History Literature / ToKillAMockingbird

* DownInTheDumps: The Ewells literally live in the town dump, and most of their worldly possessions are reclaimed junk.

* {{Hypocrite}}: The people of Maycomb in general supposedly want to see Tom Robinson hang for Mayella’s sake, but didn’t lift a finger to help her when she lived under her abusive father.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Atticus' brother, Jack. He is much more strict than his brother (and most of the adults, for that matter), calling out Scout and later lecturing her for swearing at the dinner table, and punishing her for socking [[{{JerkAss}} Francis.]] However, when Scout explains why she smacked Francis (He called Atticus a nigger-lover), he immediately realizes his mistake and apologizes to Scout, bandaging her injured hand and keeping his promise not to tell Atticus about the incident.

** You have open-minded people who reject the brazen racism of the town and try to fight for justice (Atticus and Miss Maudie)

** Nasty old bats who gossip and spread rumors (Mrs. Dubose)

* DontMakeMeTakeMyBeltOff: Unusually for the times, Atticus doesn't believe in spanking his children. Uncle Jack, on the other hand, has no such scruples and is quick to turn Scout over his knee and spank her for picking a fight with her bratty cousin Francis.

* KnifeNut: Invoked by Boo Radley, who is rumored to have stabbed his father in the leg with a pair of scissors for no known reason (apart from being imprisoned in his house for life after going out joyriding with local louts one night). [[spoiler:At the climax of the tale he takes his kitchen knife and kills Bob Ewell during Ewell's attempt to murder Jem and Scout with a switchblade.]]

* PyrrhicVillainy: Bob Ewell wins the court case and Tom Robinson is convicted, but Atticus makes a fool of him, which drives Bob to actions that [[spoiler: later lead to his death]].

* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: [[spoiler:In the film, Tom Robinson is shot and killed by police on the night of his conviction, allegedly while trying to escape custody. In the novel, he dies while trying to escape from prison several months later]].

* CorruptHick:
** Bob Ewell has this trope down to a science, what with accusing Tom Robinson of rape, probably responsible for the (physical and sexual) abuse of his daughter, [[spoiler: attempting to kill Scout and Jem]] and being an all-around not-nice person. This is nicely averted by the town sheriff Heck Tate, however, who is quite a kind man. There is also Link Deas, Tom's employer, who risks jail to stand up in court and speak out of turn bearing witness to Tom's integrity. It should be noted that even though Bob Ewell and his brood are considered the lowest of the low, the townsfolk only take his word instead of Tom Robinson's because Bob is white.
** The biggest aversion of this trope comes in the Cunningham family. They're so poor that little Walter Cunningham can't have lunch every day, but Atticus points out that the family is scrupulously honest and will do whatever they can to pay what they owe, even if it means trading in goods and services because they don't have any cash.

* AdultFear: Atticus's courage is unquestionable, but he's badly and understandably shaken when his children are endangered.

* TearsOfFear: It's [[ImpliedTrope implied]] that Atticus (of all people!) sheds some after the lynch mob departs. To be fair, he is really reacting over [[AdultFear the danger his children were in.]]

->''"'...shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.' That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it. 'Your father's right,' she said. 'Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.'"''

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Tom Robinson is falsely convicted and is shot dead by cops and Atticus' faith in the Justice system has taken a big hit as a result. But Bob Ewell is killed and his name made a laughingstock and Scout becomes friends with Boo Radley, with the implication that he may be better understood by the community. Not to mention that the sheriff lets Boo off the hook for killing Bob to save the children and without her abusive father around, Mayella will probably be able to move on to a better life.]]

** Many women hold rather sexist positions themselves. Aunt Alexandra objects to Scouts boyish hoobbies, but even Scout thinks the idea of women being on the jury is ludicrous and even has an ImagineSpot where she pictures the town's GossipyHens holding up the trial asking pointless questions.

--> Somehow, it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer's day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square.

* AlcoholicParent: Bob Ewell.

** When Atticus, who has made it clear that he is adverse to violence, goes out into the neighborhood to "take care of" the rabid dog it foreshadows both his battle against the legal system and the climax of the book.

* UnfortunateNames: Harry Johnson, the owner of the rabid dog that briefly terrorizes the town.

** Tom Robinson's conviction is a particularly gun-wrenching example. The racism of Maycomb is so bad, the all-white jury is willing to convict an obviously innocent man just to preserve the town's racist caste system.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance:

** Even Scout thinks the idea of women being on the jury is ludicrous and even has an ImagineSpot where she pictures the town's GossipyHens holding up the trial asking pointless questions.

* AdaptationExplanationExtrication: When the children can't find a spot on the packed floor of the courthouse, the black pastor, Rev. Sykes, finds them a seat in the balcony. In the book, they are on friendly terms with Sykes because they sometimes visit his church; in the film, their acquaintanceship with him is unexplained, but Jem says "Reverend?" and they clearly know him.

* HeyCatch: Atticus throws a drinking glass at Tom to show that Tom can't use his left hand, so couldn't have attacked Mayella Ewell.

* NotQuiteTheRightThing: Directly invoked. [[spoiler:After Boo Radley kills a drunken, murderous Bob Ewell in defense of Atticus's children, Atticus is all set to get the authorities involved and begin processing the matter by-the-book. The local sheriff, however, warns him that it's an open-and-shut case of self defense, Bob Ewell is widely known and hated, and Boo Radley's extreme social phobias would make the resulting trial absolute hell for him, however pure and innocent Atticus's intentions might be. The sheriff therefore 'officially concludes' that Bob Ewell got drunk, slipped, and fell on his own knife]].

* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: [[spoiler:In the film, Tom Robinson is shot and killed by police on the night of his conviction. In the novel, he dies while trying to escape from prison several months later]].

* BigBrotherInstinct: Jem does his best to keep Scout from being frightened while they're walking through the woods, even [[BlatantLies flat out lying]] that it's merely their friend Cecil trying to spook them and claiming that he's not scared. Scout sees through this, but returns the favor by pretending that she's unafraid too.

* ShootTheDog: A rather literal example with Atticus Finch, Tim Johnson, and the rabid dog.

* ShootTheDog: A literal example with Atticus Finch and Tim Johnson

** Boo Radley is a recluse who hides from the world, while the world makes nasty rumors about him. Ewell himself starts attacking people after the town labels him public enemy #1 [[spoiler: and eventually tries to kill two children, only to be stopped by Boo Radley]].