Jem Letter to Atticus (to Kill a Mockingbird)

Maycomb

Alabama

1933

Dear Atticus,

I feel awkward telling you these things face to face, so I decided to write you a letter. A few weeks ago, I was ashamed to be your son. I saw you as just a frail, old, boring man. But now, after the trial, I see you are anything but. The way that you defended Tom Robinson was heroic, and even though you lost, you were able to prove Tom was innocent and would have won had he been a white man. I am sure that had Tom not been shot, we would have won the appeal and he would have been freed. You showed great composure during the trial, and never let your emotions get the better of you. I think it's right good of you to ignore Mr. Ewell whenever he speaks to you; he is truly a horrible man who deserves to be locked up. I admit that if it were me, I would have probably sunk to his level, and called him names back, or even went as far as to hit him.

I am still pretty shocked that Tom was convicted, even though Reverend Sykes told me that he'd never seen a black man defeat a white man in court, I was still sure Tom would be the one to change that. The fact that it was physically impossible for Tom to have committed this crime made me positive the jury would have cleared him. It just shows how racist the jury were. But at least we made them think about it, and one of them knew they were making a mistake. Had there been just one more, they couldn't have convicted him, how I wish there had been one other person on the jury who saw sense. Once again I'd like to thank you for letting me, Scout and Dill watch the verdict, despite it being against the wishes of Aunt Alexandria and Calpurnia.

I feel all three of us have learned a lot from this, and we got a first hand experience of just how racist Macycomb actually is. I knew there was racism but I had no idea it was on this level, where a man who is so obviously innocent is found guilty because he is black. I hope in the future we can convict people based on the crimes they have committed, not on the colour of their skin.

Lastly, I want to say, that this experience has let me see you in a different light, and I'm proud to be your son.

Yours Faithfully,

Jem