In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch’s purpose at the current time was to persuade the jury that Tom Robinson was an innocent man, Tom was black field worker that had been accused of beating and raping a young girl, and at the time, 1930s, if a black man was accused of doing anything to white female, they were found guilty, plain and simple. But Atticus uses, pathos ethos and logos during his speech to the jury, which allows him to effectively demonstrate the real aspects of his personality and morals. Since Tom was black, many did not want to represent him in court, due to his race. But Atticus, saw the challenge did not back away from it. He wanted to prove to the jurors that Tom Robinson was an innocent man and that he should…
Defending a black man accused of rape in front of a jury made up of white men, raising two children on his own with the help of a maid, and still having the strength to hold his head high when the rumors in the small, tired old town of Maycomb county Alabama seemed to thrive among its citizens. What many would consider to be numerous adversities, is Atticus Finch’s everyday life. The story of the courageous Atticus Finch in Harper Lee’s bestseller To Kill a Mockingbird truly begins when Atticus is asked to defend a black man accused of raping a white woman. Being the respectful, and determined man that he is, Atticus accepts his fate and takes on the case of Tom Robinson. Despite knowing that his chance of winning the case is very slight,…
In To Kill a Mockingbird, the protagonist is Atticus Finch, a father of two children named Jem and Jean Louis “Scout” Finch. His wife died when his children were very young. Atticus is quite an old, wise, white man. The book was set in the early 1930’s and it was very common for white men and women to be very racist towards others who aren’t the same race as them. But, Atticus was not like most of the white men and women. He was very kind to everyone not matter what their race was. It seemed as if he didn’t believe in racism. In the book, Atticus was a lawyer for a black man named, Tom Robinson, who was falsely accused of raping Mayella Ewell. He did everything he could to win that trial. But, deep down Atticus knew he would not win because Tom Robinson wasn’t a white man. After the trial ended, he still had to stay strong for his children even though he was worn out.…
“To Kill a Mockingbird” takes place in 1930’s Alabama, where racism and segregation were accepted as social norms. Lawyer Atticus Finch defended “Negro” Tom Robinson in court, whom Mr. Ewell accused of raping his daughter. People considered defending a black man in court against a white man as a disgrace to the lawyer, his family and community. While Atticus talked to his brother Jack, he mentioned that “The only thing we’ve got is a black man’s word against the Ewells‘. The evidence boils down to you-did—I-didn’t. The jury couldn’t possibly be expected to take Tom Robinson’s word against the Ewells”. (Lee, 116-117) Atticus tells Jack that they don’t have enough data to prove Tom’s innocence in the case. The Ewells were not as respectable people as Tom Robinson, but according to the social hierarchy, dishonorable white people were above…
In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Atticus is a wise lawyer, who endeavours to have a fair trial for Tom Robinson. Tom is a black man accused of raping a white girl. The time is within the early 30s taken place in southern Alabama. The townspeople believed that Atticus shouldn’t present a proper defence for a Negro. However, Atticus fully intends to do so because he believes in equal rights of others. Due to this strong belief he encounters many vicious comments directed towards himself and the people supporting him. He is wise enough to know the trouble this case will bring him. “… Simply by the nature of work, every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally this one’s mine, I guess” This quote helps to emphasise that…
To Kill a Mockingbird is known to many as one of the best pieces of American literature. One of the characters in the book, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer representing Tom Robinson, a southern black man who has been accused of rape by a white woman. In his closing statement, Atticus uses such great rhetoric to help defend Tom Robinson and persuade his fellow community that he is not guilty. To accomplish this he uses certain diction, syntax, and tone to deliver a powerful statement at the climax of this trial. This of which is known, as a rhetorical masterpiece and is praised by many.…
“Good people... are good because they’ve come to wisdom through failure”. This quote from William Saroyan means that wise people acquire their insight from experiences, especially unsuccessful ones. I agree with the quote and the idea of people being knowledgeable because of the hardships and journeys they had endured. The two novels Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger both support the idea of gaining wisdom through experience.…
In the 1930's in southern Alabama, rape and attempted rape was considered a capital offense. This was just one of the measures taken to ensure the safety of Southern women, who in the eyes of men, were fragile and innocent. As a result of the Ladies Law, men could even be sentenced to jail time for using profane language around a lady. This conservative culture, combined with prejudices leftover from the civil war, spelled trouble for any black man who spent his time in company with white women. In Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, Tom Robinson, an African American, is charged with the rape of a young white woman. Tom Robinson is very fortunate to be given Atticus Finch as his defense attorney. Atticus Finch is an outstanding lawyer whose moral responsibility and personal investment gave Tom Robinson the best chance at being acquitted.…
The Tom Robinson trial is an important asset in To Kill a Mockingbird which emphasizes the racial injustices in court. Atticus Finch is a lawyer in Maycomb county and the father of the lead protagonist, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. Atticus agreed to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused…
What is fire culture? What does that even mean? Well, I guess to know, you have to know something about what culture is and what cumulative it deposits of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, hierarchies, religion and more. Now imagine having to live with people you do not know and having different work experience, beliefs, background, age etc. Well, that is what firefighters do. How does this work you may ask? It works because they have the same goals, the same values, and there is not really that many careers out there where you have a second family, where you know your brother or sister will not only have your back when it counts but one day may even save your life. Just like any good organization it has its challenges and these challenges have been changing the fire services since the 1950s.…
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee focuses more on the aspect of racial discrimination rather than “poor white trash” discrimination (Hovet 187). It is so conspicuous that a man loses his life because of it. While the discrimination is more prominent regarding race, the Finch family is also greatly discriminated against throughout the novel. Racism is very prominent in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, as evidenced when Tom Robinson, a black man, is accused of raping a white woman in the 1930s South; because of his innocence and untimely death, all lives in the novel will be changed forever, including Atticus Finch.…
Black people are victims of injustice, just like Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson is a victim of injustice because even though he is innocent, he is found guilty of raping Mayella Ewell. The jury agrees and decides to make the black man guilty of the rape. “I shut my eyes. Judge Taylor was polling the jury: ‘Guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty.’ I peeked at Jem, his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each “guilty” was a separate stab between them” (Lee 214). Atticus does his best to defend Tom, but it was not enough to win the trial. The jury may have chosen the Ewells to win because Tom Robinson was a negro. Tom Robinson was shot and killed in jail, while trying to escape because he should not have been there in the first…
Atticus Finch a central character in Harper Lee's, To Kill a Mockingbird is a strong example of a moral man. When given the case of Mr. Robinson, a local black man accused of rape, he has the courage and strength to stay true to his beliefs at a time when it was looked down upon, even unheard of to defend African Americans. Atticus Finch puts his social reputation, career, and even his family's safety on the line when he decides to defend Mr. Robinson. Atticus knows it is the moral thing to do, and his defense of the accused is at the core of the justice system he believes in. Atticus is determined to stay true to his values without becoming a moral hypocrite; "but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience." (Pg 120) However; not all men can be great, and in modern day real life, self-imposed morality is rare. It is the fear of being judged or ostracized that people are paralyzed to use their moral compasses and sometimes make either bad decisions or even no decisions at all to remain true to their beliefs.…
Harper Lee lucidly epitomizes the matter pertaining to this theme in her gothic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee, with southern drama, scathingly condemns racial prejudice through the story of a wrongfully accused black man. However, she also affirms the inherent goodness in human kindness through the story of the protagonist, Atticus Finch and his daughter, Scout. In this story, Atticus benefits from the racist Maycomb jury, who was admired and respected, ever since the discovery of the wrongdoings of the jury. Atticus, a small town lawyer, decides to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who was wrongfully accused for raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. He does this despite being disparaged by the racist Maycomb community. Even though his actions may cause turmoil to him and his family, he continues to benefit and act upon the wrongdoings of the Maycomb community by defending an underrepresented man. Through this decision, scout learns how to…
Atticus Finch shows a remarkable amount of moral courage by defending Tom Robinson in Court when accused of raping a white woman. This act takes courage, as Atticus already knows the small town of Maycomb has found Tom guilty. The intolerance and racism that has been widespread among southern society for hundreds of years may not be eliminated by this case, but Atticus will fight anyway.…