In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch is a lawyer who decides to defend a black man. This man’s name was Tom Robinson, and he was accused of raping a girl named Mayella Ewell. Atticus believes that these accusations were false so he decided to stand up for Tom. Atticus was right to stand up for Tom Robinson because he believed in stopping racism, doing what is right, and defending an innocent man. Atticus is a firm believer in equal rights and to show this he did his best to treat everyone fairly. He has noticed the racism going on in the town and he is not okay with this, to show this, Atticus teaches his kids that racism is unfair and unreasonable “ “As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men everyday …show more content…
Beliefs are important to Atticus and many of his beliefs include of kindness, equal rights, and having courage. Doing what he believes in is highly important to Atticus, which is a reason that standing up for Tom Robinson was the right thing for Atticus to do. “ “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.” “(Lee, CH.9). This quote shows us that Atticus had the courage and beliefs to stand up for Tom Robinson, and by defending him he stuck to his beliefs. Atticus’s courage to stand up for Tom was honorable not only for Tom and his community but also to the people against racism. Atticus always believed that being kind was the best thing to do and he shows this by standing up for Tom “ “...I do my best to love everybody…” “(Lee, CH. 11). This quote shows that Atticus is kind-hearted and that standing up for Tom was just another one of his acts of kindness. Since Atticus does his best to love everybody he felt it was a necessity for him to defend Tom Robinson. Atticus not only is kind for his benefits but also for his kids. He teaches his kids to be kind and to treat everyone equal and if he wouldn't have taken Tom’s case he would have been setting a bad example to his children. “ “I wanted you to see what real courage is…” “(Lee, CH. 9). This shows that Atticus is trying to be a good example to his …show more content…
Atticus did the right thing by standing up for Tom, because he was an innocent man and he shouldn’t be imprisoned for what he didn’t do. Atticus knew and believed this and he did whatever he could to save Tom Robinson “ “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson…” “(Lee, CH.25). This shows us that Atticus truly wanted to save Tom and he knew that Tom was an innocent man. If Atticus wouldn’t have stood up for Tom the chances are no one else would and Tom would never have a chance of freedom. Atticus also knew that Tom was innocent when Tom began to explain that he was sorry for Mayella “ “felt right sorry for her” “(Lee, CH. ?). This shows that Tom was truly innocent because if he wasn’t a black man would never say that they felt sorry for a white women. This helped Atticus understand that he was innocent, and made it the right thing to do when standing up for him. Atticus also knew Tom as a friend, they were always kind to each other and never treated the each other any different from the other. Atticus knew that Tom was innocent and when guarding Tom’s cell at the jail Atticus stood by him the entire night. “ “Mr. Finch? “A soft husky voice came from the darkness above: “They gone?” Atticus stepped back and looked up. They’ve gone,” he said. “Get some sleep, Tom. They won’t bother you any more.” “ (CH. 15). This shows that Atticus truly cares for Tom and if Atticus
This is a set of morals not only for himself, but for his children to follow as well. Atticus as a father is trying to set an example for his kids and maybe even future generations, and to do that you can't just back down when times get tough. Atticus’s taking on Tom Robinson’s case wasn't just an example for his kids, but for the black community as well. Living in the 1930s for black males and females could be disheartening, while they may not have been slaves anymore they faced persecution they did not deserve. “We’re mighty glad to have you all here.”
Tom Robinson had been accused of raping a white woman, and Mr. Finch is his lawyer. Because of racism in this time period; Atticus had no hope of winning the case, but winning wasn’t his ultimate goal. He fought for Tom Robinson because he felt that everyone deserved justice in the court no matter what race. “Our courts have their faults, as does any human institution, but in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal” (Lee 274). The lawyer wasn’t fighting an impossible case for the challenge of winning. He was arguing for this man so that he could walk with courage, knowing he had done the right
Undoubtedly, one of the most controversial subjects in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, would be whether or not Atticus Finch should have defended Tom Robinson. However, in order to understand this controversy, a person must first be able to understand Atticus Finch himself. Atticus as a character is a very intellectual person who possesses the fortitude to stand up for whatever he believes is right and will not let other people’s choices affect his own. Furthermore, it is also important to understand that Atticus is not a racist, nor does he approve of the idea that one group of people are better than another based on their appearances in general, and because of this, a person can generalize that Atticus’s characteristic traits are why he did not complain when given the task of defending a black man, Tom Robinson, who had been wrongfully accused of raping a white woman. A man that he, as well as a small group of other people from town, viewed as the picture of innocence. In their eyes, Tom was no more than a mockingbird, “[and mockingbirds] don’t do one thing but make music for [people] to enjoy” (Lee 119). Knowing this, anyone with a reasonably strong sense of what is right and what is wrong can conclude that it does make sense for Atticus Finch to have taken the case due to his belief that it is a sin to kill the innocent as well as his courage that allows him to stay true to his ideas, even though when taking the case, he was inevitably going to be putting his
The novels: To Kill A Mockingbird and When A Girl Is Born show a common feature of having the courage to call in question the social norms of their society. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus challenges Maycomb's ways as he defends a black man accused of raping a white woman. By doing so, he is accepting the impossible by admitting that a black man is innocent and hence accusing a white folk of being guilty. As a result of doing so, he attracts many hardships. For instance, Bob Ewell disrespects Atticus by spitting on him, in return Atticus says, "So if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take." This quote shows how Atticus considers the ignorant and cruel paradigm
Atticus, a man of virtue, educates his children that the color of someone’s skin shouldn’t determine how you treat them. His teachings are reflected in the way Scout
Atticus is an important character throughout the novel, he has a large influence of the community of Maycomb County that he is strongly valued in. He is revealed to us through his words and actions as a courageous and unprejudiced man with good values and morals. At the beginning of the novel Atticus Finch takes Tom Robinson’s court case, Tom Robinson is a black member of the Maycomb town who has been accused of rape of Mayella Ewell. In the 1930’s this was a very controversial case for Atticus to be supporting as throughout the community and the Unites States there was a problem of racial inequality. Blacks were not seen to have equal rights as whites and were seen as the lower class and “trash”. Atticus says that “When it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins”. This shows that although he is exposing himself and his family to the anger of the white community, he would rather stand by his moral values than join the rallying community of racially
Atticus had to deal with a lot of people plotting against him, because of the fact that he is taking up the side of justice which is also with an African man. First, Atticus decides to defend Tom Robinson. He knows that this is not popular and that he will get teased for it. Moreover, he knows he’s going to lose the case. He commits, because it is the moral thing to do, which requires courage.
The final reason that atticus should’ve defended tom robinson is that by watching what A did, it taught Scout and Jem courage and to be respectful. Scout and Jem already believed blacks and whites were equal but their father’s actions taught them to stand alone for a just cause. By witnessing the townspeople attempt to lynch TR without a trial it showed them just how much A was up against and how courageous he was. The black people in town would testify that they were accustomed to unfair trials, segregation, less pay and a hard life. Scout and Jem watched A sincerely defend an unpopular cause even though the whole town opposed
There are many people in this world that do good things that others don’t like because of who they are. Many people do things that would make themselves feel good inside but others bad inside. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee it states why it makes sense for Atticus to take a stand to defend Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson is a black man who is married and went to trial for opposable raping a white girl named Mayella Ewell. Sadly he lost just because of the color of his skin since racism is a strong thing in Maycomb which is ruining blacks lives. Tom Robinson eventually died because he got shot 17 times for trying to escape from a place he doesn’t belong for something he didn’t do. Now his lawyer Atticus is rethinking was it worth
He does what he can to provide justice for anyone that needs it and he wants to teach his children to do the same. Tom Robinson can be just as much guilty as non-guilty. Atticus chooses to have faith in his side of the story and try’s to prove he is a good man. Though the outcome isn’t what Atticus hoped for, he still does everything in his power to give justice. “You never understand a person until you look at things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it”.
In the novel, Atticus expresses one of man’s highest ideals, courage in the face of defeat. Atticus is appointed to defend Tom Robinson, a Negro who was accused of raping Mayella Ewell. He simply is defending Tom because it was the right thing to do. He knows he would cause him troubles and perhaps his children will be involved, but Atticus is a very moral person. Another reason why he decides to defend Tom is to teach his children to do the right thing. Even though he accepted the case, he knows that he is going to lose: “‘Atticus, are we going to win it?’ ‘No, honey.’ ‘Then why–’ ‘simply because we were licked a hundred years
Another reason it makes sense for Atticus to take Tom Robinson's case is because Tom Robinson has great manners and is very humble, “...humble Negro who had the unmitigated temerity to ‘feel sorry’ for a white woman…”(Lee, Pg. 273). Tom Robinson not only was very respectful in the case, but he also felt sorry for Mayella and felt bad for what happened to her. The last way it makes sense for Atticus to take Tom Robinson’s case is because he wants to prove a point about blacks, “...the evil assumption--that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around woman…”(Lee, Pg. 273). Atticus says that this is the assumption when people think of black men and he wants to show that not all men are like this and that Tom Robinson wouldn't do this and that he is a very respectful man who treats women good. It does make sense for Atticus to take
I believe that it was right for Atticus to defend Tom Robinson because Atticus wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he didn’t try and he wanted to set a good example for his children Jem and Scout. Atticus felt that he wouldn’t be able to keep his head up in town if he didn’t defend Tom Robinson. The first and main reason that Atticus defended Tom Robinson was because it
Atticus’ fairness also shows he is a good father because he believes that everyone deserves a chance to be understood and all have reasons for their actions. For example, after revealing the news to Jem and Scout of Tom’s death, he says, “Depends on how you look at it. What was one Negro, more or less, among two hundred of ‘em? He wasn’t Tom to them, he was an escaping prisoner” (Lee 235). This passage shows Atticus's fairness because he always tries to put himself in other people’s shoes in order to give everyone a chance at being understood, as he teaches Jem and Scout to do. He gave up his respectable reputation among many of the whites in Maycomb to defend Tom Robinson, and still speaks highly of the men who killed him. When he says this, he is trying to make the children see that the men who killed Tom did not know him as a person, but as a Negro who committed a crime, so cannot be discriminated upon for doing their job. Along with Atticus’ sense of fairness, his Teaching also characterizes him as a good father to Jem and Scout.
“‘...This case, Tom Robinson’s case, is something that goes to the essence of a man’s conscience…’” (Lee 139). Atticus always makes it a point to explain what’s happening in the world when Jem and Scout don’t understand. The knowledge that Atticus provides his children is the foundation to their morals. In accepting this case to defend Tom Robinson Atticus is teaching his kids that even though Tom is a colored man he’s still someone worth remembering. Someone who if Atticus doesn’t defend him, and at least try to prove to the world he’s innocent, it will make Atticus no better than people like the Ewells, who were the ones that managed to get the Finch family into this dubious event in the first place. This is related to the sin of killing a mockingbird