A second time that the theme appears during the trial is when Atticus directly says the “truth” and then the reality about African Americans. He states “The evil assumption-that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women…” (273). This is the “truth” that the society believes, not that it is an evil assumption but the assumption itself. In addition to his previous statement, Atticus then continues on to explain the reality; that some Negroes fall into those categories, but not all. Atticus calls the assumptions themselves “...a lie as black as Tom Robinson’s skin.” (273). As Atticus said, and as evident through the trial that Tom Robinson has no evidence against
