Preview

Tom Robinson's Innocence

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1315 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Tom Robinson's Innocence
Every person enters this world with the same level of innocence. Whether that innocence is kept throughout one’s life depends on their specific circumstances. In To Kill a Mockingbird, a classic novel by Harper Lee, mockingbirds are symbolic of people who “don’t do one thing but sing their heart out for us” (Lee 119). In other words, mockingbirds are people who are innocent and defenseless, but their innocence is affected by the evil deeds of others. Dill Harris’ innocence is lost when he witnesses the inequality during the trial, identifying him as a mockingbird. Tom Robinson, an African American man in the story, is an exceptional example of a mockingbird because Maycomb’s racial prejudice outweighs his innocence. The humble deeds of Arthur …show more content…
Dill Harris’ lack of background to prejudice makes him a definite mockingbird. Tom Robinson’s courageous acts are ignored because of the social injustice in Maycomb. Arthur (Boo) Radley is not credited enough for saving Scout and Jem, instead he is mocked. Our society would greatly benefit if human beings stopped harming innocent souls and protected the defenseless and helpless people. There are many people who lack necessities, and those people should not be attacked. However, virtuous people are constantly suffering. There are many examples in today’s society when innocent people are struggling, such as the San Bernardino attacks, the Sandy Hook shootings, the September 11 attacks, just to name a few. Each of these terror attacks consisted of an evil human being who attacked innocent, desperate souls. For instance, during the Sandy Hook shootings, the killer targeted little children as young as the age of six. These horrendous actions of society must be immediately terminated. The way to halt these kinds of events from ever happening is to stop harming the innocent, defenseless people. Too many people in this world are enduring the scandalous attacks of humans. People need to be aware of the losses by Dill, Tom and Boo so that none of those events will ever occur in history ever again. People need to make this world a better place for the sake of the next

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The person who is being accused (Tom Robinson), the accuser/witness/victim Mayella Ewell, the victim's father and other witness Bob Ewell, are all important people in this trial but so is Atticus Finch the defense of Tom Robinson.…

    • 332 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Innocent people are being targeted for the color of their skin and their social class just like the residents of Maycomb,Alabama during the 1930’s in Harper Lee’s book “To Kill A Mockingbird”. In this book, which is based on a white family and told through the eyes of the youngest child, “Scout Finch”, you learn about her residential city Maycomb, and its many issues with racism and social discrimination. You also learn about Scout's father , Atticus Finch, who is an attorney for a hopeless black man striving for innocence due to being falsely accused of rape. Throughout this essay, you will read about the characters of “To Kill A Mockingbird” and how they mature due to racism and social profiling. Scout changes her racist and social view of Maycomb after her dad talks to her about the various situations and why they happened.…

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tom Robinson's Trial

    • 293 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A theme in “To Kill A Mockingbird,” could be that you should never judge a person by their color. The way people were judge affected Tom Robinson’s trial because all colored people were treated differently than white people back in the day. Reverend Sykes explained to Jem; “I ain't ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man” (Lee 279). Tom was not going to be charged with the crime. This is because everything that was said on his half proved that he was innocent but judges never choose a colored man over a white man. Further, Tom Robinson was not able to win the trial because he is a colored man. The judge got the piece of paper and says “ ‘Guilty… guilty… guilty… guilty…’ “(Lee 282). The color of Tom’s skin changed…

    • 293 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tom Robinson's Guilty

    • 131 Words
    • 1 Page

    Like a mockingbird, Tom Robinson was an innocent creature who did no harm to anyone. Tom, black man with a wife and children was wrongfully accused of raping a white woman. He went out of his way to help to help Magellan Ewell many times. Not once was Tom awarded for his hard work, on the contary he was found guilty of raping her. Tom was found guilty not because of his actions but because of his race. Killing Tom was a sin just like it's a sin to kill a mockingbird. The jury and prison guards thought that finding him guilty and killing him was not a big deal. Not everyone shared Atticus Finch's integrity and perspective in that time. Tom Robinson was a good man who was wrongfully targeted.…

    • 131 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout life people are misrepresented, stereotyped, and seen as something they aren't. This can greatly affect the person's life and the way they interact with the world. The image of the mockingbird is represented through many characters in Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird such as Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. In the novel killing a mockingbird is a symbol of loss of innocence. There are many “mockingbirds” in the story, which takes place in a town called Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. One of the “mockingbirds” in the story is Tom Robinson, a African American man, accused of raping a white woman and falsely convicted for it. Another “mockingbird” in the story is Boo Radley, an outcast…

    • 886 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It must be acknowledged that there were several negative outcomes of Atticus’ decision to take on the case of Tom Robinson. For instance, when it is first discovered by the people of Maycomb that Mr. Finch has assumed the black man’s case, even their children lash out against Scout and Jem, nearly causing a fight in the schoolyard as a result (Lee 77). However, Atticus uses this as a teaching moment for his children, which is then imparted along to the vast number of readers who have studied the pages of To Kill A Mockingbird, learning the same invaluable lesson that Scout does, to “hold [one’s] head high and keep [one’s] fists down” and continue to stand and fight for what is right and just (Lee 78). Furthermore, some could question the wisdom…

    • 261 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    To kill a mockingbird is an insightful novel that effectively educates its reader about the discrimination and prejudice against African Americans that was occurring at the time. Through the pity and intensity of Tom Robinson’s trial the reader learns how the rights of African Americans were very different than the white Americans at the time. To kill a mockingbird highlights the pure injustice that Tom Robinson faces, when accused of a crime that he didn’t commit. Due to these accusations Tom’s fate is put on the line and his dignity is robbed from him as the whole of Maycomb assumes that Mayella Ewell is right. Immediately the town people build a sense of hate and anger towards Tom Robinson and attempt to act on their thoughts and opinions. Throughout this text one will learn how not only Negro’s were affected by this prejudice and discrimination but how innocent white Americans, such as the finch family were too.…

    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Between 1692 and 1693, twenty innocent citizens’ lost their lives in one community. These people were put on trial and given the choice to plead guilty or they die trying to prove their innocence. These trials were the Salem Witch Trials. Convicting those innocent citizens can be viewed as killing a mockingbird; mockingbirds are innocent and they don’t harm anyone. This is exactly what Harper Lee showed in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee uses characters that have had innocence stripped from them and indirectly compares them to a mockingbird. The mockingbird was used as a symbol of innocence they don’t harm anyone in anyway. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee uses the mockingbird as a symbol of innocence to compare the corruption of society forced upon Tom Robinson, Jeremy Finch, and Arthur Radley to killing a mockingbird.…

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee tells the story of Scout and Jem, two young children who learn about racism and injustice in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930s. The children's father, Atticus, is a lawyer who is appointed to defend Tom Robinson, a black man unjustly accused of rape. It is through this trial, as well as through other characters, that the children learn about the injustices of the world and the need for compassion, a trait that demands that we rise above our selves and see "things from another point of view." This different perspective is the crux of compassion for it is only by understanding another's point of view that we can truly empathize and have compassion for someone who is different from us. It is through compassion that one understands why it is "a sin to kill a mockingbird," those creatures and people who do no harm and need our understanding. Finally, it is through compassion that we can overcome human weakness, such as prejudice and injustice, and act with integrity and courage. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Arthur Radley, Mayella Ewell, and Tom Robinson are three characters that demonstrate the need for compassion.…

    • 813 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A lesson taught by Atticus in To Kill a Mockingbird is that you should never kill a mockingbird because they only create music and harm nothing. What Atticus meant by this is that you should never hurt an innocent person no matter the situation. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird the mockingbird symbolizes all that is innocent and all that is harmless in society. Harper Lee uses two characters to show the innocence in people and to show how this innocence is often killed: Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. The theme in To Kill a Mockingbird, that often the innocent are harmed by the wicked unjustly and intentionally, only to be saved by the brave and intelligent, who try hard to show society who these people really are is clearly articulated throughout the novel by the use of the symbolism of the mockingbird infused in the…

    • 874 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Atticus Flaws

    • 959 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Harper Lee lucidly epitomizes the matter pertaining to this theme in her gothic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee, with southern drama, scathingly condemns racial prejudice through the story of a wrongfully accused black man. However, she also affirms the inherent goodness in human kindness through the story of the protagonist, Atticus Finch and his daughter, Scout. In this story, Atticus benefits from the racist Maycomb jury, who was admired and respected, ever since the discovery of the wrongdoings of the jury. Atticus, a small town lawyer, decides to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who was wrongfully accused for raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. He does this despite being disparaged by the racist Maycomb community. Even though his actions may cause turmoil to him and his family, he continues to benefit and act upon the wrongdoings of the Maycomb community by defending an underrepresented man. Through this decision, scout learns how to…

    • 959 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, one of the most prominent themes used in the novel is the action of intolerance and the affect it has on all people. The theme of intolerance is fully explored in the case of Tom Robinson and the underlying racism shown in the treatment of him. Intolerance is met by all three main characters, Scout, Atticus and Jem but is experience by many of the other supporting characters. There was no one kind of intolerant person; they all came from different background, which is testimony to the point of the book ‘You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of views.’ This quote shows that you have no idea why a person does what they do until you experience things from their point of view. This idea is why the trial happened, and explains why Tom was accused of raping Mayella.…

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King once declared, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. “ This widely known quote shows that the color of a person should not limit the from doing anything. The topic of racism is frequently visited in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel that takes place during the Great Depression. It focuses on the life of Scout Finch, her brother and the neighborhood she has grown up in, Maycomb County. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee uses racism in the trial scene to show that some people are treated unjustly due to their status. This theme is used to represent characters in the novel to show how race creates tension between the people of Maycomb. The treatment of Tom Robinson during the trial scene reveals that people of the…

    • 1367 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    "Only Children Weep"

    • 1312 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Innocence can be described in a variety of ways, all depending on perspective. To some people, innocence may signify those who have not been tainted by immorality. To others, innocence may be defined as someone who has not been corrupted by the harsh truth of reality and their surroundings. In a more literal sense, innocence is being free of guilt in regards to legal matters and crime. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates how genuinely innocent people can be targeted and dismissed as something that they truly are not. Harper Lee uses the symbol of a mockingbird to represent many characters in the book. A mockingbird symbolizes something innocent that provides nothing but positivity to its surroundings. Miss Maudie explains, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy… they don’t do one thing but sing their heart out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (10.90.Lee) One of the characters from the novel who can clearly be seen as symbolizing the mockingbird is Tom Robinson. Tom was charged and convicted of raping a white girl. There was no evidence against Tom, he was charged and punished basically because he was black. Secondly, Boo Radley is viewed by everyone in Maycomb as a ‘monster’, even though he has never done anything to give people that view of him. Boo (Arthur) Radley has suffered abuse most of his life from family, no one ever sees him. The townspeople of Maycomb, instead of trying to understand or help Boo, have spread mean gossip about him and dehumanized him regardless of his timid and caring nature. Lastly, Atticus Finch is a wonderful father and well renowned lawyer in Maycomb. People start turning their backs on him when they realize that he is defending a black man. These characters are all prime examples of how this symbol of a mockingbird was used by Harper Lee. It helped to exhibit how social inequity truly affects…

    • 1312 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harper Lee’s book To Kill a Mockingbird is significant because it gives many examples of individuals protecting the innocent. Jem, Scout, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley are characters in the book that are examples of “innocents” who were in need of protection. In this story, the mockingbird is symbolic of the innocents. All of these characters in some way are like mockingbirds. For the purpose of this essay, I’ve chosen the two most symbolic characters Tom Robinson and Boo Radley.…

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays