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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Stand and Deliver by Ramon Menendez and Thomas Musca are two similar stories where the main characters are both very determined. They both want to make a difference and are both very confident men. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch, the main character, is a white older man that is a lawyer. During the book, he has to defend a black man who was charged with raping a white woman. During that time period, black people were seen by the community as trash and or not important. In Stand and Deliver, Jaime Escalante, the main character, is a Hispanic man that was put into a dangerously diverse school district. He goes to the school as a computer teacher, but the school doesn’t have computers. He then is assigned as a math teacher that has to find a way to teach students that society has assigned them as rejects. There are three similarities with the two main characters of each story. They both are very determined, they both want to make a difference, and they both are very confident.
To be a successful person like Atticus Finch and Jaime Escalante, you have to be very determined. Atticus Finch shows his determination in the work he does and the quality of work he does. Atticus is especially determined in the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man that was accused of raping a white woman. Atticus Finch went into the trial knowing that he was going to lose because in that time period a black person is convicted of something. Even if they didn’t do it they are guilty. But when he was done with the trial, he didn’t care if he won or lost. All he cared about was that he got the jury to think. Jaime Escalante shows his determination when his fellow teachers tell him he can’t do things. He also shows his determination in teaching his students. He also teaches the community adult school. Jaime is very determined especially when his fellow teachers tell him that the students he’s trying to teach are dumb and stupid

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