Explore the Importance of Tom Robinson
Tom Robinson is a central character in Harper Lee’s influential 1960 novel ‘To Kill a
Mockingbird.’ Through his saintly portrayal, in sharp contrast to the prejudiced views of
Maycomb residents, Lee unveils the shockingly deep racist principles that define the 1930s
American South. ‘Jim Crow’ laws still operated during the time of Lee’s writing and her
didactic novel condemning the racism, hypocrisy and thriving lynch culture operating in
America, relies on Tom Robinson to emphasise the needless injustice faced by Black citizens.
Lee portrays Tom Robinson as a virtuous and innocent man, in order to emphasise the
implausibility of his supposed crime of rape. Tom’s sympathetic nature is highlighted in the
courtroom scene were he describes his relationship to Mayella Ewell. A Black man, putting
himself at risk by stepping onto a white family’s property, Tom Robinson reveals that he
brushed aside the danger for the sake of helping Mayella Ewell because he ‘felt sorry for
her.’ Although she was vile to him and didn’t pay him for the chores he helped with, Tom
continued to help Mayella because he worried about her looking after all her siblings by
herself, demonstrating his thoughtful nature in the face of prejudice. Whatsmore, the
recurring metaphor of the ‘mockingbird,’ in which Tom is likened to a creature who in
Atticus’ words ‘don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy,’ cements the idea of his
pure innocence, in spite of the beliefs of white Maycomb society. His injured left arm-
‘twelve inches shorter than his right’- proves definitively to both the courtroom and the
reader that Tom Robinson would have been incapable of raping Mayella Ewell, and this
coupled with the evidence of bruising all around Mayella’s neck, leaves no room for doubt
about his innocence. However, the all-white jury convicting him regardless, echoes the
unjust rulings of countless American rape trials, in which Black men were convicted on little
or no evidence. A key example of this is the Scottsboro boys, nine Black teenagers who were
accused of raping two white women on a train in 1931. Although one of the alleged victims
admitted to fabricating the story and the evidence presented for their prosecution was
lacking, it took decades before the trial was admitted to be invalid. By positioning Tom
Robinson’s unquestionable innocence alongside the deeply racist legal system, Lee calls
attention to de jure racism, and forces readers to reflect on similarly racially-biased court
cases.
Furthermore, Tom Robinson is a significant character in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ because in
the run-up to his trial, the horrors of lynch culture in America are revealed. In chapter 15,
while Atticus stands guard outside of Tom Robinson’s cell, he’s met with the alarming
encounter of a white mob intending to take the law into their own hands. They directly
threaten Atticus and are only stopped by the sight of children. The attempted lynching in the
novel, differs from the reality of lynchings in America. While traditionally, lynchings were a
communal affair, in which the whole town would gather together in broad daylight to hang
and torture a Black citizen, in chapter 15, the practice is clandestine, almost shameful. Those
involved make themselves get drunk before, and wait until darkness so that they become
anonymous ‘shadows,’ perhaps suggesting that they can see the wrongdoing in their
actions, and are therefore capable of change. The atmosphere of the trial is much more
comparable to American lynch culture: white families bring their children (while none of the
Black families do), they gather for lunch beforehand; it’s a ‘gala occasion,’ ‘a Roman
Tom Robinson is a central character in Harper Lee’s influential 1960 novel ‘To Kill a
Mockingbird.’ Through his saintly portrayal, in sharp contrast to the prejudiced views of
Maycomb residents, Lee unveils the shockingly deep racist principles that define the 1930s
American South. ‘Jim Crow’ laws still operated during the time of Lee’s writing and her
didactic novel condemning the racism, hypocrisy and thriving lynch culture operating in
America, relies on Tom Robinson to emphasise the needless injustice faced by Black citizens.
Lee portrays Tom Robinson as a virtuous and innocent man, in order to emphasise the
implausibility of his supposed crime of rape. Tom’s sympathetic nature is highlighted in the
courtroom scene were he describes his relationship to Mayella Ewell. A Black man, putting
himself at risk by stepping onto a white family’s property, Tom Robinson reveals that he
brushed aside the danger for the sake of helping Mayella Ewell because he ‘felt sorry for
her.’ Although she was vile to him and didn’t pay him for the chores he helped with, Tom
continued to help Mayella because he worried about her looking after all her siblings by
herself, demonstrating his thoughtful nature in the face of prejudice. Whatsmore, the
recurring metaphor of the ‘mockingbird,’ in which Tom is likened to a creature who in
Atticus’ words ‘don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy,’ cements the idea of his
pure innocence, in spite of the beliefs of white Maycomb society. His injured left arm-
‘twelve inches shorter than his right’- proves definitively to both the courtroom and the
reader that Tom Robinson would have been incapable of raping Mayella Ewell, and this
coupled with the evidence of bruising all around Mayella’s neck, leaves no room for doubt
about his innocence. However, the all-white jury convicting him regardless, echoes the
unjust rulings of countless American rape trials, in which Black men were convicted on little
or no evidence. A key example of this is the Scottsboro boys, nine Black teenagers who were
accused of raping two white women on a train in 1931. Although one of the alleged victims
admitted to fabricating the story and the evidence presented for their prosecution was
lacking, it took decades before the trial was admitted to be invalid. By positioning Tom
Robinson’s unquestionable innocence alongside the deeply racist legal system, Lee calls
attention to de jure racism, and forces readers to reflect on similarly racially-biased court
cases.
Furthermore, Tom Robinson is a significant character in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ because in
the run-up to his trial, the horrors of lynch culture in America are revealed. In chapter 15,
while Atticus stands guard outside of Tom Robinson’s cell, he’s met with the alarming
encounter of a white mob intending to take the law into their own hands. They directly
threaten Atticus and are only stopped by the sight of children. The attempted lynching in the
novel, differs from the reality of lynchings in America. While traditionally, lynchings were a
communal affair, in which the whole town would gather together in broad daylight to hang
and torture a Black citizen, in chapter 15, the practice is clandestine, almost shameful. Those
involved make themselves get drunk before, and wait until darkness so that they become
anonymous ‘shadows,’ perhaps suggesting that they can see the wrongdoing in their
actions, and are therefore capable of change. The atmosphere of the trial is much more
comparable to American lynch culture: white families bring their children (while none of the
Black families do), they gather for lunch beforehand; it’s a ‘gala occasion,’ ‘a Roman
