Atticus Ethos In To Kill A Mockingbird

“ Our courts have their faults, as does any human institution, but in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal” (Atticus). In the novel, “ To Kill A Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee, a trial takes place. Atticus Finch, a well respected white man, defends Tom Robinson, a black man. Tom was accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. The Ewells were not very well respected by the people of Maycomb because of the way they live and act. But because they are white they and Tom is black they believed Mayella. Atticus defends Tom Robinson even though he knows Tom will not be proven innocent. e knows this because Tom is black, but Atticus believes he deserves a chance. Throughout Atticus's

Atticus knew that Tom was not responsible for the crime, “... to remind you that this case is not a difficult one, it requires no minute sifting of complicated facts, but it does require you to be sure beyond all reasonable doubt as to the guild of the defendant” (2). This shows that Atticus doesn’t think Tom was guilty because there was no facts and his character has good judgement. Atticus felt sorry for Mayella, “ I have nothing but pity in my heart for the chief witness for the state, 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”(4). This reveals that Atticus feels sorry for Mayella because she was beaten and the way she has been treated at home but not for lying. Mayella wasn’t real raped, “ Tom Robinson was her daily reminder of what she did. What did she do? She tempted a Negro”(6). This shows that Atticus looks deeper than what is just on the surface. Atticus used ethos to show his respectful character and to express his opinion, that Mayella was lying about Tom raping her and her father had beaten her for tempting a negro, to show Tom was