To Kill A Mockingbird-The Ox-Bow Incident-Comparison

When is mob justice justified? Is it true that justice acts too slowly and therefore should we commend the people who take the law into their own hands for their quick thinking and swift punishment for wrongdoing? Both of the novels The Ox-Bow Incident and To Kill a Mockingbird, by Walter Van Tilburg Clark and Harper Lee respectively, demonstrate the consequences of mob violence and punishment without trial. It can be deduced that mob justice, or people acting on what they think is right and not observing what the law says, is not justified in any case. Too many problems arise when justice is not left for the courts to decide. This is observed in The Ox-Bow Incident, where a mob gathers and lynches several suspected criminals, but only results in even more death for several innocent people. Mob violence is also plays a part in To Kill a Mockingbird. The situation involves a male Negro on trial for supposedly raping a young woman. A mob with cruel intentions moved in on the ja...