--- title: "3 Tom Robinson Quotes By Harper Lee" description: "3 Tom Robinson quotes by Harper Lee. Plus more from Harper Lee and more Tom Robinson sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db4/harper-lee-451_defendant_to-begin-with-this-case-should-never-hav_58235.jpg" --- > [“To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/to-begin-with-this-case-should-never-have-come-to-trial-the-state-has/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db4/harper-lee-451_defendant_to-begin-with-this-case-should-never-hav_58235.jpg) > [“Scout," said Atticus, "When summer comes you'll you'll have to keep your head about far worse things…it's not fair for you and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/scout-said-atticus-when-summer-comes-you-ll-you-ll-have-to-keep-your/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/harper-lee-451_scout_scout-said-atticus-when-summer-comes-you_165319.png) > [“Then Mr. Underwood's meaning became clear: Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/then-mr-underwood-s-meaning-became-clear-atticus-had-used-every-tool/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/harper-lee-451_atticus_then-mr-underwood-s-meaning-became-clear_1822167.png) ## More by Harper Lee > [“No jury in this part of the world's going to say, "We think you're guilty, but not very," on a charge like that. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/no-jury-in-this-part-of-the-world-s-going-to-say-we-think-you-re/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [That proves something- that a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they're still human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/that-proves-something-that-a-gang-of-wild-animals-can-be-stopped/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“I wanted you to see something about her—I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-wanted-you-to-see-something-about-her-i-wanted-you-to-see-what-real/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself...It's a self-exploratory operation that is endless. An exorcism of not necessarily his demon, but of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/any-writer-worth-his-salt-writes-to-please-himself-it-s-a-self/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“folks don’t like to have somebody around knowin’ more than they do. It aggravates ’em. You’re not gonna change any of them by talkin’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/folks-don-t-like-to-have-somebody-around-knowin-more-than-they-do-it/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [ “...\[Summer\] was a thousand colors in a parched landscape...” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/summer-was-a-thousand-colors-in-a-parched-landscape/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [It’s never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/it-s-never-an-insult-to-be-called-what-somebody-thinks-is-a-bad-name/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I wonder how much of the day I spend just callin' after you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-wonder-how-much-of-the-day-i-spend-just-callin-after-you/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Writing is something you'll never learn in any university or at any school. It's something that is within you, and if it isn't there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/writing-is-something-you-ll-never-learn-in-any-university-or-at-any/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence that the crime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/to-begin-with-this-case-should-never-have-come-to-trial-the-state-has/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“Naw, Jem. I think that there is just one kind of folks. Folks." Jen turned and punched his pillow. WHen he settle back his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/naw-jem-i-think-that-there-is-just-one-kind-of-folks-folks-jen-turned/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“The course of English Literature would have been decidedly different had Mr. Wordsworth owned a power mower.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/the-course-of-english-literature-would-have-been-decidedly-different/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I would like to be the chronicler of something that I think is going down the drain very swiftly, and that is small-town, middle-class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-would-like-to-be-the-chronicler-of-something-that-i-think-is-going/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“The gum looked fresh. I sniffed it and it smelled all right. I licked it and waited for a while. When I did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/the-gum-looked-fresh-i-sniffed-it-and-it-smelled-all-right-i-licked/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I just thought you'd like to know I can read. You got anything needs readin' I can do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-just-thought-you-d-like-to-know-i-can-read-you-got-anything-needs/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tom-robinson/harper-lee/#itemlist", "name": "3 Tom Robinson Quotes By Harper Lee", "numberOfItems": 3, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place... It has relied instead upon the testimony of two witnesses, whose evidence has not only been called into serious question on cross-examination, but has been flatly contradicted by the defendant. Now, there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewel was beaten - savagely, by someone who led exclusively with his left. And Tom Robinson now sits before you having taken the oath with the only good hand he possesses... his RIGHT. I have nothing but pity in my heart for the chief witness for the State. She is the victim of cruel poverty and ignorance. But my pity does not extend so far as to her putting a man's life at stake, which she has done in an effort to get rid of her own guilt. Now I say \"guilt,\" gentlemen, because it was guilt that motivated her. She's committed no crime - she has merely broken a rigid and time-honored code of our society, a code so severe that whoever breaks it is hounded from our midst as unfit to live with. She must destroy the evidence of her offense. But what was the evidence of her offense? Tom Robinson, a human being. She must put Tom Robinson away from her. Tom Robinson was to her a daily reminder of what she did. Now, what did she do? She tempted a *****. She was white, and she tempted a *****. She did something that, in our society, is unspeakable. She kissed a black man. Not an old uncle, but a strong, young ***** man. No code mattered to her before she broke it, but it came crashing down on her afterwards. 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 Negroes lie, all Negroes are basically immoral beings, all ***** men are not to be trusted around our women. An assumption that one associates with minds of their caliber, and which is, in itself, gentlemen, a lie, which I do not need to point out to you. And so, a quiet, humble, respectable *****, who has had the unmitigated TEMERITY to feel sorry for a white woman, has had to put his word against TWO white people's! The defendant is not guilty - but somebody in this courtroom is. Now, gentlemen, in this country, our courts are the great levelers. In our courts, all men are created equal. I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and of our jury system - that's no ideal to me. That is a living, working reality! Now I am confident that you gentlemen will review, without passion, the evidence that you have heard, come to a decision and restore this man to his family. In the name of GOD, do your duty. In the name of God, believe... Tom Robinson”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harper Lee" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/to-begin-with-this-case-should-never-have-come-to-trial-the-state-has/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db4/harper-lee-451_defendant_to-begin-with-this-case-should-never-hav_58235.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db4/harper-lee-451_defendant_to-begin-with-this-case-should-never-hav_58235.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db4/harper-lee-451_defendant_to-begin-with-this-case-should-never-hav_58235.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. 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This case, Tom Robinson's case, is something that goes to the essence of a man's conscience - Scout, I couldn't go to church and worship God if I didn't try to help that man.\" \"Atticus, you must be wrong…\" \"How's that?\" \"Well, most folks seem to think that, they're right and you're wrong…\" \"They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their options,\" said Atticus, \"but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harper Lee" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/scout-said-atticus-when-summer-comes-you-ll-you-ll-have-to-keep-your/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/harper-lee-451_scout_scout-said-atticus-when-summer-comes-you_165319.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/harper-lee-451_scout_scout-said-atticus-when-summer-comes-you_165319.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/harper-lee-451_scout_scout-said-atticus-when-summer-comes-you_165319.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Scout,\" said Atticus, \"When summer comes you'll you'll have to keep your head about far worse things…it's…” — Harper Lee", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Then Mr. Underwood's meaning became clear: 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.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harper Lee" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/then-mr-underwood-s-meaning-became-clear-atticus-had-used-every-tool/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/harper-lee-451_atticus_then-mr-underwood-s-meaning-became-clear_1822167.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/harper-lee-451_atticus_then-mr-underwood-s-meaning-became-clear_1822167.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/harper-lee-451_atticus_then-mr-underwood-s-meaning-became-clear_1822167.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Then Mr. Underwood's meaning became clear: Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom…” — Harper Lee", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tom-robinson/harper-lee/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tom-robinson/harper-lee/", "name": "Tom Robinson Quotes by Harper Lee", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tom-robinson/harper-lee/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db4/harper-lee-451_defendant_to-begin-with-this-case-should-never-hav_58235.jpg" }, "description": "3 Tom Robinson quotes by Harper Lee. 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