Rhetorical Analysis Of To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

Although the court deemed Tom Robinson guilty Atticus uses rhetoric very well to try and convince the all-white jury that Tom Robinson, a black man is innocent. Atticus Finch is a lawyer in a small town in Alabama. He believes that every man should be treated equal and fair in a court of law. But the all-white jury does not agree with Atticus. In this time, the 1930’s many people believed that whites were superior to black. Many people treated African Americans unfairly, especially when they were accused of a crime. So Atticus took Tom Robinson case in his own hands, trying to save his life. He became an expert on Tom Robinson's background, his family life, and what kind of person Tom Robinson was. He demonstrates this expertise in his closing statement saying, “Tom Robinson now sits before you, having taken the oath with the only good hand he possess-his right hand.”(273, Lee) By becoming an expert

He also is an expert about what goes on in town. He knows how the town has many secrets, and how people will do anything to uphold their reputation. He mentions this to the court by saying, “ She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man.”( 272, Lee) By mentioning this to the court he also brought in some pathos, something that appealed to emotions. Everyone can relate to not fitting in at one time or other. That it’s ok if you do something that other people is wrong, but you feel is right. I think Atticus does a good job of combining ethos, logos, and pathos into one strong statement. I think the statement that best represents this is, “I’m no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system – that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working a reality. Gentlemen, a court is no better than each man of you sitting before me on this jury. A court is only as sound as its jury, and a jury is only as sound as the men who make it