Question
Identify the fallacy the witnesses for the state assume, and explain how their assumption commits that fallacy.
“The witnesses for the state, with the exception of the sheriff of Maycomb County, have presented themselves to you gentlemen, to this court, in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption—the evil assumption—that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption one associates with minds of their calibre.” (spoken by Atticus Finch to the jury in his closing statement from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)
“The witnesses for the state, with the exception of the sheriff of Maycomb County, have presented themselves to you gentlemen, to this court, in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption—the evil assumption—that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption one associates with minds of their calibre.” (spoken by Atticus Finch to the jury in his closing statement from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)
A oversimplification
B red herrring
C hasty generalization
D appeal to authority
This question is taken from English 104 – Critical Analysis and Literature » Fall 2021 » Midterm Exam
