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Atticus Finch Prejudice

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In society today there are those that are pushed out of the crowd because of what they look like, how they act, and what others say to be true about them. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows that unselfish, kind hearted people can experience prejudice from others. Always wanting to be the better person, Atticus Finch is like the mockingbird when taking the responsibility of defending Tom Robinson, who is a black man. Once Atticus gets the news that he will be defending Tom Robinson, who is accused of rape, he is very stressed until the end of the trial. Harper Lee shows this when she says, “It’s this Tom Robinson case that’s worrying him to death...” (Lee 156). Atticus is so stressed and worried even his kids can see it. Since Atticus knows what the outcome of the trial will be, he is even more worried for Tom because of what might …show more content…

In her book, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee maintains that “Seemed like every time I passed by yonder she’d have some little somethin’ for me to do--choppin’ kindlin’, totin’ water for her” (218). Out of the goodness of his heart Tom helped Mayella out. Tom states during the trial that nobody else seemed to help her so he was glad to better Mayella’s life by helping her. As the author, Lee, puts it, “I was glad to do it, Mr. Ewell didn't seem to help her none, and neither did the chillun, and I knowed she didn't have no nickels to spare” (218). This just shows how giving Tom actually was. After all the work he did for her he never accepted any pay because Tom said she could not afford to pay him. Also, Tom never went on to the Ewell property without invitation so he was not a law breaking person, like the citizens of Maycomb made him out to be. Tom Robinson is like a mockingbird because of what he did for Mayella and how he did it out of the goodness of his

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