Atticus Finch displays true moral courage when he agrees to defend Tom Robinson, an innocent black man unjustly accused of raping a white woman. He strives to instill justice, righteousness, and acceptance in his fellow citizens. In a discussion with his kids, Atticus says,“before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience” (Lee 105). He doesn’t care that the citizens of Maycomb, including his own family, look down on him now because he is defending a Negro.
Atticus knew the consequences of supporting tom because of his skin and how bad segregation was in his town. He knew the community of Maycomb would dislike his actions and call him and his family names like “negro lover”. Scout asks Atticus why he was defending Tom he says“ The main one is if I didn’t I couldn't hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this county in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again”(Lee 86). Atticus could not live to know that he did not serve justice in his county, and that even though he would be called names or looked at differently, Atticus would still be doing the right thing.
The children feel it was unfair, but then again they are naïve to the racism. Atticus appears unmoved at the verdict. Atticus, a lawyer at Maycomb, supports Tom Robinson and feels as if he is innocent. Taking on the job to help defend Tom was an act of courage, seeing how everyone else was so opposed to this man because he was black. "It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.
Tom believed that he deserved to be free because and he didn’t deserve to be treated with such indecency. If he had gotten away and they captured him again, he would have gotten worse punishment because him escaping meant that he was guilty, in the white man's eye. Tom was a scapegoat because he was blamed for a crime that he didn’t commit which was beating and raping Mayella Ewell. It was actually Mayella’s father, Bob, that beat her up after he caught her trying to get intimate with Tom. Atticus is not only standing up for what he believes in when he takes Tom Robinson’s case, but he is also standing up for his family.
Taking a Stand For Your Beliefs In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, we see many times throughout the book that taking a stand shows real courage. One of these moments is when Atticus Finch takes the Tom Robinson case, where a black man is falsely accused of raping a white woman. now in their time no matter how much evidence says that the black man is innocent he will still be convicted and sent to jail so what will be the point of having a trial right? Well, the black man's lawyer:
For example, when he tries to take the case of defending Tom Robinson, he causes major uproar to onlookers and his community even though he’s doing nothing but defending an innocent man. Such an example is when Mrs. Dubose expresses her dissent to Atticus by saying to Jem, “Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for” (102). Even though Atticus thinks the same of everyone regardless of race, culture or gender, many of the people in Maycomb don’t notice that and instead target him for helping a black man who believes he should deserve a fair case. In addition to this, the scene where Mr. Ewell threatens Mr. Finch by spitting and shouting words at him after the case is another example of Atticus being targeted. Mr. Ewell, one of the witnesses of Tom’s case, didn’t like how Atticus was trying to point out his flaws in his cross-examination as that proves Tom Robinson, a black man with no place in society, is not guilty.
I truly believe Atticus chose the right decision to stand by Tom Robinson and defend his innocence. Even though so many disagreed with the decision he didn’t let their opinions affect his own thoughts. He was very committed to racial equality and wasn’t afraid to show it. This shows that Atticus is a good person and won't let anybody take that characteristic of his
He was appointed to defend a black man named Tom Robinson for raping Mayella Ewell. Most townsfolk caught news of this and instantly began to give Atticus dirty looks and began calling him vulgar names. Atticus, is a very nice person who wants to do the right thing, and he has an opinion about people who disagree with him defending Tom Robinson. “They’re certainly entitled to think they, and they’re entitled to full respect for their opinions.” (120).
“He also is willing to stand up against the odds-he knows he’s ‘licked’ before he even begins” (Text 2). Atticus knows he will not be able to win this case even if Tom Robinson is innocent. Unfortunately the town and the jury are corrupt and will not give Tom a fair trial. Almost anyone can see that Atticus Finch defends Tom Robinson to show compassion through the “Golden Rule” and set an example for his children.
Atticus honestly tried his best to win the case for Tom, but the town had already made their decision when they first heard of the case. It took incredible courage to defend a black man in the 1930s. He tells Scout “ Simply because we are licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.” Atticus also displayed courage when he stood in front of the jail and protected Tom. He knew a mob of drunk countrymen would try to pull something and he was right.
Atticus does a good job defending Tom Robinson because he wants to be a good example set for his kids. “If you had been on that Jury, son, and eleven other boys just like you, Tom would be a free man” (chp 23, pg 295). Here, Atticus is using logos, appealing to logic and reason. He is trying to show his kids the importance of tolerance. Had the jury been full of boys like Jem, who were tolerant, Robinson would be free.
During the 1930s the south was still raging with racism, and the thought of a black man raping a white woman lead to no further investigation whether it was true or false, he was simply sentenced to death. Atticus Finch, Toms adept lawyer, believed Soulfly in equality and justice for all and was more than happy to defend Tom Robinson with all his heart no matter his race. The Finch family felt very different than the majority of people in Maycomb Alabama. When Tom Robinson has accused the entirety of the town flocked to the courthouse to view the trial. Some with hopes for justice and liberty but most unapologetically hoping for an unfair sentence.
Furthermore he defends a black man in court. At the time (and maybe still even now) Maycomb, Alabama, is from our perspective a really racist county, and in this culture it takes a lot of courage to go against the tide and not to judge a black man merely of his skin colour or origin, but instead to put his worries before ones own. Most people in Maycomb, who believe black Tom Robinson is innocent, also believe that there is no chance of winning the case and they lack the courage to risk getting a bad reputation with nothing to gain from it. Atticus is probably the only one whose moral views forbid him to look
Atticus could not live with himself if he failed to give his utmost effort in clearing the accused, Tom Robinson’s, name. The lawyer feels that he has to do it. The people of Maycomb are small minded and hypocritical, Atticus Finch is not. Nothing can be done to make the towns people hear the truth. Tom Robinson, would be a free man, living with his family, if it wasn’t for the people of Maycomb.
Atticus 's strong sense of morality and justice motivates him to defend Tom with vigor and determination, giving it all he 's got with one mission in mind. He wants the people of Maycomb town, whether they believe it or
