Tom Robinson

Tom is a respectable, humble, kind Negro whom Atticus is defending against the charge that he raped Mayella Ewell, daughter of Bob Ewell. Atticus knows he will lose because Tom is black, but he also knows that Tom is innocent and that he must defend him. Tom was only trying to help Mayella because no one else would, but she made advances that he refused and her father saw them. Tom Robinson is a black man, and pays for the stereotypes that society has had for years. There has always been a fear of black male sexuality, perpetuated by stories of white women being raped and defiled by black men. When Mayella Ewell makes the charge of rape, Tom's judgment comes not from the facts, but the stereotypes that clouded every jury member and every citizen of the town. They do not take the time to understand Tom, but fear and hate him unfairly.