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Tom Robinson is the client whom Atticus must defend in court: a young Black man accused of beating and raping Mayella Ewell, a white girl. While he is the central topic of the town’s gossip prior to the trial, there are a number of details about him that go unmentioned until he is testifying on the witness stand.
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Get everything you need to know about Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird. Analysis, related quotes, timeline.
Character Analysis. Like Boo Radley, Tom Robinson isn't just an individual. He's also a litmus test for Maycomb's racism—and, unfortunately for him, it fails. Before the Trial: Invisible Man.
Character Analysis Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. Boo Radley and Tom Robinson share many similarities in spite of fact that one man is white and the other black. By juxtaposing these two characters, Lee proves that justice and compassion reach beyond the boundary of color and human prejudices.
- Scout Finch
- Atticus Finch
- Jem Finch
- Arthur “Boo” Radley
- Calpurnia
- Bob Ewell
- Charles Baker “Dill” Harris
- Miss Maudie Atkinson
- Aunt Alexandra
- Mayella Ewell
The narrator and protagonist of the story. Jean Louise “Scout” Finch lives with her father, Atticus, her brother, Jem, and their Black cook, Calpurnia, in Maycomb. She is intelligent and, by the standards of her time and place, a tomboy. Scout has a combative streak and a basic faith in the goodness of the people in her community. As the novel prog...
Scout and Jem’s father, a lawyer in Maycomb descended from an old local family. A widower with a dry sense of humor, Atticus has instilled in his children his strong sense of morality and justice. He is one of the few residents of Maycomb committed to racial equality. When he agrees to defend Tom Robinson, a Black man charged with raping a white wo...
Scout’s brother and constant playmate at the beginning of the story. Jeremy Atticus “Jem” Finch is something of a typical American boy, refusing to back down from dares and fantasizing about playing football. Four years older than Scout, he gradually separates himself from her games, but he remains her close companion and protector throughout the n...
A recluse who never sets foot outside his house, Boo dominates the imaginations of Jem, Scout, and Dill. He is a powerful symbol of goodness swathed in an initial shroud of creepiness, leaving little presents for Scout and Jem and emerging at an opportune moment to save the children. An intelligent child emotionally damaged by his cruel father, Boo...
The Finches’ Black cook. Calpurnia is a stern disciplinarian and the children’s bridge between the white world and her own Black community. Read an in-depth analysis of Calpurnia
A drunken, mostly unemployed member of Maycomb’s poorest family. In his knowingly wrongful accusation that Tom Robinson raped his daughter, Ewell represents the dark side of the South: ignorance, poverty, squalor, and hate-filled racial prejudice. Read an in-depth analysis of Bob Ewell
Jem and Scout’s summer neighbor and friend. Dill is a diminutive, confident boy with an active imagination. He becomes fascinated with Boo Radley and represents the perspective of childhood innocence throughout the novel. Read an in-depth analysis of Dill Harris
The Finches’ neighbor, a sharp-tongued widow, and an old friend of the family. Miss Maudie is almost the same age as Atticus’s younger brother, Jack. She shares Atticus’s passion for justice and is the children’s best friend among Maycomb’s adults. Read an in-depth analysis of Miss Maudie
Atticus’s sister, a strong-willed woman with a fierce devotion to her family. Alexandra is the perfect Southern lady, and her commitment to propriety and tradition often leads her to clash with Scout. Read an in-depth analysis of Aunt Alexandra
Bob Ewell’s abused, lonely, unhappy daughter. Though one can pity Mayella because of her overbearing father, one cannot pardon her for her shameful indictment of Tom Robinson. Read an in-depth analysis of Mayella Ewell
Tom Robinson is the black man accused of raping Mayella Ewell. A good-hearted man of about 25, Tom is married, has children, and is known to be honest and hard-working. It is Tom's misfortune to be living in proximity to the Ewells.
When Tom Robinson, an African-American man, is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, Atticus is appointed as the defense attorney. Mayella and her shiftless father, Bob Ewell, live in abject poverty on the outskirts of town. The family is known as trouble and disliked by townspeople.
