1. To Kill A Mockingbird
BY: AFSAR THALAKOLA

2. Symbolism
• Tom Robinson is symbolized as a mockingbird in the book. Atticus tells Jem and Scout never to shoot a
mockingbird because they have never done anything bad to you except sing. The Mockingbird in this book
has an indirect meaning, it is symbolized as innocence. Innocence is the major theme in this book because
all of the plot lines are connected to it (Tom’s loss of innocence when accused of rape, or Scout’s loss of
innocence when she grows up and matures. Jem, Tom Robinson, Dill, Boo Radley, and Mr. Raymond can be
symbolized by mockingbirds because they were hurt by the evils of their time ( The Great Depression, and
Racism).
"I'd rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard,
but I know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you
want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it's a sin to kill a
mockingbird." That was the only time I ever heard Atticus
say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie
about it.
“Your father's right," she said. "Mockingbirds
don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They
don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they
don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's
why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.“
~Atticus Finch (98)

3. Character Traits
TOM ROBINSON

4. • Tom Robinson is falsely accused
in the trial because of
segregation in the 1930’s. This
causes Tom to not be respected
by the majority of the white
community and him to die.
• This quote explains the
importance of innocent minds in
our society. Atticus explains how
courts would be if children ran
them. Tom Robinson would be
innocent because any mind
unaffected by race or money
would plainly see that he wasn't
guilty.
• "If you had been on that jury , son, and
eleven other boys like you, Tom would be a
free man," said Atticus. "So far nothing in
your life has interfered with your reasoning
process. Those are twelve reasonable men in
everyday life, Tom's jury, but you saw
something come between them and
reasoning. You saw the same thing that
night in front of the jail. When that crew
went away, they didn't go as reasonable men,
they went because we were there. There's
something in our world that makes men lose
their heads- they couldn't be fair if they tried.
In our courts, when it's a white man's word
against a black man's, the white man always
wins. they're ugly, but those are the facts of
life."
~Atticus (295)

5. Tom is dead, because he was
unfairly accused and prosecuted
because the jury was consisted of
white men who were biased in
favor of the prosecutor. When he
was proclaimed guilty, he was put
in prison. When he attempted to
escape, he was shot and killed.
This quote is a constant reminder
on how unfair and bias the jury is
in this small town. They try and
act like they're being fair but
everyone knows Tom doesn't have
a chance.
"Atticus had used every tool
available to free men to save Tom
Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's
hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a
dead man the minute Mayella Ewell
opened her mouth and screamed."
~Mr. Underwood (323)

6. Color & Representations
TOM ROBINSON

7. Color
The color that represents Tom Robinson is black
because him and his community are “negroes” or
blacks.
Atticus, in this quote, is basically telling the jury that,
whether Tom Robinson raped Mayella Ewell or not,
they would convict him guilty just because he's black.
Bob Ewell and Mayella Ewell are both white, giving
them the upper hand. In this community, white
people think the same about all black people- they
are lesser than them in every way.
"The witnesses for the state,
with the exception of the
sheriff of Maycomb County,
have presented themselves to
you gentlemen, to this court,
in the cynical confidence that
their testimony would not be
doubted, confident that you
gentlemen would go along
with them on the
assumption- the evil
assumption- that all Negros
lie, that all Negro men are not
to be trusted around our
women, an assumption one
associates with minds of their
caliber."
~Atticus ( 273)

8. The Trial of Tom Robinson
• Tom Robinson is involved in two of
the three plot lines. The first plot
line is the Trial in which he in the
defendent. He is falsely accused of
rape when Bob Ewell catches him
in his home with Mayella.
• The second plot line is the coming
of age; or loosing your innocence.
Tom Robinson looses his
innocence when he is accused of
rape. The jury is the victim of
bandwagon (a form or persuasion)
so they declare Tom guilty.
"How could they do it, how could they?"
"I don't know, but they did it. They've done it
before and they did it again tonight and
they'll do it again and when they do itseems that only children weep. Good night."
~Jem, Atticus (285)
This quote is after the trial and it is Jem asking
Atticus how they could be so bias against Tom
Robinson even though it's a jury in a court of
law. Atticus explains that it's been like this
since the beginning of time. The only people
that are affected by this kind of racism are
children because of their innocence.