Character Analysis Of 'Tom Robinson In To Kill A Mockingbird'

I am reading the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. In chapters 16-23, Jem, Scout, and Dill go to the courthouse without Atticus knowing, and they listen to Mr. Ewell and Mayella Ewell lie to the jury. Tom Robinson tells the truth in his testimony, but the jury’s verdict states that he is guilty in the end. In this journal, I will be characterizing Tom Robinson.

All through this journal, Tom Robinson can be characterized as considerate and polite. First off, Tom is considerate. A reason Tom is considerate is because he does various jobs for Mayella Ewell when she asks him to without reluctance. Tom says, “She’d have some little somethin’ for me to do—choppin’ kindlin’, totin’ water for her...I was glad to do it” (Lee 256). This
shows he was willing to help Mayella every time and not complain about doing the work or refuse to do it. Additionally, Tom is considerate because he is the only person that is somewhat nice to Mayella. The book says, “Tom Robinson was probably the only person who was ever decent to her” (Lee 257). Here, it is shown that he most likely is the only person that she knows that is kind to her and not insolent or callous. Furthermore, Tom is considerate because he never blames Mayella for putting his life at risk in court. He understands that Mayella had to because of her guilt for what truly happened, and he does not say it is her fault. Moreover, Tom is polite. The first reason he is polite is because he told Mayella that she did not have to pay him for the work he did. Tom knew she did not have money to spare, not even a nickel. He courteously turned down the money she offered to him and did the jobs gratis. Also, Tom is polite because he did not want to repeat what Mr. Ewell said through the window to Mayella in front of the children in the courthouse. It is stated in the book, “Tom Robinson swallowed again, and his eyes widened...not fittin’ for these folks’n chillun to hear—” (Lee 260). Displayed here, Tom knows that what Mr. Ewell said was rather inappropriate and thought it a bad idea for innocent ears to hear. He subsequently told Atticus that it should not be repeated. The third reason Tom is polite is because he never went into the Ewell yard without permission or someone telling him to. In the text it says, “Did you ever set foot on the Ewell property without an express invitation from one of them...I never did. I wouldn’t do that, suh” (Lee 257). Tom is a respectful man and knows his boundaries with white people, so he does not cross the line. Ultimately, Tom Robinson can be characterized as considerate and polite.

In this journal, I will be predicting what will happen to Tom next with the case.

Throughout this journal, I predict that Tom will be set free and lynched when he returns home.
First, Tom will be set free. The first reason he will be set free is because Atticus said it was likely the higher court would let him go. In the book it says, “Nothing would happen to Tom Robinson until the higher court reviewed his case...Tom had a good chance of going free” (Lee 293). Here, Atticus believes that Tom will possibly be set free, and Atticus knows what the higher court will be thinking because he is a lawyer. Furthermore, Tom will be set free because the higher court will be less biased than the jury was in the original case. The higher court will be unbiased because they make decisions without considering skin color. They will only see the evidence that Tom is innocent and set him free. The last reason Tom will be set free is because there is good evidence to support his innocence. Atticus made numerous good points, and it will be easy to see that Tom is not guilty and should be set free, assuming the higher court does not discriminate against blacks. Next, Tom will be lynched when he returns to Maycomb. One reason he will be lynched is because the white people were happy when he lost in the Maycomb courthouse. The novel states, “His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd” (Lee 284). Here, everyone is happy when Tom is guilty, except for Jem, so they will not like it if he gets set free. The whites will hurt Tom because they do not believe he is supposed to be equal to them and be set free. Additionally, Tom will be lynched because there was a mob at the Maycomb jail when he was there, so they could come back again for him. They were not thrilled to leave him untouched the first time, so they will lynch him now to get what they originally anticipated. Lastly, Tom will be lynched because most white people in Maycomb are racist and prejudice against blacks, and they will be aggravated if and when Tom is set free.
The whites will not think that he is just like them, so they will not care when they lynch him upon his return. In essence, I think Tom will be set free and lynched when he returns home.

I believe I deserve a 9 out of 10 for this journal because I got more peer reviews to see if I needed to fix any parts. Also, I did my best to analyze the reds and connect them to the yellows better. Moreover, I used better vocabulary, and I did not put a comma before “because”. One thing I can work on for my next journal would be to incorporate a greater variety of sentence types.