How Does Atticus Finch Use Social Norms In To Kill A Mockingbird

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch, against all odds, chooses to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping Mr. Ewell’s white daughter. During the 1930s, when the story took place, Tom’s hometown Maycomb was very racist and segregated. Negroes were considered inferior to all white people, making it difficult for Atticus to support Mr. Robinson against the “superior”Mr. Ewell.

Throughout the book “To Kill A Mockingbird”, Jem and Scout learn about respect from many different people. Such as, their father Atticus, Mrs Dubose who is a morphine addict, and Tom Robinson who is a respectable black man, on trial for a crime he did not commit.

Courage is an attribute of good character that makes us worthy of respect. From the Bible to made-up stories; very old stories to Hollywood movies,our culture is rich with excellent stories of courage for the greater good. From David fighting Goliath in the Bible, the cowardly lion in The Wizard of Oz who gathers the courage to face the witch, to Harry Potter and stars war, kids are raised on a diet of heroic and motivational stories. History books tell colorful stories of social advocators, such as Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King , who chose to stand out against terribly unfair treatment at great personal risk. Small business

It makes sense as to why Atticus decided to defend Tom Robinson. He continuously tries to find the good in everyone and believes that the black community contains good people. Atticus had mentioned to his brother, Jack, that Tom was innocent but “doomed”. It was impossible

Many books have characters that people fall in love with. Exciting things occur to the characters and they start to show their moral personalities. You start to see characters grow from the beginning. Despite of all the hatred in Maycomb, Atticus shows moral, physical, and emotional courage by defending Tom Robinson, in “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee.

Tom Robinson was a black man convicted of rape at a time when the Jim Crow laws were at their most potent, thus there was a large power divide between the white population and the black one. Since the jury was composed of all white men the odds facing Atticus’s success in this case where astronomical. However, Atticus chooses to take the case. In taking the case alone Atticus demonstrates great social courage, for social courage is when you persevere to the end of a task despite social adversity and pushback. This pushback is shown by multiple instances in which Jem and Scout are made fun of for their father is a “n****r lover”. Secondly, Atticus knows he is going to lose the case for he knows that the moral character of Maycomb is not high enough to be able to see true innocence on account of evidence. This realization did not deter him, for he believed that “the one place a man should get a square deal is in a courtroom” (295). Thus he delivered on behalf of his morals and completed the case. This again shows moral courage, for Atticus knew that he if he forfeited his defense of Tom Robinson the ridicule would stop. However, if he did so then an innocent man would die with no chance of

He’ll arise in front of everyone and confront them even if he knows that the chance of winning is minor. The accusation of Tom Robinson’s rape was incorrect, however, it was a black’s voice against a white’s. Atticus went several times for Tom’s rescue despite the consequences, Atticus states “I don’t know, but they did it. They’ve done it before and they did it tonight and they’ll do it again and when they do it—seems that only children weep.” Atticus will try everything he can to protect the unfortunate man, Tom Robinson, but the whites are believed to have more privileges in the community. He believes in equality even though it might endanger him. Atticus said that he is a “nigger lover,” “You aren't really a nigger-lover, then, are you?" "I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody..." (Lee 120). Atticus accepted the fact that whites think they are superior to the niggers, but doesn’t approve. He thinks that just like the whites, blacks have rights of worthy education and have equivalent rights as a white person. As he said, he’ll do his best to love anyone and

The novel stifles the opinions of black characters and keeps their voices blanketed, despite the major events in it being significant to their community, and it casually disregards racism when it appears in those the main character holds in high esteem, with said main character being treated as a savior, even though he never puts in a full effort to reduce bias in both Maycomb and the judicial system. Of course, Lee’s novel has made an indisputable impact on the country, but it cannot be considered the heart of the movement toward diversity and acceptance in modern literature-- rather, a starting point, progressive for its time but still lacking the wholehearted belief that “all men are created equal”, as is reflected by Atticus. Perhaps, through its shortcomings, To Kill a Mockingbird will remind others who have already concluded that they are not biased or racist to actually examine their own actions more closely and see what they still have yet to achieve, so they will avoid falling into the trap of thinking that they-- and those around them-- are already faultless, just as Jem Finch once made the mistake of thinking “‘Maycomb folks [are] the best folks in the

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). Jem and Scout are also bugged at school, for example Cecil Jacob’s makes fun of Atticus for defending Tom. “He announced in the school-yard the day before that Scout Finch’s daddy defended negros.” (85) Atticus and his children are affected by this for the majority of the story, and it is what sparks Bob Ewell’s revenge of trying to kill Jem and Scout. Prejudice is common with them, as people like Cecil Jacobs and Bob Ewell just assume Atticus choose to take the Tom Robinson case, however he is simply doing his job as a lawyer to defend them whether he thinks they are guilty or

To illustrate the black community’s admiration of Atticus, Reverend Sykes and the others in the balcony of the courthouse stand when Atticus passes. They show respect and gratitude towards him then and in the next days in the following ways. The fact that Atticus is defending Tom Robinson is a sizable reason why they respect him greatly. In past reading, Atticus shows that he took this case straight to the heart. Though it does not seem true, it deeply impacts Atticus to his core. An example being, “This case, Tom Robinson’s case, is something that goes to the essence of a man’s conscience...” (Lee 139). Atticus tells this to Scout because he knows that if he acts as if the case will ruin his career and reputation, she will see that she does

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem and Scout are siblings and their father, Atticus is a lawyer. They live in Maycomb which is a fairly small and close-knit community, everyone knows everyone. The Radley house is a major part of the book. The Radley house is very odd and to everyone else is scary and off limits. Throughout the story Jem and Scout, with their friend Dill, try to get Boo out of the house. There is also another part of the story which is slightly more disturbing. Maycomb town was mostly white but there were people of color there. The people of color lived at the end of the town together in one place. Harper Lee’s piece, To Kill a Mockingbird uses metaphors, personification, and allusion to convey the overall theme that teaches to not

Racial injustice in To Kill a Mockingbird was malevolent due to the executing of a black man with false evidence, but today the racial injustice appears to be eliminated although it still exists. Today the legal system will not tolerate the racism like it is in the book To Kill a Mockingbird. Racism is normal in Maycomb county some support it and others are against, the Finches are high in society, although they still respect the blacks. Racial injustice throughout the book is a big factor with Calpurnia as a maid, And Atticus defending Tom Robinson, but less of a factor for everyday life in modern times.

Atticus was given an impossible case to win, but he dedicated a majority of his time on the case. “This case, Tom Robinson 's case, is something that goes to the essence of a man 's conscience — Scout, I couldn 't go to church and worship God if I didn 't try to help that man” (104). This quote truly portrays Atticus’s character and mindset. During this time period, not many other lawyers would feel this way about that particular case. Atticus’s implies that he would not be able to carry on with his life without helping Tom Robinson and that he wanted to help Tom walk away a free man. He went against popular beliefs during that time, to defend Tom Robinson. A few of the civilians of the town, did not agree with Atticus’s mindset, and would call him harsh and rude names, but Atticus did not let the name-calling bother or stop him. “ ‘You aren’t really a nigger-lover, then are you?’ ‘I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody...I’m hard put, sometimes-baby, it’s never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn’t hurt you”(108). Scout was asking Atticus about being a nigger-lover, and he explained to her that it is only an insult if she lets it bother her. Name- calling also shows how poor of a person the name caller is. In the courtroom, Atticus made an impact on the jury, but it just was not enough. “ I waited and waited to see you all come down the sidewalk, and as I waited I thought, Atticus Finch won’t win, he can’t win, but he’s the only man in these parts who can keep a jury out so long in a case like that. And I thought to myself, well, we’re making a step-it’s just a baby-step, but it’s a step” (216). Atticus made at least a small impression on the jury even though the case was a lost cause to begin with. With any other lawyer, the jury would not have listened as well, but they

Atticus is one of the main characters in “To Kill a Mockingbird” who defines courage and bravery by attempting to do something that seems nearly impossible. He decides to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of assaulting and raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. By taking this case,

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