The murder of Emmett Till and the novel, To Kill a Mocking Bird, by Harper Lee both involve tragedy and murder of innocent people due to the color of their skin. In both cases, the trouble begins due to a black man’s interaction with a white woman. In the Emmett Till case, Emmett whistled at Carolyn Bryan. Where as in the novel to Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson, a black man is accused of raping Mayella Ewell. At Tom Robinson’s trial Mayella and her father testify against claiming that he had raped Mayella. Tom Robinson claims he is innocent and testifies that Mayella asked Tom Robinson for help with her chores and then she was the one who tried to hug him. Then Bob Ewell came in and of course Tom ran away because he was frightened (Lee).
Bob Ewell and J.W. Milam are characterized as heavy drinking men with nasty personalities. In both cases, an all-white jury was appointed, resulting in an almost predictable verdict. Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam’s trial they were acquitted very quickly, due to people’s racial biases at the time. At Tom Robinson’s trial, the jury decides that Tom Robinson is guilty. Both trials took place in segregated court rooms as well. The verdicts of both trials were very outraging. In the Emmett Till case, racist whites claim that they cannot prove that it is the body of Emmett Till and therefore acquit his white killers. Tom Robinson and Emmett Till are both important symbols of innocence destroyed by evil. Both of these stories had an enormous emotional impact on people, and still do today (Lee).