"People should not be judged on first appearances." Why is this such an important theme in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Remember that Atticus explains to Scout the importance of
“climbing into” other people’s “skin and walk around in it" in order to truly understand
them. Many of the characters in the novel are judged by outward appearances from the
beginning. Scout’s revelations about these characters throughout the novel enhance our
understanding, as the reader, of the importance of respecting all
individuals.

Arthur "Boo" Radley: for his quiet, social
reluctance. “Jem gave a reasonable description of Boo. Boo was about six-and-a-half feet
tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, 
that’s why his hands were bloodstained—if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash
the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had
were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time” (13). Jem’s
knowledge of Boo comes from the gossip of the other characters in Maycomb, primarily
Miss. Stephanie Crawford. As the events of the novel play out, Jem and Scout come to
respect him as an individual and his choice to remain secluded from
society.

Tom Robinson: based on the color of his skin. The
only reason Tom is in the situation that he is in is because he is an African American
and because he “had the unmitigated temerity to ‘feel sorry’ for a white woman”
(204).

Mayella Ewell: for her "trash" relations. Although
Mayella’s refusal to tell the truth on the witness stand ultimately brings about Tom’s
death, we do have to have some sympathy for her. As humans, we are a product of our
environment and Mayella’s environment is not pretty. She has an alcoholic, abusive,
racist father. Her mother is dead, leaving her to raise her siblings. They are beyond
poor and uneducated. Yet we know that she is slightly different the rest of the clan:
“One corner of the yard, though, bewildered Maycomb. Against the fence, in a line, were
six chipped-enamel slop jars holding brilliant red geraniums, cared for as tenderly as
if they had belonged to Miss Maudie Atkinson, had Miss Maudie deigned to permit a
geranium on her premises. People said they were Mayella Ewell’s”
(170).

Mr. Dolphus Raymond: chooses to live with the Black
community and have “mixed children” (201). Raymond pretends to be in the clutches of
whisky to help the citizens of Maycomb understand his life choices rather. It is easier
for them to understand a drunk who is too old to change his ways than try to understand
why he lives the way he does.

All of these people help the
reader to greater understand the theme of acceptance in the novel and not judging people
by outward appearances.