Similarities Between Atticus And Martin Luther King

Some of the two most distinguished pieces of work about racism and inequality include Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech and Atticus Finch’s ending argument in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. King’s speech addresses the issue of racism and what he and many others believe should change in the future. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus’s ending argument focuses on the hardships and the inequality of the different races and the corrupt justice given with them. King and Atticus’s ideals and beliefs can be justified in both of their speeches as they both talk about how things are wrong, how they’ve been this way for such long time, and how things need to change.

Atticus and King came from very different backgrounds.

Martin Luther King preaches in his speech about the wronging ways they have been treated for so long and what he “dreams” will happen in the time to come. From his speech, he states, “Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.’” King is referring to the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” from the Constitution and Declaration of Independence about how they are not being treated as these two documents proclaim that every man should be. While Atticus states, “some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men. There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman without desire." He is bluntly saying that all men do the same things regardless of color. If this is the case, then why did white people get fairer rights over black people if they committed the same crime?

In conclusion, Atticus Finch and Martin Luther King Jr. have a lot of the same ideals concerning the issue of racial inequality and injustice. Both of their speeches exploit the corrupt and wrong ways being shown in their situations. Finally, they both hope for a better future tomorrow that will make this country a better