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Racial and symbolism in to kill a mockingbird
Racial and symbolism in to kill a mockingbird
Race issues to kill a mockingbird
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In the world, there are good people and bad people. There are people who help others, and there are people who try to tear down others. There are people who accept others, and people who unfairly discriminate against others. As a result of people’s actions and opinions, good things can happen, and bad things can happen. Sometimes, unfortunately, bad things happen to good people. Tom Robinson is a victim of this system in which the world works. Tom Robinson is a character in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. Tom Robinson is a black man who is being accused of raping a 19 year old woman named Mayella Ewell, which is a crime he did not commit. The story follows two …show more content…
Tom Robinson fits the definition of an honorable man. He is honorable, and he shows human decency. First of all, Tom is a black man who is discriminated against. He has no reason to care so much and be so nice to a white person, when so many whites think and treat African Americans so poorly. So to even be willingly respectful to her, and be genuine about it is something I believe shows honorability, shows he has a good heart. Second, he helps someone he doesn’t know well and someone who is of a kind that treats his kind poorly. Despite all the reasons he has to not care about white people, he helps Mayella. What takes his actions a step further, is his refusal to accept money for his work. Tom says, “No, suh, not after she offered me a nickel the first time. I was glad to do it, Mr. Ewell didn’t seem to help her none, and neither did the chillun, and I knowed she didn’t have no nickels to spare”(Lee 256). Finally, Tom did not want Mayella to get in trouble. Mayella and her father, Bob Ewell, are accusing Tom of a crime that he did not do, but he is almost sure to be ruled guilty of. If he is ruled guilty, this would have serious consequences for Tom. Nevertheless, when Tom is giving his Testimony, Atticus asks him what really happened. Tom is hesitant to reveal the full extent of what actually occurred, because the truth would give a bad …show more content…
Tom shows compassion through caring for a type of person who doesn’t care for the type of person he is. Tom shows honorability through not wanting to do harm to someone’s life, even though they are causing harm to him. Tom shows honesty by telling the truth, all the while knowing the consequences there may be to him and others by doing so. The qualities Tom possesses are scarce in our world nowadays. We live in a world where if something doesn’t go right for us, we get bitter. If someone wrongs us, we become filled with hatred and try to get revenge. We live in a world where people are so concerned for themselves, that they pay no mind to other people’s well being and how their own behavior affects others. In a time filled with discrimination… in a time where we are a divided people… in a time where things can seem bleak and as if the bad is overtaking the good, we must learn from Tom Robinson. By doing this, we may learn what it means to be a good, kind person. By doing this, good can outshine the bad. In order to do this, we need more people like Tom Robinson in the world. Be that
Tom Robinson is a kind black man whom Atticus is defending against the charge that he raped Mayella Ewell. Atticus knows that he will lose because Tom is black, but he also knows that Tom is innocent and that he has to defend him. Tom Robinson is portrayed as a hard-working father and husband in the novel and he was only attempting to help Mayella since no one else would, but she made advances that he refused and her father saw them. On the witness stand, he testifies that he helped her because, "'Mr. Ewell didn't seem to help her none, and neither did the chillun.'" (256). Even though Tom helps Mayella out of kindness and pity, Mayella is trapped and must accuse him of raping her to save her own life. Shortly after being wrongfully convicted
Tom Robinson is a hard-working African American in the town of Maycomb, Alabama. However, his life takes a tragic turn when he is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, daughter of the town’s least respected citizen, Tom Ewell. When he goes to court , even with the very capable Atticus Finch as his lawyer, his future looks grim. Regardless of the information that Tom Robinson and Atticus had provided that proved Tom as innocent, he was still found guilty. The reader can then conclude that the only explanation for this is that Tom Robinson was guilty not of rape, but of his being black. During the trial, Atticus states that, “She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man. Not an old uncle, but a strong young Negro man. No code mattered to her before she broke it, but it comes crashing down on her afterwards.” Atticus also states that, "Which, gentlemen, we know is in itself a lie as black as Tom Robinson's skin, a lie I do not have to point out to you. You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men. There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never looked upon a
To Kill a Mockingbird novel is a warm and humorous piece of writing though it deals with critical issues such as racial inequality and rape. The novel was published in 1960 by Harper Lee and it gained immediate popularity and success becoming a modern literature in American. The plot of the novel and characters are based on Harper’s perception of her neighbors and her immediate family. Also, it is based on her observation of events that took place near her home area in 1936 at the age of ten years. To Kill a Mockingbird symbolizes killing harmless and innocent people. Tom Robinson is an example of an innocent man falsely accused of raping a White girl known as Mayella Ewell (Lee 169). Another example is Boo who is misunderstood by the society
To begin with, Tom Robinson is an innocent being that resembles a mockingbird because he is falsely accused of raping Mayella Ewell. He is a black man that believes in equality. '''Yes suh. I felt sorry for her, she seemed to try more'n the rest of 'em-''' (Lee, 209) This honest statement Tom Robinson makes is a big mistake because back in the 1900s, there was a lot of discrimination which meant black people should never feel sorry for white people. It is a sin to kill Tom Robinson because he is a harmless citizen that means no harm to anyone in Maycomb. The death of Tom Robinson was typical to many white citizens in Maycomb because if black people were ever convicte...
Tom Robinson is a minor character who is black and accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. Tom Robinson symbolizes a mockingbird which does not harm any people but is accused of an uncommitted crime. Atticus Finch is appointed to defend Tom Robinson. The portrayal of Tom Robinson in the text helped me understand the char...
Robinson resembles a mockingbird because he does not cause any harm to the town of Maycomb. This particular mockingbird is killed when Mayella Ewell falsely accuses him of rape. Although all the evidence proves that Robinson is innocent, it is a battle between an African American and a white woman. “The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow but people have a way of carry their resentments right into the jury box” (Lee 220). Robinson is eventually convicted because of the prejudice and racism that clouds everyone in the jury and every citizen of Maycomb. “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 on like that.” It was either a straight acquittal or nothing” (Lee 219). Tom Robinson may not be guilty of raping Mayella, but he is guilty of feeling sorry for a lonely, white
Tom was very confused when he was accused of this incident because he had never been anything more to Mayella Ewell than an acquaintance. “The older you grow the more of it you’ll see. The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box”(Lee 220). This is how Atticus described the trial to his son Jem because he could not comprehend how unjust the trial was unfolding on a daily basis. The proceedings were not equitable towards Tom Robinson because everyone should have realized at the trial that he had not done anything wrong. In the end, Atticus lost the trial. Not because the jury and judge thought Tom Robinson had committed the crime, but simply because he was black and they were racist. Tom was sent to jail for doing absolutely nothing wrong, except being black. He never had the luxury to grow into old age, as his life was taken from him when he was shot seventeen times during his attempt to escape from jail. Tom Robinson’s life would have been completely different if he had not been black. The discrimination would not have occurred and the accusations would not have been leveled or
This man is unfortunately victimized since his society does not believe he is innocent due to the color of his skin. Being the black man that Tom is, it is clear that “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella opened her mouth and screamed” (241). There is no way that a black man’s words would override the voice of a white person. No testimony, evidence or speech can help Tom prove he is not guilty. Atticus understands that Tom is victimized by racism, so he explains: “When it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins” (220).
Towards the end of To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus decides to represent a colored man by the man of Tom Robinson, who is being accused of raping Mayella Ewell, Bob Ewell’s daughter. Atticus believes that Tom is innocent, but he does not think that Tom will be found not guilty because of they way the townsfolk treat colored people. They treat them like dirt; like they are worth nothing. Atticus went ahead and represented Tom despite the fact that he knew the townsfolk would call himself and his children names and treat them disrespectfully. Even Scout’s relative Francis said rude things about them. “‘I guess it ain't your fault if Uncle Atticus is a nigger-lover besides, but I'm here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family-...’ ‘Just what I said. Grandma says it's bad enough he lets you all run wild, but now he's turned out a nigger-lover we'll never be able to walk the streets of Maycomb agin. He's ruinin' the family, that's what he's doin'.’” Atticus set a good example for Scout and Jem. He had a difficult decision to make, but he chose what he thought was
Tom Robinson was one of the most talked about characters in the novel ¨To KIll a Mockingbird¨ He was known as any other black man pretty much. He was very discriminated, but he was also very innocent. The reason many people were familiar with Tom is from his court case. He was accused by Mayella Ewell and her father for beating her and raping her. This drew many people to the courtroom to see what would go down, and as expected he
Tom Robinson shows his bravery through his determination to stand in front of the court and fight for righteousness and truth. He is
Being an African-American and living in a generally prejudiced town like Maycomb, Tom was already licked from the start. Tom was allegedly accused of raping a white person and as Atticus says, “In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins” (295). During his trial, Tom could have lied about his reasoning for helping Mayella, to keep himself from getting into more trouble, but instead he showed real courage by revealing the real reason behind his actions: “I felt sorry for her, she seemed to try more’n the rest of ‘em” (264). Since Jim Crow laws were active in Maycomb, Tom’s answer was seen as a terrible mistake: “Below us, nobody liked Tom Robinson’s answer” (264). It showed that he, being a black person, thought he was better off than a white person.
Tom Robinson is African-American, and he is not treated the same as many other citizens in Maycomb. A mob, or as Atticus described them, “a gang of wild animals” (210), went to the jail to attempt to harm Tom, and he would have been injured if Atticus and the children had not been there to protect him. When Mayella Ewell asked Tom Robinson to “come inside the fence and bust up a chiffarobe for her” (255), he would always comply. Mayella would always “call [Tom Robinson] in” (256), and it “seemed like every time [he] passed by yonder she’d have some little somethin’ for [him] to do” (256). This shows that Tom Robinson would always be happy to help her, even it was a simple task. In addition to prejudice of race, Boo Radley had been greatly discriminated because of his social class. Jem and Scout were attacked by Bob Ewell one night, and Jem was left unconscious. Boo Radley had been “out of sight” (14) for as long as anyone could remember, but once he noticed that Jem was in trouble, he came out of his house to save him from Bob Ewell. Without the assistance of Boo Radley, the children would have been in a very dangerous situation. Even Atticus acknowledges his helpfulness when he tells him “‘Thank you for my children, Arthur’” (370). Characters without voices have to tolerate inequity are still helpful, and can be
Tom Robinson, from Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, was shot. Tom Robinson who was accused a raping a white girl and when put on trial, was found guilty and sentenced to death in prison. He attempted to escape from the prison and when caught by a prison guard, he got shot and he died. But this is not what killed Tom Robinson. Lee hints to the readers who is truly responsible for the death of Tom Robinson. What killed Tom Robinson was the pressure of Maycomb County and their views on how negroes should be treated verse how a white man should be treated. The actions and beliefs of the individuals in Maycomb who is to blame and who is to take responsibility for Tom Robinson’s death.
To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee's only novel, is a fictional story of racial oppression, set in Maycomb, A.L. in 1925 to 1935, loosely based on the events of the Scottsboro trials. Unlike the story however, the racial discrimination and oppression in the novel very accurately portrays what it was like in the 1920's and 1930's in the south. Tom Robinson, the black man accused of raping a poor low class white girl of 19, never stood a chance of getting a fair trial. This can be supported by giving examples of racially discriminatory and oppressive events that actually took place in the south during the time period in which the novel is based. In addition to actual historical events, events and examples from the book that clearly illustrate the overpoweringly high levels of prejudice that were intertwined in the everyday thinking of the majority of the characters in the book supports the fact that Tom Robinson never stood a chance of getting a fair trial.