“The defendant is not guilty, but somebody in this room is” (Lee 271). Atticus, in his closing argument, attempts to convey that Tom Robinson is innocent, and the Ewell’s have done a wrong deed. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates the theme of treating and respecting everyone as an individual in Atticus’s closing argument by using rhetorical devices such as repetition, analogies, and allusions.…
In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, defense attorney Atticus Finch pathos in his closing argument to the jury to persuade them that Tom is innocent. His ultimate purpose is to show the jury that Tom is clearly not the guilty one in the case. Finch attempts to persuade the jurors by employing pathos to prove Tom’s innocence.…
As I replaced my corset, I could hear those mindless little birds jabbering on about how Tom Robinson was going to get what he deserved. Ha. For my brother is not a fool and he would not defend a Negro as forcefully as he did if that Negro was not one-hundred percent innocent. But, I plastered a smile on my face, went out to face the world as a strong and proud and proper woman of the 20th century. But, I felt like falling to the floor and eating all of the tea cakes I was carrying while I cried. The Finches were ruined, not only was it bad enough that Atticus was defending a Negro but that we lost was an even bigger blow to his dignity, our dignity.…
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…
Tom Robinson was accused for raping a young women named Mayella Ewell on May 18. Mayella Ewell is the oldest of 8 sibling in her family, she is motherless and takes care of the smaller children while she works around her father’s house. The whole court house was filled with white families sitting on the bottom rows of cowhide-bottomed chairs while the blacks had to stay in the balcony. The trial started with Mr. Heck Tate in the witness stand, on the left of him was Judge Taylor. Mr. Tate described Mayella's injuries to the solicitor, Mr. Gilmer “Well I was called by Mr. Bob Ewell yonder, it was the night of November twenty-first. I was just leaving my office to go home when Mr. Ewell came in, very excited he was, and said get out to his…
In the speech of Atticus Finch from To Kill the Mockingbird, the rhetorical devices: ethos, pathos, and logos are used to persuade the jury of the equality of human beings in and out of the courtroom despite ethnic differences to prove the innocence of Tom Robinson. To set the scene, Tom Robinson, an African American man, had been accused of beating and raping Mayella Ewells during the 1930s. The case is difficult to argue due to the amount of prejudice the all white jury held during the Great Depression against African Americans. However, Atticus Finch, an acclaimed lawyer assigned to the case, used the bias the public held, a clear weakness in this circumstance, as an argument point to win the case. For example, Atticus used the appeal logos to illustrate the assumption of the public to believe Mayella due to the…
As one starts by reading throughout the first few chapters of this book, He will soon realizes the nobility that Atticus possesses. It is clearly shown in a court house during a trial. Tom Robinson a black man who has a trail, who is defended by Atticus because he believes weather you’re black or white you have done wrong before, Atticus states, “Which, gentlemen, we know is in itself a lie as black as Tom Robinson’s skin, a lie I do not have to point out to you. You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around…
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the mockingbird has come to symbolize many people, especially Tom Robinson and Arthur (Boo) Radley. Although they are often blamed for the misfortunes of others, both Arthur and Tom only intend well for the community and have made efforts to contribute to the well-being of others. Although he is feared by many children and adults in the town he has done many good things for the finches. He continually gave gifts to the children through the hole in a tree, with his brother later filled in with cement. When Miss Maudie's house catches on fire, Boo makes an appearance and wraps a blanket around Scout's shoulders. The Finch children are surprised that Boo ventures from his home, but are thankful that he did,…
Atticus could have described Tom as a simple negro who felt sorry for a white woman but instead decides to describe Tom as “quiet, respectable, humble Negro who had the unmitigated temerity to ‘feel sorry’ for a white woman…” Lee, Harper. To kill a mockingbird: Harper Lee. New York, Scribner Laidlaw, 1989. He uses this form of speech because he tries to make the jury see things in his point of view and to appeal themselves to their high moral value. While atticus has a calm and soft tone he then shifts his tone to show his sympathy for mayella. Basically he went from a logos kind of tone to a more pathos tone. The reason he shifted his tone was to create a healthy balance of facts and emotion for creating a more convincing argument for the jury. Atticus said, "To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white," Atticus is explaining that this case isn't about the fact that Mr. Ewells's daughter got rapped and beaten (apparently by her father), but mostly because Tom is black and she's white, so mostly white people would believe her because they hate the Negroes, and Atticus is trying to defend his…
Atticus makes a true statement, one that is believable and could be proof, but the people don't really care much if there's evidence or eyewitnesses for that matter, “I have nothing but pity in my heart for the chief witness for the state, but my 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”, after his speech the jury went to go decide for the crime and came back in time, “Guilty”, all the reason they appointed Tom Robinson guilty was for the fact that he i an African American man. The choices they made is…
As the moral voice, Atticus desired to understand a person before he formed his opinion about them unlike many in his town. He put himself in the public eye, ready to face judgment from others just so he could be Tom Robinson’s lawyer and do what was right. Plus, he taught his children that fighting with their smarts is a better choice than with physical violence. Unmistakably, the author portrayed Atticus as the courageous hero in the midst of prejudice and conflict; therefore, demonstrating the good in the center of the…
In the 1930s, racial prejudice took over the lives of most citizens. African Americans were treated poorly and considered less than white people, so when Atticus Finch was in charge of defending Tom Robinson, a black man, who was accused of rape, he needed to use every tactic and technique to prove his innocence. Harper Lee clearly develops Atticus’ argument during the trial to convince the jury to vote for Tom Robinson’s acquittal and to fight against racial prejudice through language that is relevant to modern day society. Atticus’ speech is very convincing because he reminds them of the facts about the case that should prove Tom's innocence and he encourages them to focus only on the…
Atticus’ decision to defend Tom Robinson shows a ton of courage. Since the story takes place during segregation, a white man defending a black man is frowned upon. Atticus still accepts the case even though he knows he will receive hate from the racist townspeople. Atticus represents Tom Robinson because his conscious makes him feel like it is the right thing to do. He also wants to set a good example for his children and teach them that all people deserve to be treated fairly.…
Atticus states, “There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never look upon a woman without desire (Lee 273).” The use of ethos affected the reader with a sudden slap to reality. It informs the reader of the information most people tend to forget or ignore. No one in this world is perfect. Mistakes are made constantly during one’s lifetime. We, as human beings, cannot live a perfect life. Humans are conditioned to make choices, whether they are positive or negative. Lee reminds the reader that not one person is perfect and not one person can say they have never done any bad. Lee acknowledges a brilliant way to engrave this information in both the reader’s and jury members’ minds, adding onto the evidence that both Mr. Robinson and Ms. Ewell have had their share of mistakes, hinting this trial may be a mistake on Mayella’s…
When the judge assigned him the job of defending Tom Robinson, he knew that he had to accept the case because if he rejected it an innocent man would die without a fair trial as everyone on the jury was white and they would not side with a man who was black. Atticus, himself knew that even though the odds were against Tom Robinson he would not be able to face himself everyday knowing that he did not try to stop this injustice. When he made up his mind to stand up and help Tom Robinson, Atticus went through the extremes of defending Tom with only a small gun when a mob came over to the county jail with the intention of killing his client and making his family face the prejudice and danger that went along with his defending someone black at that time. He even gained dangerous enemies such as Bob Ewell. Although he lost the case, Atticus was still able to think of himself in an honorable way because he knew that he stood up for what he believed…