literary analysis of To Kill A Mockingbird

Literary Analysis of To Kill A Mockingbird The character of Atticus in the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has an imperative role because he shows empathy, courage, a strong sense for justice, and always tries to set a good example for his kids. He treats everybody as if they are the equal and comprehends the actions people commit. Lee writes “First of all…if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view” (30).This quote shows that Atticus understands where people are coming from and doesn’t judge anybody. Atticus uses this quote to tell scout that if you want to get to know someone you have to be able to walk around in their shoes for a day. In the novel Atticus displays courage with the quote “Courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. It's knowing you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do."(112). This quote shows that Atticus Finch perseveres through everything he does and never gives up, even when he knows that he is going to be beat or not succeed. A good example of this quote is when Atticus takes the Tom Robinson trial even thought he knows from the beginning he is going to lose the case. A quote that shows that Atticus tries to always set a good example for his kids “Before Jem looks at anyone else he looks at me, and I’ve tried to live so I can look squarely back at him.” This quote shows that if Atticus does something that he thinks is a bad example, he will never be able to look at his kids again without being ashamed in the advice he tries to give them every day, also he would be ashamed in himself. When Atticus is giving his closing statement to the jury right before they go back to make decision whether Tom Robinson is guilty or not he says “To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place... It has relied instead upon the testimony of two witnesses, whose evidence has not only been called into serious question on cross-examination, but has been flatly contradicted by the defendant. Now, there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell was beaten - savagely, by someone who led exclusively with his left. And Tom Robinson now sits before you having taken the oath with the only good hand he possesses... his RIGHT. I have nothing but pity in my heart for the chief witness for the State. She is the victim of cruel poverty and ignorance. But my pity does not extend so far as to her putting a man's life at stake, which she has done in an effort to get rid of her own guilt. Now I say "guilt," gentlemen, because it was guilt that motivated her. She's committed no crime - she has merely broken a rigid and time-honored code of our society, a code so severe that whoever breaks it is hounded from our midst as unfit to live with. She must destroy the evidence of her offense. But what was the evidence of her offense? Tom Robinson, a human being. She must put Tom Robinson away from her. Tom Robinson was to her a daily reminder of what she did. Now, what did she do? She tempted a Negro. She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that, in our society, is unspeakable. She kissed a black man. Not an old uncle, but a strong, young Negro man. No code mattered to her before she broke it, but it came crashing down on her afterwards. The witnesses for the State, with the exception of the sheriff of Maycomb County have presented themselves to you gentlemen, to this court in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption... the evil assumption that all Negroes lie, all Negroes are basically immoral beings, all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women. An assumption that one associates with minds of their caliber, and which is, in itself, gentlemen, a lie, which I do not need to point out to you. And so, a quiet, humble, respectable Negro, who has had the unmitigated TEMERITY to feel sorry for a white woman, has had to put his word against TWO white people's! The defendant is not guilty - but somebody in this courtroom is. Now, gentlemen, in this country, our courts are the great levelers. In our courts, all men are created equal. I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and of our jury system - that's no ideal to me. That is a living, working reality! Now I am confident that you gentlemen will review, without passion, the evidence that you have heard, come to a decision and restore this man to his family. In the name of GOD, do your duty. In the name of God, believe. “(204). In this quote Atticus is explaining that the one place that every person, no matter what ethnicity he or she is, the one place justice should be served for them is in the court room. In conclusion Atticus always tries his hardest to be that very best person he can for his kids and for all of the people in maycomb. In the novel Atticus frequently displays courage, empathy, a strong sense of justice, and always tries to set a good example for his kids. Atticus is an important character in the novel because I think he establishes a sense of calm and serenity wherever he goes and is good at diffusing tricky situations