Character Analysis Of Tom Robinson In To Kill A Mockingbird, By Harper Lee
Imagine having to stand up, by yourself, to an angry mob of people; and having to block out everyone's comments and opinions. When an individual is against a opposing group of people or a social expectancy, they are more likely to give in and join the majority. In To Kill A Mockingbird, a father puts his two children in danger by defending a black man from being accused of rape in the 1930s. This dark time period in America's history was responsible for the Great Depression and severe racial conflict. Despite the constant pressure from society, Atticus Finch defends the black man, Tom Robinson, doing what's right even if it may be perceived as wrong. Throughout the book, Atticus passes his thoughts to his children, Jem and Scout, teaching
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them how to stand up against the status quo. The award winning novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, hints at a very important theme, and that theme is individual versus society.
As word leaks out about Atticus defending Tom Robinson, Jem and Scout decide to take the hate into their own hands. At school, Scout faces many kids that taunt and tease Atticus, so her natural instinct is to stand up and defend her father. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee writes, ”My fists were clenched and I was ready to let fly” (Lee 99). After hearing her classmates call her father names for defending a black man, Scout decides she's had enough of it and makes the situation painful. All the kids tell her that what her father's doing is wrong and disgusting, and that she should be ashamed of him. But by fighting the kids at school, Scout is showing that she will still fight for him although all the other kids tease her for it. Scout believes in her father, and she was not going to let some ten year olds get in her way. After fighting the kids at school, Scout takes her anger out on her cousin. Scout is faced with her taunting cousin, Francis, who disagrees with Atticus. ”At a safe distance he called, He’s nothin’ but a nigger-lover!” (Lee 110). The Finch family line was not to have anything to do with the black race. Francis tells her Atticus is ruining the Finches reputation by defending Tom. Instead of telling Atticus to stop defending Tom, Scout gives Francis a hit to his jaw to shut him up. It is not her against Francis, but rather her against society’s expectations. Defending a black man was not agreed with by many, and Scout didn’t want to be different. Soon after, Scout is not the only one rallied up about defending Atticus. Jem realizes as he's growing up that even his own small hometown is unjust. “He did not begin to calm down until he had cut the tops off every camellia bush Mrs. Dubose owned, until the ground was littered with green buds and leaves” (Lee 137). Everyday Jem and Scout passed Mrs. Dubose's house, they would receive extreme hate from her about Atticus. They both pretend nothing's wrong, but inside, Jem is breaking down. After days and days of this, Jem finally breaks, and snaps back at Mrs. Dubose. He was tired of letting her get away with the things she said about Atticus and decided it was enough. The racial conflict had left Jem isolated from the majority of society. Under the pressure of the moment, Jem and Scout’s first instinct is to cause physical pain. It has worked for them plenty of times, but that will soon change.
Fighting is not the only way to stand up to others, as words have as much impact as fists.
Atticus reprimands Scout for beating her classmates up, and teaches her another way to stand up to others.
Mark Twain writes an article called Lynching: Moral Cowardice. In it he explains,”...No mob has any sand in the presence of a man known to be splendidly brave” (Twain 1). Scout stands up to a mob that was planning to lynch Tom Robinson. Although she did not recognize the majority of the mob, she still talked to them as her friends. Her life was in imminent danger, yet she did not know what was going on at such a young age. By doing this Scout was able to back off a lynching mob, all by herself. The 1930s was a very difficult time for people of color, especially black men. Rape was a capital offense back then, but Mayella Ewell didn't let that stop her from crying rape. “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed” (Lee 323). Mayella made the mistake of falling in love with Tom Robinson. To protect her from being looked at poorly from society, Mayella and her father accused Tom of raping her. A black man and a white woman was not to have any sort of romantic relationship as it was socially unaccepted. To keep her status of a young white lady, she blamed it on something that society disfavored, and that was black men. After Tom Robinson was found guilty, Mayella's father, Bob Ewell, was angry at Atticus for trying to go against him in the trial. “...Atticus was leaving the post office when Mr. Ewell approached him, cursed him, spent on him, and threatened to kill him… Too proud to fight, you nigger-lovin’ bastard? Miss Stephanie said Atticus said, No, too old, put his hands in his pockets and strolled on” (Lee 291). When faced with each other, Bob Ewell took the opportunity to spit on Atticus's face in attempt to bring his self-esteem down. However Atticus, one step ahead, knew that fighting Mr. Ewell would only make him as low as him. Instead, Atticus kept in his feelings, stripping away Mr. Ewells satisfaction, and leaves without
the least amount of regret or sorrow for defending Tom Robinson. Saying only three words, Atticus was able to walk away with his pride and overcome society. Just by saying a few words or none at all, Scout, Mayella, and Atticus, were able to get what they wanted, even if it was good or bad.
Lastly, the problems aren't always about race and defending men like Tom Robinson, there were also many other problems back then such as women's expectations. Scout was not like the typical girls that were her age, and Aunt Alexandra disapproved of it. First was the way she dressed. “I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn't supposed to be doing things that required pants ” (Lee 108). Scouts regular attire includes overalls and pants, not pretty pink dresses. In the 1930 societies, it was expected for women to wear dresses, but Scout wore what she wanted to wear. Even though all the ladies in the missionary circle laughed at her for wearing pants, she did it anyway, proving that she did what she wanted, not what society wanted. Other than dressing differently, Scout also acted differently than other girls her age. Because she grew up with Jem and Dill, Scout tended to do activities that society labeled for boys. “Scout, I’m tellin’ you for the last time, shut your trap or go home- I declare to the Lord you're gettin’ more like a girl everyday! With that, I had no option but to join them” (Lee 69). As the summer goes on, Jem and Dill are spending more and more time together without Scout because she's a girl. Society's view of a girl is to stay at home and cook, therefore making Jem and Dill use the term ‘girl’ as insult to Scout. When Scout hears this she is deeply offended, so as a way to prove them wrong, she goes ahead with their plan to give a letter to Boo Radley. The last thing mentioned in the novel about women standing up to society is when Scout gives in to the expectation of ladies. “After all, if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I” (Lee 318). After attending Aunt Alexandra's missionary circle, Scout takes a peek at what it's like to be a lady. Seeing the way her aunt is after the news of Tom Robinson, her head held high with no showing of emotions, Scout realizes that being a lady doesn't only mean having tea parties and wearing dresses. It means pretending everything's okay when it isn't, and in their situation, pretending they don't care, in order to fit in. In the beginning Scouts opinion being called a girl was an insult, but after seeing a change in Aunt Alexandra, she was willing to give ‘being a girl’ another chance.
In the end, whether it's physical or emotional, standing up to someone and keeping a social status isn't easy. Fighting for what's right against one to a million people is a powerful lesson that is sewn into the storyline of To Kill A Mockingbird. At one point in this novel, each character was put against society and even social expectations as an individual. By stepping up and not fearing the consequences of their actions, they did what was needed to show their honor and pride. Everyone in life has the potential to leader ;so now it's our turn to stand up to society.
them how to stand up against the status quo. The award winning novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, hints at a very important theme, and that theme is individual versus society.
As word leaks out about Atticus defending Tom Robinson, Jem and Scout decide to take the hate into their own hands. At school, Scout faces many kids that taunt and tease Atticus, so her natural instinct is to stand up and defend her father. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee writes, ”My fists were clenched and I was ready to let fly” (Lee 99). After hearing her classmates call her father names for defending a black man, Scout decides she's had enough of it and makes the situation painful. All the kids tell her that what her father's doing is wrong and disgusting, and that she should be ashamed of him. But by fighting the kids at school, Scout is showing that she will still fight for him although all the other kids tease her for it. Scout believes in her father, and she was not going to let some ten year olds get in her way. After fighting the kids at school, Scout takes her anger out on her cousin. Scout is faced with her taunting cousin, Francis, who disagrees with Atticus. ”At a safe distance he called, He’s nothin’ but a nigger-lover!” (Lee 110). The Finch family line was not to have anything to do with the black race. Francis tells her Atticus is ruining the Finches reputation by defending Tom. Instead of telling Atticus to stop defending Tom, Scout gives Francis a hit to his jaw to shut him up. It is not her against Francis, but rather her against society’s expectations. Defending a black man was not agreed with by many, and Scout didn’t want to be different. Soon after, Scout is not the only one rallied up about defending Atticus. Jem realizes as he's growing up that even his own small hometown is unjust. “He did not begin to calm down until he had cut the tops off every camellia bush Mrs. Dubose owned, until the ground was littered with green buds and leaves” (Lee 137). Everyday Jem and Scout passed Mrs. Dubose's house, they would receive extreme hate from her about Atticus. They both pretend nothing's wrong, but inside, Jem is breaking down. After days and days of this, Jem finally breaks, and snaps back at Mrs. Dubose. He was tired of letting her get away with the things she said about Atticus and decided it was enough. The racial conflict had left Jem isolated from the majority of society. Under the pressure of the moment, Jem and Scout’s first instinct is to cause physical pain. It has worked for them plenty of times, but that will soon change.
Fighting is not the only way to stand up to others, as words have as much impact as fists.
Atticus reprimands Scout for beating her classmates up, and teaches her another way to stand up to others.
Mark Twain writes an article called Lynching: Moral Cowardice. In it he explains,”...No mob has any sand in the presence of a man known to be splendidly brave” (Twain 1). Scout stands up to a mob that was planning to lynch Tom Robinson. Although she did not recognize the majority of the mob, she still talked to them as her friends. Her life was in imminent danger, yet she did not know what was going on at such a young age. By doing this Scout was able to back off a lynching mob, all by herself. The 1930s was a very difficult time for people of color, especially black men. Rape was a capital offense back then, but Mayella Ewell didn't let that stop her from crying rape. “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed” (Lee 323). Mayella made the mistake of falling in love with Tom Robinson. To protect her from being looked at poorly from society, Mayella and her father accused Tom of raping her. A black man and a white woman was not to have any sort of romantic relationship as it was socially unaccepted. To keep her status of a young white lady, she blamed it on something that society disfavored, and that was black men. After Tom Robinson was found guilty, Mayella's father, Bob Ewell, was angry at Atticus for trying to go against him in the trial. “...Atticus was leaving the post office when Mr. Ewell approached him, cursed him, spent on him, and threatened to kill him… Too proud to fight, you nigger-lovin’ bastard? Miss Stephanie said Atticus said, No, too old, put his hands in his pockets and strolled on” (Lee 291). When faced with each other, Bob Ewell took the opportunity to spit on Atticus's face in attempt to bring his self-esteem down. However Atticus, one step ahead, knew that fighting Mr. Ewell would only make him as low as him. Instead, Atticus kept in his feelings, stripping away Mr. Ewells satisfaction, and leaves without
the least amount of regret or sorrow for defending Tom Robinson. Saying only three words, Atticus was able to walk away with his pride and overcome society. Just by saying a few words or none at all, Scout, Mayella, and Atticus, were able to get what they wanted, even if it was good or bad.
Lastly, the problems aren't always about race and defending men like Tom Robinson, there were also many other problems back then such as women's expectations. Scout was not like the typical girls that were her age, and Aunt Alexandra disapproved of it. First was the way she dressed. “I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn't supposed to be doing things that required pants ” (Lee 108). Scouts regular attire includes overalls and pants, not pretty pink dresses. In the 1930 societies, it was expected for women to wear dresses, but Scout wore what she wanted to wear. Even though all the ladies in the missionary circle laughed at her for wearing pants, she did it anyway, proving that she did what she wanted, not what society wanted. Other than dressing differently, Scout also acted differently than other girls her age. Because she grew up with Jem and Dill, Scout tended to do activities that society labeled for boys. “Scout, I’m tellin’ you for the last time, shut your trap or go home- I declare to the Lord you're gettin’ more like a girl everyday! With that, I had no option but to join them” (Lee 69). As the summer goes on, Jem and Dill are spending more and more time together without Scout because she's a girl. Society's view of a girl is to stay at home and cook, therefore making Jem and Dill use the term ‘girl’ as insult to Scout. When Scout hears this she is deeply offended, so as a way to prove them wrong, she goes ahead with their plan to give a letter to Boo Radley. The last thing mentioned in the novel about women standing up to society is when Scout gives in to the expectation of ladies. “After all, if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I” (Lee 318). After attending Aunt Alexandra's missionary circle, Scout takes a peek at what it's like to be a lady. Seeing the way her aunt is after the news of Tom Robinson, her head held high with no showing of emotions, Scout realizes that being a lady doesn't only mean having tea parties and wearing dresses. It means pretending everything's okay when it isn't, and in their situation, pretending they don't care, in order to fit in. In the beginning Scouts opinion being called a girl was an insult, but after seeing a change in Aunt Alexandra, she was willing to give ‘being a girl’ another chance.
In the end, whether it's physical or emotional, standing up to someone and keeping a social status isn't easy. Fighting for what's right against one to a million people is a powerful lesson that is sewn into the storyline of To Kill A Mockingbird. At one point in this novel, each character was put against society and even social expectations as an individual. By stepping up and not fearing the consequences of their actions, they did what was needed to show their honor and pride. Everyone in life has the potential to leader ;so now it's our turn to stand up to society.