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Aunt Alexandra
A 25-year-old black man whom Atticus defends in a court case against the Ewells. Bob Ewell claims that his daughter, Mayella, was raped by Tom. However, Tom is kind, a churchgoer, and a married father of three, as well as a beloved member of the black community in Maycomb and a good employee of Mr. Deas. Atticus makes the case that Tom, who got his left arm caught in a cotton gin as a child and can’t use it as a result, couldn’t have strangled and beaten a woman with only one arm. In his testimony, Tom speaks about the impossible situation Mayella put him in when she hugged and kissed him. Being a black man, he couldn’t have pushed her away or forcibly removed himself—though running was his only choice, it made him look as though he was guilty of something more. Despite the overwhelming lack of evidence against Tom, the jury ultimately convicts him as guilty of rape. In prison, guards shoot and kill Tom when he tries to escape over a fence.
Tom Robinson Quotes in To Kill a Mockingbird
The To Kill a Mockingbird quotes below are all either spoken by Tom Robinson or refer to Tom Robinson. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 9
Quotes
“If you shouldn't be defendin' him, then why are you doin' it?”
“For a number of reasons,” said Atticus. “The main one is, if I didn't I couldn't hold up my head in town, I couldn't represent this county in the legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something again.”
[…]
"Atticus, are we going to win it?"
“No, honey.”
“Then why—”
“Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win,” Atticus said.
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Chapter 11
Quotes
“Atticus, you must be wrong…”
“How's that?”
“Well, most folks seem to think they're right and you're wrong…”
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Chapter 19
Quotes
“If you had a clear conscience, why were you scared?”
“Like I says before, it weren't safe for any nigger to be in a—fix like that.”
“But you weren't in a fix—you testified that you were resisting Miss Ewell. Were you so scared that she'd hurt you, you ran, a big buck like you?”
“No suh, I's scared I'd be in court, just like I am now.”
“Scared of arrest, scared you'd have to face up to what you did?”
“No suh, scared I'd hafta face up to what I didn't do.”
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“The way that man called him 'boy' all the time an' sneered at him, an' looked around at the jury every time he answered— … It ain't right, somehow it ain't right to do 'em that way. Hasn't anybody got any business talkin' like that—it just makes me sick.”
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Chapter 22
Quotes
“They've done it before and they did it tonight and they'll do it again and when they do it—seems that only children weep.”
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Chapter 25
Quotes
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.
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Get the entire To Kill a Mockingbird LitChart as a printable PDF.
Tom Robinson Quotes in To Kill a Mockingbird
The To Kill a Mockingbird quotes below are all either spoken by Tom Robinson or refer to Tom Robinson. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 9
Quotes
“If you shouldn't be defendin' him, then why are you doin' it?”
“For a number of reasons,” said Atticus. “The main one is, if I didn't I couldn't hold up my head in town, I couldn't represent this county in the legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something again.”
[…]
"Atticus, are we going to win it?"
“No, honey.”
“Then why—”
“Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win,” Atticus said.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11
Quotes
“Atticus, you must be wrong…”
“How's that?”
“Well, most folks seem to think they're right and you're wrong…”
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19
Quotes
“If you had a clear conscience, why were you scared?”
“Like I says before, it weren't safe for any nigger to be in a—fix like that.”
“But you weren't in a fix—you testified that you were resisting Miss Ewell. Were you so scared that she'd hurt you, you ran, a big buck like you?”
“No suh, I's scared I'd be in court, just like I am now.”
“Scared of arrest, scared you'd have to face up to what you did?”
“No suh, scared I'd hafta face up to what I didn't do.”
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“The way that man called him 'boy' all the time an' sneered at him, an' looked around at the jury every time he answered— … It ain't right, somehow it ain't right to do 'em that way. Hasn't anybody got any business talkin' like that—it just makes me sick.”
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 22
Quotes
“They've done it before and they did it tonight and they'll do it again and when they do it—seems that only children weep.”
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Chapter 25
Quotes
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.
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