Judge Taylor pounds his gavel several times throughout the trial as a way to restore order in the court. Scout mentions that Judge Taylor's court was rather serene, and he only needed to pound his gavel a few times to settle the audience.
In Chapter 17, while Bob Ewell is on the witness stand, he stands up and points at Tom Robinson and says, "I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin' on my Mayella!" (Lee 213). Scout mentions that Judge Taylor pounds his gavel for five minutes straight in order to calm the crowd down. Later on in the trial, when Atticus asks Tom what happened after he got down from the chair, Tom says that Mayella hugged him around the waist. Once again, Judge Taylor smacks his gavel with authority to restore order, and the overhead lights turned on. At the end of the trial, as Judge Taylor is reading the verdict, Scout says, "His gavel was in his fist, but he wasn't using it" (Lee 282).
In the first two examples, Judge Taylor uses his gavel to quell the audience's reactions. The audience is made up of predominately prejudiced individuals who wish to see Tom Robinson convicted. Judge Taylor's gavel silences their voices, which benefits Tom Robinson. Symbolically, his gavel represents justice. "Real justice" is not swayed by popular opinion and does not take into consideration one's race, gender, background, or social status. His gavel symbolizes fairness and silences the lies and prejudice throughout the courtroom. Whenever Judge Taylor uses his gavel, Tom is receiving a fair trial and justice is being delivered. Scout mentions that Judge Taylor was simply holding his gavel, rather than using it while he read the verdict. The gavel, which represents "real justice," was not being utilized. As a result, Tom is wrongly convicted and becomes a tragic victim of injustice.
No comments:
Post a Comment