to think about it. You can’t just kill a boy because there is some evidence it was him.
Equally important in the end everyone had a change of mind. The jury just heard the
evidence the court had and they think they know the whole story. “Were trying to put a
guilty man into the chair where he belongs.” (pg. 18) They think they have the story
straight and they want the boy gone. They think that the boy is guilty so he should go to
prison. Although the boy was found not guilty the jury was all prejudice.
There are many differences in the two books. Tom Robinson was actually ruled
guilty by the jury and he later died trying to escape from prison. “The black man is dead
for no reason.” (Lee 210) Tom Robinson went to prison and was killed without him being
truly guilty. Tom Robinson was found guilty when there was not enough evidence against
it. If blacks and whites were equal things would be way different. It’s a democracy, free
country so they need to think hard if the boy is guilty or not. “We have a responsibility.
This is the remarkable thing about democracy.” (pg.19) They actually went through every
detail because it is their responsibility. It is very important that they spend every second
talking about the case because the boy’s life is at stake. No one in the jury of the Tom
Robinson Case stood alone. One man, jury number eight stood alone because he had the
bravery to do so. “It takes a great deal of courage to stand alone.” (pg.23) Jury number
eight stood alone. He had the guts to be the loner. It takes guts to stand alone for
something you believe. Besides he is the one that saved the boys life.
Life is unfair. Tom Robinson was prejudged and the boy in Twelve Angry Men
was too. They were both treated unfairly. Their were many similarities and differences. It
is too bad that people can be so mean to the minority.