What Does Tom Robinson Symbolize In To Kill A Mockingbird

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,

Mockingbirds do not do anything but to make music for everyone to enjoy. In a society where people tend to discriminate another; mockingbirds represent the innocent ones who are being victimizes upon. Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, emphasizes the fact that lives are not always equal and also to remind people that it is a sin to accuse someone of a crime based on personal opinion. Everyone likes to gossip, and everyone likes to spread rumors for their own entertainment. For this reason, the town of Maycomb insists to degrade Atticus Finch because he chooses to defend Tom Robinson, an African American worker. Atticus symbolizes a mockingbird in multiple ways, including taking the blame for teaching his child, being a disgrace when trying to defend Tom, having difficulties, discipline Scout and Jem, and constantly

Dolphus Raymond is one of the many victims of racism in Maycomb, as he is forced to live a life of false impressions. After Mr.Raymond let Dill take a sip of his drink, he discreetly said, “...if I weave a little and drink out of this sack, folks can say Dolphus Raymond’s in the clutches of whiskey...”(Lee, 200). Mr. Raymond is letting the people of Maycomb inaccurately believe he is a drunk to give them a reason to tolerate his decision to be in a relationship with an African American woman. Dill identifies Mr.Raymond in the crowd of colored people drinking out of his sack then commented, “‘Why’s he sitting with the colored folks?’ [Jem then replies]

However, Atticus knows since Tom is a black man he will not get a fair trail since the jury is all white and since people back then didn’t favor or teach color people this is why Atticus had to defend Tom which was a man who was wrongly accused for raping a white woman which her name was Mayella Ewell ; she was a very poor white woman the oldest of many children which was in her family .

According to Bob Ewell, he witnessed what happened and made Tom so scared that he ran away. All of the white people already know who is going to win, based on the preference of skin color, so Atticus, the lawyer of Tom, decides to state his opinion of the unfair trial. “I shall be brief, but I would like to use my remaining time with you to remind you that this case is not a difficult one, it requires no minute sifting of complicated facts, but it does require you to be sure beyond all reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the defendant. To begin with, this case should have never come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white” (Lee 271). From the trial, we can infer from Atticus’ points that Tom Robinson is innocent. But since he is black, he doesn’t receive a fair trial and the jury just sides with Mayella Ewell even though the evidence that Atticus points out, clearly reveals that Bob Ewell actually harassed his daughter. “Our courts have their faults, as does any human institution, but in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are

The theme of To Kill a Mockingbird is developed through the character of Tom Robinson and his court case. To paraphrase, Mayella Ewell and her father accused Tom of rape. Because Tom was a black man, he was automatically assumed to be guilty. On page 294, Atticus, Jem and Scout’s father, states that, “Tom Robinson’s a colored man, Jem. No jury in this part of the world’s going to say ‘We think you’re guilty, but not very,’ on a charge like that.” This shows that the jury, along with just about everyone else, thought Tom to be guilty, even though he wasn’t. It was a black man versus a white man, and in that day and age, Tom didn’t stand a chance.

He shows this by going out of his way to help Mayella. Tom testifies, “Mr. Ewell didn’t seem to help her none (256)…” This shows his generosity as he helped her for no reward, just out of the kindness of his heart. Tom is an honest man who is prejudiced because of his skin colour. Scout realises, “It occurred to me that in their own way, Tom Robinson’s manners were as good as Atticus’s (260).” Since the community has the utmost respect for Atticus it shows that racism is the only reason they will not believe him. Lastly, Tom was killed for a crime he didn’t commit. “He likened Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds (323)…” As an innocent man, Tom did not deserve to be killed for this crime. Even though Tom is not guilty, because of the Maycomb’s racism his innocent life was

I have finished reading To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. There were 376 pages total in the novel. This book is about the Finch family who lives in Maycomb Alabama during a time of great racism. The family is made up of Atticus, Calpurnia, their cook, Jem, and Scout. In this journal I will be evaluating.

The citizens of Maycomb think, “He can’t help himself, that’s why he lives the way he does” (Lee 228), and Dolphus understands this clearly. He recognizes that he is kind to all towns people and children, yet, he is still rejected for living with a black women and mullato children. One action Dolphus performs is pretending to be drunk in public. He puts this act on due to it being easier for individuals to believe he is drunk, rather than presume that he chooses to live this way. He is selecting to have people think poorly of him in view of the fact that it is easier for him to be seen as the bad guy than it is for him to explain to everyone that he is not. Another instance of how dolphus unselfishly helps people is when he calls to Dill, “Come on round here son, I got something that’ll settle your stomach” (Lee 267). Offering Dill the Coca-Cola, he is proving his kind innocence, although the kids are unsure, due to everybody making the assumption of Dolphus Raymond being the town drunk. Nobody gives him the chance or trust he deserves until now. He displays his affable attitude, but instead, people do not pay attention, they rather judge and cause pain to

Atticus shows how courageous he is many times throughout this novel, including when Tom Robinson was put on trial. Tom is an African American who is accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. Tom is arrested for this incident and put on trial. No lawyer in Maycomb County wants to defend Tom. Until Atticus is asked to represent Tom. Although Atticus knows this will be a tough

Dolphus Raymond exhibits bravery in that he sacrifices his reputation among society to follow his morals and conscience. Dolphus Raymond is a “disgrace” to Maycomb because he lives among African Americans and had mix raced children. The people of Maycomb believe Dolphus does this because of the influence of whisky which they believe he carries around all the time in a bag. Scout and Dill converse with Dolphus outside the court house and they find out Dolphus does not carry around whisky and that in fact he chooses to live that way. Dolphus puts it like this “I try to give ‘em a reason, you see, It helps folks if they can latch onto a reason… folks say Dolphus Raymond’s in the clutches of whiskey—that’s why he won’t change his ways… that’s why he lives the way he does” (Lee 268). Dolphus does this because “they could never, never understand that I live like I do because that’s the way I want to live” (Lee 268). Dolphus was not afraid to live his life the way he wished to, because society insulted and gossiped about him. Dolphus Raymond is a noble symbol of bravery, sacrificing his reputation to live out his conscience and the life he wished to

Tom Robinson in “To Kill A MockingBird” was falsely accused of raping Mayella Ewill. Atticus proves that Tom didn’t rape Mayella, but the jury wouldn’t acquire him because of his skin color. They believed the Ewill’s fake story over Tom’s true story (Lee 276-283). Atticus caught Mayella in several

In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus advises Scout to consider things from another viewpoint. Atticus states that if she can learn this trick, she will be able to get along with various people. Throughout the novel, this quote can be applied to a number of characters to explain how they were misunderstood. Three such characters are Tom Robinson, Mrs Dubose and Boo Radley.

Firstly, Tom Robinson is just one character that is prejudged in the novel. He is accused of raping a white girl named Mayella and it is a problem to the jury that a black man is trying to defend himself in court. Atticus realizes how Tom is being treated unfairly and that it is uncommon for African Americans and white people to associate with each other. During Atticus’s speech, Mayella is accused of lying in her testimony when “she kissed a black man [which is] something that in our society is unspeakable” (Lee 272). The black man who Atticus refers to is Tom. He is ridiculed and judged by several people in the book and he gets all this

Therefore, the mockingbird and Robinson's voice commonly are not paid attention to throughout the whole novel. "It couldn't be worse Jack. The only thing we've got is a black man's word against the Ewells. The jury couldn't possibly be expected to take Tom Robinson's word against the Ewells." (88) This quote from Atticus is noteworthy for it implies that regardless of what Tom Robinson claims in the court, the jury is expected to stand on the white man's side. Although the jury at court is supposed to make objective decisions, along the other villagers, he displays a definite bias against the black man. If there is any responsibility that falls upon Tom, it would be the responsibility for chopping wood and providing help for Mayella who is reflected as the loneliest person on earth in the eyes of Scout. However, the mockingbird figure is wrongly accused of things that he has never done or even imagined. Although there is a sufficient amount of proof that Robinson is innocent, it is ignored after all, and he is imprisoned. Emphasizing this, Atticus tells his son Jem: "In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins." (220) This