Tom Robinson Character Analysis

Tom Robinson’s character exemplifies the mockingbird because he is a black man who is denied justice based on racial prejudice. After Mayella Ewell accuses Tom of rape, there is no way for him to be judged fairly because the narrow-minded, white townspeople are unable to get past their prejudices towards blacks. At his trial, Tom’s lawyer, Atticus, argues,

Tom Robinson, a familiar name in the MAycomb community, and not for the good reasons unfortunatley. Mayella Ewells is charginng Tom of rape and beating her, which are false accusations. He was completely innocent and not gulity. Tom was found guilty simply because of the color of his skin. He was later taken to prison were Tom was shot to death seventeentimes “ I guess Tom was tired of white mens chances and preferred to take his own. “ Atticus knew and understood that Tom would have no more hope left after all he has been through. All he was trying to do was help someone whom was inneed of help. While mockingbirds do nothing to bother others, Tom tries to escape the bird cage he is blindsided by seventeen bullets realizing that there is no way out.

Arthur Radley experiences social prejudice throughout the novel, hence, he is marginalised by the people of Maycomb. He is firstly portrayed as a mysterious character through the rumours of the towns. On pg9 various sentences such as, “Inside the house lived a malevolent phantom. People said he existed but Jem and I had never seen him. People said he went out at night when the moon was high and peeped in windows. When people’s azaleas froze in a cold snap, it was

Tom Robinson is another mockingbird figure. He was a genuinely caring person who is destroyed by his willingness to help Mayella Ewell. Just like a mockingbird, Robinson never hurt anyone. Yet, he was also persecuted by society for his kindness and his race. Tom Robinson was killed because of his kindness and the color of his skin; “ a harmless songbird that was shot down by a senseless hunter.” Lee uses the character of Tom as a mockingbird figure to express the innocence of the mockingbird and exhibit the narrow-mindedness and biased opinions of the towns folk.

It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird “shoot all the bluejays you want, but it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”. This quote is said by Atticus who is a lawyer that defends an innocent black man for being accused of raping a white women. To kill a mockingbird is set in the 1930s in Maycomb alabama where there was prejudices. This story is not just about racism but implies a deeper meaning, the mockingbird has a strong message and holds an important metaphorical meaning. The mockingbird is portrayed as a innocent fragile songbird that symbolizes innocence but is killed by men. Tom Robinson symbolizes an innocent fragile songbird because he does no harm to society, his voice is ignored by almost everyone, and he gets shot and killed just like an innocent fragile songbird.

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, injustice is a main theme that is reflected towards many characters. To Kill a Mockingbird, is a novel written by Harper Lee and published in the nineteen-sixties. Many characters in the story are treated unfairly in society due to racial or prejudicial attitudes. Overall these characters are innocent victims of injustice. Atticus, Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson are considered to be mockingbirds in the novel. A mockingbird was defined as a bird that did nothing wrong, but sang beautiful music for us to hear. These characters did nothing wrong and were treated unfairly in their town. In this different society, there are many factors that have had an influence on people’s perceptions towards others.

“Human beings are poor examiners, subject to superstition, bias, prejudice, and a profound tendency to see what they want to see rather than what is really there” ~ Scott Peck. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird abounds with the injustice produced by social, gender, and racial prejudice. The setting of the book takes place in the 1930s, where racism is a big deal in society. In the novel Harper Lee uses a mockingbird as an analogy to the characters. The Mockingbird is a symbol for Three Characters in the book, Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley. The people of Maycomb only know Boo Radley and Tom Robinson by what others say about them. These Characters are then characterized by other people 's viewpoints. In the novel there are many themes that are adjacent to our lives, the one that is found in To Kill A Mockingbird is Human Conflict comes from the inability for one to understand another. “ You never understand a person until you consider things from his point of view- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (39)

Harper Lee’s novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” is set in a small, southern town, Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The story is told through the eyes of a girl named Scout about her father, Atticus, an attorney who strives to prove the innocence of a black man named Tom Robinson, who was accused of rape and Boo Radley, an enigmatic neighbor who saves Scout and her brother Jem from being killed. Atticus does his job in proving there was no way that Tom Robinson was guilty during his trial, but despite Tom Robinson’s obvious innocence, he is convicted of rape as it is his word against a white woman’s. Believing a “black man’s word” seemed absurd as segregation was a very integrated part of life in the south. The social hierarchy must be maintained at all costs and if something in the system should testify the innocence of a black man against a white woman’s word and win then what might happen next? Along with the prejudice amongst blacks and whites, the story also showed how people could be misunderstood for who they truly are such as Boo Radley. Without ever seeing Boo, Jem and the townsfolk made wild assumptions on what Boo does or looks like. Even so, while “To Kill a Mockingbird” shows the ugliness that can come from judging others, its ultimate message is that great good can result when one defers judgement until considering things from another person’s view. Walter Cunningham, Mrs. Dubose, and Boo Radley are all examples of how looking at things

Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed” (Lee 322). In this quote the narrator is saying how being black automatically makes you guilty, even though the jury knew he was innocent. This quote proves the main idea because it shows the point of view of an African American. Everyone knew that Tom Robinson was innocent because of the strong evidence Atticus gave, but he was still charged guilty. The author included the quote as a way to show the different point of views of different characters. Tom Robinson’s point of view was portrayed and shows the racism in Maycom county. He was automatically ruled guilty just because he was black. Prior this quote Scout had been in a fight with a boy at school because he called Atticus a “nigger-lover”. Atticus tells Scout, "Nigger-lover is just one of those terms that don't mean anything—like snot-nose. It's hard to explain—ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody's favoring Negroes over and above themselves” (Lee 144). In this quote Atticus is telling Scout about the racism in Maycomb county and how some people were with it and some against it. This quote is an example of the main idea because it helps to show the point of view of a white person who is not racist in Maycomb county. Almost all the white people in Maycomb discriminate blacks except for Atticus. The author used this

In conclusion, the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee has many examples of cruelty in the world, as shown by the characters Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Dolphus Raymond. Boo Radley’s case is more general, throughout the entire world. Because of the cruelty he sees, he decides to stay inside his house, not because he’s forced to, which is common belief in the neighborhood. Tom Robinson’s case is towards black

Tom Robinson’s role in this book shows a lot of prejudice. He is a black man convicted of raping a white women. This book is set in the 1930s, during this time period the Jim Crow Laws were still in place and racism was big. ‘You felt sorry for her, you felt sorry for her?’ Mr. Gilmer seemed ready to rise to the ceiling” (Lee, pg 197). Tom Robinson is talking about how he felt sorry for Miss Mayella, who is white. Mr Gilmer gets very upset stating that a nigger should not feel sorry for a white woman. "There's something in our world that makes men lose their heads -- they couldn't be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins. They're ugly, but those are the fact of life.” (Lee, pg.220) Atticus is talking to the kids about how Tom Robinson will get the death sentence because of the color of his skin and how the jury looks at him. He talks about there is no court in Alabama that would’ve gave him something less. Basically it was Tom against a town full of white folks. Tom is a big symbol of prejudice in the book.

Tom Robinson is a mockingbird because he was innocent of the crime that Mayella said he committed. During Tom Robinson's testimony he said, “ …. I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more than the rest of em- …” (page 197) This showed us Tom's character , he simply wanted to help her out of the own kindness of his heart. The local journalist reflected on Tom’s death written in his editorial by referring to it as the, “Senseless slaughter of songbirds...Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson ,but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom

Undoubtedly, Tom Robinson was one of the most important characters in the novel since he was an innocent man found guilty of raping a white woman. Tom was a victim of prejudice because he was unjustly convicted of a crime he did not commit based solely on the fact that he was a black man. He did not receive a fair chance of winning the case since the outcome was in favour of the woman that charged him with rape, Mayella Ewell. His defence attorney, Atticus Finch, was aware of this and so he exposed the state of mind many people in Maycomb have about black people to the jury: "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

Harper Lee's ‘To kill a Mockingbird’ explores the prejudicial issues which plague over the town Maycomb. Harper Lee uses the trial of Tom Robinson a black man accused of rape on a young white girl, Mayella as a central theme to portray the prominence of racial discrimination in Maycomb. The racial prejudice is also widely shown through the characterisation of Atticus. Having Scout as the narrator allows Harper Lee to highlight the gender inequity through a youthful unbiased perspective. The chauvinistic attitudes and prejudiced views of most of the town’s folk leaves Maycombs social hierarchy in an unfair order, victimising many of the town’s people due to their socially non-conforming habits some ‘socially unaccepted people’ including Boo

Mr.Robinson is a kind, honest, and hardworking man who has never hurt anyone in anyway, shape, or form. Tom Robinson is also referred to as a mockingbird also because of his innocence. Before he was accused of raping Mr. Ewell, He would help anyone with whatever they needed without asking for anything in return especially with Mr. Ewell chores. Ever since the trial begun the town assumes that he is guilty because of his skin color. Even after his death the town assumes that it's "typical of a African American to cut and run"(Lee 276).