Atticus Speech Analysis

While the individual has the ability to do good, they also have the ability to do wrong and to be imperfect. Atticus points this out in his speech to the jury and all those watching the trial. He tells everyone in the room of why the case happened in the first place, through the bitterness and anger the white people held towards Tom because of the color of his skin. Though he acknowledges the circumstances, Atticus says “ She is the victim of cruel poverty and ignorance, but I cannot pity her: she is white.”(Lee 273). He understands that the only reason for this trial is because of the absolute ignorance displayed, but he also knows that he can’t feel any sadness for the person who would abuse their power to harm a weak, innocent man. The …show more content…
He tells her that Tom died while trying to escape. Amidst all this confusion, Atticus can’t help but think of how it could have turned out. Instead of trying to be initially sympathetic, he instead says, “‘We had such a good chance,’ he said. ‘I told him what I thought, but I couldn’t in truth say that we had more than a good chance. I guess Tom was tired of white men’s chances and preferred to take his own”(Lee 315). Though he is usually the character to point out this hypocrisy, he is the first to fall to it. Lee intentionally put that into the text to point out how some people don’t have the ability to be so perfect, even the best of the people. However, not too far later, it is contrasted by a more extreme view on the situation. The view of the rest of the town being “Tom’s death was typical. Typical of a n***** to cut and run. Typical of a n*****’s mentality to have no plan, no thought for the future, just run blind first chance he saw. Funny thing, Atticus Finch might’ve got him off scot free, but wait—? Hell no. You know how they are. Easy come, easy go. Just shows you, that Robinson boy was legally married, they say he kept himself clean, went to church and all that, but when it comes down to the line the veneer’s mighty thin. N***** always comes out in ‘em.”(Lee 322). Lee does this to show how much further this concept of collective hate could be taken. She contrasts Atticus’ view, while still …show more content…
Whether it be by race, class or gender, Lee shows that this divide is out of ignorance of the “other’s” reality. She uses the characters and their lives to shape, and point out the bigotry behind many of the social structures and norms. Most of all, Lee shows how this is an evident truth for all