American rabbi, Abraham Joshua Heschel, wisely states “ Racism is man’s greatest threat to the man- the maximum hatred for a minimum of reason”. During the 1930s in the south, racism is very much relevant and exchanged between the white “supreme” race and people of color. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, racism heavily influences the town of Maycomb; this results in the African Americans being treated inferior and unequal. The definition of a mockingbird is a person who only contributes pleasant deeds but is taken advantage of. Tom Robinson, a black man, is accused of raping a white young woman. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson portrays a mockingbird as a result of his willingness to provide friendship and service to Mayella; despite that, he is mistreated seeing that Mayella betrays him and is proven guilty by the court. …show more content…
To begin with, Mayella is very lonesome until she asks Tom for a favor since he greeted her everyday on his way to work,he recalls “ I’d tip m’ hat when I’d go by, and one day she asked me to come inside the fence and bust up a chiffarobe for her”( Lee 255). This demonstrates that Tom is only being polite to the oldest Ewell and. Robinson is always a respectable black man and treats everyone with compassion even when they do not. Furthermore, Tom offers to help Mayella with no charge when she requests him too, he explains “ I was glad to do it, Mr. Ewell didn’t seem to help her none, and neither did the chillun, and I knowed she didn’t have no nickels to spare” (Lee 256). This reveals that he is genuinely concerned for Mayella, and he does not mind being of service to her. This is significant for the reason of that Mayella will then go behind his back and accuse him of rape. All in all, Tom Robinson well mannered ways provides companionship to Mayella and his fatal mistake of feeling pity entices him to be of