The disabled character in To Kill a Mockingbird is Tom Robinson; his disability is a physical one, as one of his arms was mutilated in an accident some years prior to the events of the film. To that end, he is unable to use it in any way. Despite his physical disability, he is an extremely strong character; for one thing, he demonstrates a kindness and compassion for others, as he states that he helped Mayella (the woman he is charged with raping and beating) because he felt sorry for her during his testimony. He often took up Mayella’s requests for help (e.g. “bust[ing] up a chiffarobe”) without need for pay. Another one of his strengths is his respect for the law and society, despite its unfair treatment of him; Tom goes through the process of trial peacefully and innocently, even though the odds are stacked against him and his case.
Tom Robinson’s role in the plot is as an impact character – he does not have a huge role as an active protagonist, but his existence and the circumstances of his situation allow the filmmakers (and main characters) to discuss issues of racism and discrimination. He is the subject of the whole town’s attention; the film shows everyone talking about him, but very little of Tom himself outside of his testimony in the trial. His testimony is really the only time he gets to speak his piece under the protection of the law, which truly shows his role in the film as a subject for discussion more than a character. Tom is not a protagonist; the scene in which the lynch mob comes for Tom, only for Atticus to stop them, cements Tom’s role as a prop for Atticus’s own moral good; the conflict in the scene is between the mob and Atticus, with Tom being the prize. Furthermore, his status as a ‘mockingbird’ that Atticus and Scout say it would be a “sin to kill” in one scene together denotes both his innocence and his role in the film as a subject to be discussed.
The message of the film is that racial intolerance is insidious, and can even blind people to the innocence of others despite all the evidence to support it. The townsfolk all immediately believe that Tom Robinson is responsible, despite knowing about his disability, because he is black; this shows how racial intolerance can lead people to seek malicious intent even when people are proved to be innocent (Nickel, 2004). Tom Robinson is an innocent – a “mockingbird” - fought over by the sides of racial tolerance and intolerance, as evidenced by the sides of Atticus and the prosecution during his trial (Scacco, 2007). The fact that Tom Robinson is found guilty, despite Atticus’ clear logic and effective arguments, shows that the justice system is just as flawed at protecting people as individual people (Osborn Jr., 1995).
The use of disability in Tom Robinson’s character is important to communicating the message of the film by showing both the evils of racism and the paternalistic nature of white liberalism. Tom’s disability is treated as a reveal, a twist in the proceedings that opens up new implications for the trial – the statement is greeted with gasps of shock, indicating that people did not know about his disability. By making him physically unable to perform the violent act he is charged with, the fact that he is still found guilty shows just how insidious the institution of racism is – despite him definitely being innocent, the jury finds him guilty, and it is implied that a law enforcement officer staged an escape attempt in order to justify murdering him. The literal disabling of Tom Robinson, the black character on trial, is to permit Atticus to become the real hero of the film – the black man cannot solve racism himself, but needs a paternalistic white figure in order to do it for him (Nickel, 2004). To that end, the use of disability is almost offensive, as it limits the capability of Tom Robinson to stick up for himself – requiring a benevolent white lawyer to take the reins and act as the moral compass for the film.
References
Mulligan, R. (dir.) (1962). To kill a mockingbird. Perf. Gregory Peck. Universal Pictures.
Nickel, J. (2004). Disabling African American Men: Liberalism and Race Message
Films. Cinema Journal, 44(1), 25-48.
Osborn Jr, J. J. (1995). Atticus Finch-The End of Honor: A Discussion of To Kill a
Mockingbird. USFL Rev., 30, 1139.
Shackelford, D. (1997). The female voice in To Kill a Mockingbird: Narrative strategies in film
and novel. Mississippi Quarterly, 50, 101-114.
