“Simply because we were licked a hundred before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.” (101) says Atticus Finch, the main character in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Atticus defends Tom Robinson, a black man, accused of attacking a white woman. Set in Jim Crow Alabama, Atticus is making a decision many people in Maycomb do not understand- taking a stand for a black man. Even though Atticus knows he does not have a chance at winning Tom’s case, because of his character, it makes sense for him to defend Tom Robinson because, Atticus does what is right, he lives by the “Golden Rule”, and he wants to set a good example to Jem and Scout.…
Ambrose Redmoon once said, “Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear.” This quote is expressing that courage is not the lack of fear; it is the triumph over it. A courageous person is not one who has no fear or worries. It is one who has fear but preserves through any situation instead of backing down. To Kill A mockingbird expresses that courage is an emotion that makes people push to go beyond their normal actions and strive for what they believe is right.…
Racism has been around for a very long time. During the Great Depression around the 1930s segregation was still going on. Black folks and White folks were not able to be around or talk to one another with one another. Blacks did not have many rights. When a White had blamed a black person for they will get automatically accused and blamed for doing it, whether they did it or not.…
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee develops the theme of morality through the characters Atticus, Calpurnia, and Miss Maudie. In the book, Scout and her brother Jem spend their time playing with their friend, Dill, and spying on their highly secretive neighbor, Boo Radley. In addition, morality can be defined as principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong. Through these characters’ lives, Lee develops the theme of morality. To start, Lee conveys the theme of morality through the character, Atticus.…
Racism is unfair and everyone should have equal rights in court, in personal choices, and in society. In Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus supports an African American man, which is very rare in the society because most white people do not support black people, and they think that they are better than black people. Everybody in Maycomb thought that he was wrong and a disgrace to the family. White people never lose to black people. Even though Atticus knew that a black man would never win over a white, he gave it a shot and tried his best to support Tom Robinson.…
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus is portrayed as a supportive father and a hard working lawyer. Atticus is always there when someone is in need of something. He goes out of his way to help other people, and people come to Atticus when they need help because they know that he is alway ready to help.…
"Yeah, but Atticus aims to defend him. That 's what I don 't like about it." This exemplifies how the town resented Atticus for simply doing what he believe to be the right thing to do; which is why even though Atticus had no intention of influencing the town’s idea of justice for Tom Robinson, he influenced the white community, who just so happen to have been the ones to decide Tom’s fate. This once again proves that while unintentional a single individual how the power to alter or change what another person perceives as…
Throughout the book, Atticus teaches very valuable lessons with few but powerful words. For example, Atticus helps his small-southern town by taking one step towards racial equality. Atticus was assigned to be the lawyer of Tom Robinson, a victim of racism. Atticus says that, “it’s not okay to hate anybody”(Lee 330), and this powerful statement shows that Atticus understands how his client Tom Robinson feels about racism. Arthur “Boo”…
Atticus perseveres through his problems and acts upon his role in society, to do what is right. He explains to Scout that “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win…” (76) Atticus is a remarkable man because he defends Tom Robinson in the case even though he knows that in society at the time, when it’s a black man’s word against a white man’s, the white man always wins. He represents a light in a time of darkness because even when most people neglect to defend what is morally correct, he fights for the Negro citizens and tolerates the insults and shame he continually faces. When Scout talks about a book that Atticus read to her, she tells him about a misunderstood character who “was real nice” and didn’t do anything wrong even if people thought he did and Atticus tell her that “Most people are…when you finally see them.” (281) Atticus refers to Boo Radley because while he knew about Boo and respected him staying in the house all the time, most people assumed the worst and let their ignorance interfere with the truth.…
“Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try and win” (Lee To Kill a Mockingbird 76). Harper Lee has the main character, Atticus, say this to portray his heroism. Harper Lee was raised in Monroeville which is in Alabama, just as the novel is set. Her father, Amasa, was a lawyer just like Atticus. Harper is even a model for Scout, and Truman Capote is a model for Dill.…
He wanted to defend the black man, better known as Tom Robinson, despite what the town and my Aunt Alexandra had to say on the matter. This never troubled Atticus he just kept going about his business like every other day. During the whole case Atticus was braver than anyone I've ever seen before. An example of this was when a lynch mob tried to get at Tom when he was sleeping in his jail cell. Atticus went to stop them with a lamp and a newspaper so that he could sit out there while talking to Mr. Cunningham.…
Not everyone takes the easy road in life, which is what separates Atticus from the rest of the men in the 1930’s. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, one can learn about making the right choices in life compared to making the easy choices. The reader will learn a lot throughout the story thinks to Atticus, from life lessons to great decisions. Harper Lee included Atticus because he plays a big factor in the different outcomes of the problems throughout the novel.…
After Atticus is assigned to defend Tom Robinson, an African American, Scout asks him why is he doing something people say he shouldn’t be doing. In his own words, “The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town…” (75). This shows that regardless if people think Atticus is doing the wrong thing, he still does it because it’s something a respectful man would do. He shows consideration for everybody.…
Tom Robinson was her daily reminder of what she did what did she do. She tempted a negro." ( Lee 203) Atticus showed true courage by trying to protect the innocent Tom Robinson but since he was a black man he didn't…
Atticus, in contrast to many other characters in the novel, does not accept the institutionalized racism that is entrenched into Maycombian society. Instead, he fights racial prejudice because he views it as fundamentally flawed and stemming from a lack of empathy and understanding for those outside one’s social group. Furthermore, Atticus’ emotional investment in Tom Robinson’s case shows the personal level on which racism affects him. When discussing with Scout why he was defending Tom Robinson, Atticus explained, “… every lawyer gets a case at least once in his life that affects him personally. This one’s mine, I guess.”…