History YMMV / ToKillAMockingbird

* InternetBackdraft: [[spoiler: Given how Atticus Finch has a place in American culture as moral crusader who inspired countless young people to become lawyers his jarring transformation into an Anti-Segregation bigot in the sequel literally set the Internet on fire, with many claiming that the book was published without Harper Lee's consent or that the publisher took advangte of ehr since he's in her old age. However it should be noted that ''To Set a Watchman'' was actually written first, and Lee's editor advised her to rework it around Scout's childhood.]]

* InternetBackdraft: [[spoiler: Given how Atticus Finch has a place in American culture as moral crusader who inspired countless young people to become lawyers his jarring transformation into an Anti-Segregation bigot in the sequel literally set the Internet on fire.]]

** She was often accused of not writing this one (especially since her "childhood friend" was a bestselling author in his own right). People who actually knew Truman Capote dismiss this tinfoil hatting by pointing out he would never have not taken credit for it.

** The racist asshole jurors cross it by finding Tom guilty despite knowing damn well that he is innocent.

* ToughActToFollow: Lee avoided this trope by never writing another book.

* ValuesDissonance: Examined. The teacher Miss Caroline is quite displeased that Scout learned reading at a young age because it goes against the school system.

** Jem qualifies as well. As a kid going through puberty he already has a lot of difficulties going on and throughout the book his struggles keep piling up with seeing the reality and how horrifying it truly is and having him and his sister slowly grow apart

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: Treating people unfairly because they have a different skin color from you is wrong. A similar moral in empathy is dropped with Boo Radley, who is shunned for being different. Remember, the novel was written in the 50's, briefly before, three white men savagely tortured to death Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black boy, for the "crime" of allegedly flirting at a white woman. The all-white jury acquitted the two killers despite being presented with irrefutable evidence of their guilt after only 30-minutes of deliberation (in fact, those two proceeded to boast of their crime in local newspapers, once safe in the protection of Double Jeopardy Laws).

* CompleteMonster: Robert E. Lee "Bob" Ewell personifies all that was wrong with the 1930s. He gets Tom Robinson, a disabled black man, arrested for supposedly raping and beating his daughter Mayella. Atticus, the defense lawyer, shows that Tom was physically incapable of committing the crime and that Bob caught Mayella making advances on an unwilling Tom and [[AbusiveParents beat her himself]]. Since the book takes place in the DeepSouth several decades before the Civil Rights movement, the all-white jury sentences Tom to death anyway. Bob Ewell still also tries to take revenge on those that ridiculed him during the trial, including Tom Robinson's widow, a poor woman with many children to feed and a job that doesn't pay well. He yells obscenities at her as she walks past his house on the way to work. When her boss finds out and threatens to have him arrested for it, Ewell then begins to ''stalk her as she goes to work''. When her boss again confronts him, Ewell claims that he couldn't be arrested because he never actually touched her. It's also implied at one point that [[ParentalIncest Bob himself has been sexually abusing Mayella]]. Even though Tom Robinson is dead, Bob stays angry with Atticus for digging up the truth. As revenge, he [[WouldHurtAChild tries to kill Atticus's children on their way home from a school play]].

* JustHereForGodzilla: You probably came to watch this film just to see the courtroom trial that was the basis for all courtroom dramas to follow.

* [[JustHereForGodzilla Just Here For the Trial]]: You probably came to watch this film just to see the courtroom trial that was the basis for all courtroom dramas to follow.

* CompleteMonster: Robert E. Lee "Bob" Ewell personifies all that was wrong with the 1930s. He gets Tom Robinson, a disabled black man, arrested for supposedly raping and beating his daughter Mayella. Atticus, the defense lawyer, shows that Tom was physically incapable of committing the crime and that Bob caught Mayella making advances on an unwilling Tom and [[AbusiveParents beat her himself]]. Since the book takes place in the DeepSouth several decades before the Civil Rights movement, the all-white jury sentences Tom to death anyway. Bob Ewell still also tries to take revenge on those that angered him during the trial, including Tom Robinson's widow, a poor woman with many children to feed and a job that doesn't pay well. He yells obscenities at her as she walks past his house on the way to work. When her boss finds out and threatens to have him arrested for it, Ewell then begins to ''stalk her as she goes to work''. When her boss again confronts him, Ewell claims that he couldn't be arrested because he never actually touched her. It's also implied at one point that [[ParentalIncest Bob himself has been sexually abusing Mayella]]. Even though Tom Robinson is dead, Bob stays angry with Atticus for digging up the truth. As revenge, he [[WouldHurtAChild tries to kill Atticus's children on their way home from a school play]].

* CompleteMonster: Robert E. Lee "Bob" Ewell personifies all that was wrong with the 1930s. He gets Tom Robinson, a disabled black man, arrested for supposedly raping and beating his daughter Mayella. Atticus, the defense lawyer, shows that Tom was physically incapable of committing the crime and that Bob caught Mayella making advances on an unwilling Tom and [[AbusiveParents beat her himself]]. Since the book takes place in the DeepSouth several decades before the Civil Rights movement, the all-white jury sentences Tom to death anyway. Ewell still also tries to take revenge on Tom Robinson's widow, a poor woman with many children to feed and a job that doesn't pay well. He yells obscenities at her as she walks past his house on the way to work. When her boss finds out and threatens to have him arrested for it, Ewell then begins to ''stalk her as she goes to work''. When her boss again confronts him, Ewell claims that he couldn't be arrested because he never actually touched her. It's also implied at one point that [[ParentalIncest Bob himself has been sexually abusing Mayella]]. Even though Tom Robinson is dead, Bob stays angry with Atticus for digging up the truth. As revenge, he [[WouldHurtAChild tries to kill Atticus's children on their way home from a school play]].

* CompleteMonster: Robert E. Lee "Bob" Ewell personifies all that was wrong with the 1930s. He gets Tom Robinson, a disabled black man, arrested for supposedly raping and beating his daughter Mayella. Atticus, the defense lawyer, shows that Tom was ''physically incapable'' of committing the crime and that Bob caught Mayella making advances on an unwilling Tom and [[AbusiveParents beat her himself]]. Since the book takes place in the DeepSouth several decades before the Civil Rights movement, the all-white jury sentences Tom to death anyway. Ewell still also tries to take revenge on Tom Robinson's widow, a poor woman with many children to feed and a job that doesn't pay well. He yells obscenities at her as she walks past his house on the way to work. When her boss finds out and threatens to have him arrested for it, Ewell then begins to ''stalk her as she goes to work''. When her boss again confronts him, Ewell claims that he couldn't be arrested because he never actually touched her. It's also implied at one point that [[ParentalIncest Bob himself has been sexually abusing Mayella]]. Even though Tom Robinson is dead, Bob stays angry with Atticus for digging up the truth. As revenge, he [[WouldHurtAChild tries to kill Atticus's children on their way home from a school play]].

** Mayella. Yes, she caused the court case, but she tried to seduce Tom because he was the only person who ever showed her any sort of affection or kindness and it's implied that she only goes along with the rape story because she's terrified of her father and because she just wants ''some'' kind of acceptance in the community.
*** Even Tom doesn't hate her and she's the reason he gets put on trial.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: Treating people unfairly because they have a different skin color from you is wrong. A similar moral in empathy is dropped with Boo Radley, who is shunned for being different. Remember, the novel was written in the 50's, just 5 brief years ago, three white men savagely tortured to death Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black boy, for the "crime" of allegedly flirting at a white woman. The all-white jury acquitted the two killers despite being presented with irrefutable evidence of their guilt after only 30-minutes of deliberation (in fact, those two proceeded to boast of their crime in local newspapers, once safe in the protection of Double Jeopardy Laws).

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: Treating people unfairly because they have a different skin color from you is wrong. A similar moral in empathy is dropped with Boo Radley, who is shunned for being different. Remember, the novel was written in 1960, just 5 brief years ago, three white men savagely tortured to death Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black boy, for the "crime" of allegedly flirting at a white woman. The all-white jury acquitted the two killers despite being presented with irrefutable evidence of their guilt after only 30-minutes of deliberation (in fact, those two proceeded to boast of their crime in local newspapers, once safe in the protection of Double Jeopardy Laws).

*** Tom doesn't hate her. And, she killed him.

* JerkassWoobie: Mayella. While she's a very unpleasant young woman who has falsely accused an innocent man of assault, it's difficult not to pity her. She lost her mother at a young age, lives in poverty and squalor, struggles to raise her siblings with no help, has no friends, endures physical abuse from her father, and it's strongly implied that she endures sexual abuse from her father as well.

* CompleteMonster: Robert E. Lee "Bob" Ewell personifies all that was wrong with the 1930s. He gets Tom Robinson, a disabled black man, arrested for supposedly raping and beating his daughter Mayella. Atticus, the defense lawyer, shows that Tom was ''physically incapable'' of committing the crime and that Bob caught Mayella making advances on an unwilling Tom and [[AbusiveParents beat her himself]]. Since the book takes place in the DeepSouth several decades before the Civil Rights movement, the all-white jury sentences Tom to death anyway. Ewell still also tries to take revenge on Tom Robinson's widow, a poor woman with many children to feed and a job that doesn't pay well. He yells obscenities at her as she walks past his house on the way to work. When her boss finds out and threatens to have him arrested for it, Ewell then begins to ''stalk her as she goes to work''. When her boss again confronts him, Ewell claims that he couldn't be arrested because he never actually touched her. It's also implied at one point that [[spoiler: [[ParentalIncest Bob himself has been sexually abusing Mayella]]]]. Even though Tom Robinson is dead, Bob stays angry with Atticus for digging up the truth. As revenge, he [[WouldHurtAChild tries to kill Atticus's children on their way home from a school play]].

* CompleteMonster: Robert E. Lee "Bob" Ewell personifies all that was wrong with the era. He gets Tom Robinson, a disabled black man, arrested for supposedly raping and beating his daughter Mayella. Atticus, the defense lawyer, shows that Tom was ''physically incapable'' of committing the crime and that Bob caught Mayella making advances on an unwilling Tom and [[AbusiveParents beat her himself]]. Since the book takes place in the DeepSouth several decades before the Civil Rights movement, the all-white jury sentences Tom to death anyway. Ewell still also tries to take revenge on Tom Robinson's widow, a poor woman with many children to feed and a job that doesn't pay well. He yells obscenities at her as she walks past his house on the way to work. When her boss finds out and threatens to have him arrested for it, Ewell then begins to ''stalk her as she goes to work''. When her boss again confronts him, Ewell claims that he couldn't be arrested because he never actually touched her. It's also implied at one point that [[spoiler: [[ParentalIncest Bob himself has been sexually abusing Mayella]]]]. Even though Tom Robinson is dead, Bob stays angry with Atticus for digging up the truth. As revenge, he [[WouldHurtAChild tries to kill Atticus's children on their way home from a school play]].

* CompleteMonster: Bob Ewell personifies all that was wrong with the era. He gets Tom Robinson, a disabled black man, arrested for supposedly raping and beating his daughter Mayella. Atticus, the defense lawyer, shows that Tom was ''physically incapable'' of committing the crime and that Bob caught Mayella making advances on an unwilling Tom and beat her himself. Since the book takes place in the DeepSouth several decades before the Civil Rights movement, the all-white jury sentences Tom to death anyway. Ewell still also tries to take revenge on Tom Robinson's widow, a poor woman with many children to feed and a job that doesn't pay well. He yells obscenities at her as she walks past his house on the way to work. When her boss finds out and threatens to have him arrested for it, Ewell then begins to ''stalk her as she goes to work''. When her boss again confronts him, Ewell claims that he couldn't be arrested because he never actually touched her. It's also implied at one point that [[spoiler: [[ParentalIncest Bob himself has been sexually abusing Mayella]]]]. Even though Tom Robinson is dead, Bob stays angry with Atticus for digging up the truth. As revenge, he [[WouldHurtAChild tries to kill Atticus's children on their way home from a school play]].