What Is Tom Robinson's Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

Today’s society is damaged with the results of people doing terrible things to each other. Peoples actions can make or break lives.The novel To Kill A Mockingbird, is about a little girl, her Brother, their Dad, and the negro they all fight to defend. The main character scout and her older brother Jem, get into all sorts of dilemmas in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. As they learn new valuable lessons about life, they also pick up that the small town they grow up in is not as clean and safe as it seems. The father, Atticus Finch is a kind hearted soul who was given the case of Tom Robinson, a negro accused of Raping a white woman. As soon as Atticus was given the case he aimed to defend Tom but a faulty jury made sure it did not happen.To

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,

The novel “To Kill a Mocking Bird” is based in the fictional small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. When slavery and the Civil War were still present in the people’s way of living and the civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s are far from close. The novel focuses on the Finches: Scout, her brother Jem, and their father Atticus, and the trial of Tom Robinson and how it affected them and the town. Witnessing the injustice of Tom Robinson’s trial changed Scout Finch in many ways. Scout learns that there is more than one type of courage, she learns about race and its complexity, and she also changes how she views the people around her by putting herself

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.

“Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird,” Atticus Finch cautioned, which symbolizes Tom Robinson’s innocence and misinterpretation in To Kill a Mockingbird. Tom Robinson is a misunderstood character in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Some people see Tom Robinson as a liar who raped Mayella Ewell, while others see Tom Robinson as an innocent hard-working man. The people who see him as a guilty man believe the word of the witnesses that try and prove his guilt throughout the entire court case.

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 Part 1 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee introduces Atticus Finch as a father who rejects ideas or practices of racism. At school, Scout hears Cecil Jacob shout that her father, Atticus, is defending ‘niggers’. Later that day, when Scout asks her father what Cecil meant, Atticus explains that he is defending a Negro named Tom Robinson. Scout was stunned by his unexpected response. When Scout asks why, Atticus responds, “I’m simply defending a Negro… for a number of reasons. The main one is if I didn't I couldn't hold my head up in town, I couldn't represent this county in the legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something again.” (86) By accepting Tom Robinson’s case without a single argument, Atticus really shows his civility towards Negroes, even when they are not respected by anyone else in the state. Atticus seeks to treat Tom as an individual while rejecting racism in all forms, both language, and behavior. Not only does this show his belief in racial equality, but it also shows his courage.

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird follows the childhood of Jem and Scout Finch, who both encounter and experience many things that cause them to grow up during the book. One of the main events in the book that is a major factor into their growth is the trial of Tom Robinson. The trial consists of Atticus Finch, their father, defending Tom Robinson, the defendant, against the Ewells and Mr. Gilmer, the plaintiff. Atticus and the Finch children have faced much criticism since Atticus wants to defend Tom, a black man, while he is white. Much of the trial boils down to racism and prejudice. But, by Atticus’ skill, by Atticus’ determination, and by Atticus’ speech, he almost succeeded. Before the event of the trial, Harper Lee uses many symbols

This shows how much he symbolizes a mockingbird especially being an African American accused of a crime he did not commit. Tom being charged for this Haines crime made him lose his faith within the judicial system. Also, he knows he does not belong in prison, so he tries to escape. Unfortunately, since no one will take the time to make their own opinions instead believing what everyone else does Tom Robinson was shot dead trying to flee from the prison when it states in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird "Oh yes, the guards called for him to stop. They fired a few shots in the air, then to kill. They got him just as he went over the fence. They said if he'd had two good arms he would have made it, he was moving that fast. Seventeen bullet holes in him"(pg. 268). This is important in showing that he symbolized a mockingbird because he knew that he was innocent, and this quote proves again that his arm was not of use because in the end it is what got him killed. Although he did get convicted of this crime he knew that he did not deserve to be in prison for it, so he tried to escape and because of that the guards killed him but instead of only firing off a couple shots they put seventeen bullets into Tom Robinson.

Throughout the book To Kill A Mockingbird Lee discusses the effects of ignorance and the toll it takes on people such as Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, Scout herself, and many more. Through her examples of sexism, prejudice, and racism, from the populist of poverty stricken Southerners, she shows the readers the injustice of many. The victims of ignorance are the ‘mockingbirds’ of the story. A good example of this injustice is the trial of Tom Robinson, who is falsely accused of raping a white girl and is found guilty. The book is from the point of view Scout, a child, who has an advantage over most kids due to her having a lawyer as a dad, to see the other side of the story. Her father tells her in the story, “you never really know a man until

"Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" (Lee 119). Atticus Finch told his children never to shoot a mockingbird because all they ever do is sing for everyone's enjoyment. In the book Tom Robinson represents a mockingbird, always helping others and not doing any harm; yet he is still treated with no respect and killed at the end of the book. The reason Tom Robinson was treated poorly was just because he was African American. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses characterization, point of view, and diction to highlight how African Americans were treated in the south.

Persecution of the innocent, a common occurrence in human history, has unfortunately stayed present in our modern era. Muslims are assaulted by islamophobes who assume them to be dangerous to us, and countless black people have been wrongfully shot by the police. These people show modern example of the motif of mockingbirds in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. The book takes place in rural Alabama during the Great Depression, a time when lynching black men for false crimes was common. One of these men, Tom Robinson, is accused of rape by Mayella Ewell and is to be defended by Atticus Finch in trial. Lee expresses how it is wrong to harm those who did nothing to bother others, or ‘mockingbirds’, using the characters of Boo Radley,

In Harpers Lee To Kill a Mocking Bird, it’s about racism and the morality of human beings’ good vs evil. We have the Atticus Finch, who is widowed and have two kids named Scout and Jem Finch that lives in Maycomb, Alabama. Atticus Finch is defending an African American male named Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping a young white woman named Mayella Ewell, the whole town is against Atticus for defending a black man. Throughout the trial evidence against Tom was not efficient, but due to the color of his skin evidence didn’t really matter in this case. All the facts of the case pointed to the father, Bob Ewell but since Tom was black he was presumed guilty. Once the jury heard every piece of evidence they convicted Tom Robinson guilty. They go on to say that a white man’s word will always beat a black mans. Tom then went to jail, then he had escaped and was going home to tell his family that he didn’t commit this crime. Police eventually caught him and they shot him seventeen times (overkill) he was pronounced dead.

Tom Robinson, a character in To Kill a Mockingbird, portrays injustice through Scouts eyes. Scouts father, Atticus Finch, becomes the lawyer of Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson, along with some of his friends, are caught up in a rape trial that they did not commit. Throughout the trial, Scout comes to realize the hypocrisy and racism that is thriving in the community where she lives. Tom and the other boys that were accused of rape were convicted and sentenced to the death penalty. Although Scout knew of their innocence, and not to mention there was no evidence supporting the accusations, they were still sentenced. His conviction is a symbol of injustice because he was good. He hadn’t done anything wrong, and they killed him anyway. It was a sin. Just as it is a sin to kill a mockingbird.

In the story, “To Kill a Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee, it is filled with a variety of lessons and symbolism. The biggest lesson takes place in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. The time takes place in the 1930’s where the race of white people overrule African Americans. Atticus Finch, lawyer and the father of the main characters Jem and Scout, teaches that to kill a mockingbird is a sin because all they do is make music for us to enjoy. The mockingbird in the story is very important to show how the life of an innocent black man is taken out of hatred and racism. The mockingbird in the story is Tom Robinson for the reasons that he is thoughtful and kind to Mayella Ewell, brought to court for a crime that he did not commit, and is discriminated