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Analysis Of Atticus Finch In 'To Kill A Mockingbird And If'

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Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird is characterized in the same way that is described in the poem “If” written by Rudyard Kipling. The poem “If” describes the virtues which the poet finds necessary for an acceptable human being. In both To Kill A Mockingbird and the poem the author feels that it is important for humans to take responsibility for their actions, such as Jem taking responsibility for destroying Mrs. Dubose bushes. The second stanza of the poem the author wants the reader to learn that success is not a straightforward path but rather a path that will be trying to tear you down, much like Atticus defending Tom Robinson, a black man accused of rape. The first stanza of the poem “If” Kipling wants the reader to be strong enough …show more content…

Not because Tom is guilty but rather the race of the defendant compared to the race of the plaintiff. Atticus felt “he couldn’t hold up his head in town” if he hadn’t defended Tom in this case, though there may be some “ugly talk” However, Atticus felt he was responsible as the town’s legislature to defend the case though personal to him. Similarly, the poem stanzas two and four the poet wants the author to realize the same point Atticus is attempting to get across to Scout. In stanza two Kipling tells the reader “If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken Twisted by the knaves to make a trap for fools” meaning that the path to success is not an easy one but rather people along the way that will try to tear you down, much like the town folks of Maycomb. Kipling in stanza four states, “If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,” this means that when aiming for success to fit in with society but also keep in mind your morality and beliefs. Atticus is accepted by his society, however he does not seem to care that some people in town find it wrong to defend Tom Robinson because he is black, Atticus believes it is right so he does not let society skew his

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456 Words | 2 Pages

In To Kill a Mockingbird Lee decided to make Atticus a lawyer who works meticulous, long, lingering hours to complete his job to his standards. Atticus is give a case where he is “simply defending a Negro” but the whole town thinks he is a “nigger lover.” In Kipling’s poem he states “if you trust yourself when all men doubt you,” which is similarity describing Atticus and his feeling towards his court case. The town believes Atticus is a traitor but he reasons “if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town...” Atticus courageously said he will continue to defend his client for he has reasons that he accepts are necessary for him to continue as the man he wants to be.

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310 Words | 2 Pages

Atticus is strongly affected by racism and due to the impacts of racism his reputation went down the drain and he also lost his case due to racist judgements but yet Atticus fought for Toms freedom and did not give up and ignored the names he was called. Atticus is affected by racism because he is fighting for a black man, therefore it is hard for him to win the case due to racist judgements such as, “To begin with this case should never have come to trial. This case is simple as black and white.” (Lee271) This quote is said by the jury and is a racial judgment since they are saying that the whites are always above the blacks and blacks will always commit the crimes which puts Atticus in a rough situation because the jury will believe Tom Robinson

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672 Words | 3 Pages

The main character in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird is Atticus Finch, a middle aged man living in Maycomb Alabama. Even though he is a southerner he isn’t racist and he believes that everyone should be treated equal, Atticus teaches his children empathy and not to discriminate against other people, he does his by telling them “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” Even though Atticus treats everyone as equals he gets affected by the town and their prejudice way of thinking. Because Atticus accepts Tom Robinsons case he gets called a “nigger lover” and him and his children get treated differently by the town.

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762 Words | 4 Pages

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...”

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579 Words | 3 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird is a story about racial prejudice and how life was in the 30’s. One of the main characters in this story is Atticus Finch. He is the father of Scout and Jem Finch. He is also a lawyer who worked on the Tom Robinson case. He is a very honest and caring man who would do anything for his family and friends.

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670 Words | 3 Pages

Beside all Atticus believe anytime a white man treat a black person unapropriate, that man have no value in the eyes of the society as well as himself(pg:290). As a result of Atticus being a lawyer make him have more reason to defend Tom Robinson in order to maintain justice in the society he live

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166 Words | 1 Pages

The government system I chose is Confederacy. Confederation is a group of people or nations who become an alliance, this allows each other to govern themselves, but agree to work amongst each other for a common purpose. some pros of a confederacy are stronger states and a better sense of sovereignty. Having stronger states mean that together they are stronger than the union, and are referred to as equals. Sovereignty is the authority of a state, to govern itself, this better addresses the needs of the people.

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Atticus defends Tom Robinson against his own race despite knowing the fact that before the trial even begins, he's going to lose. He knows that many of the whites living in Maycomb want to see Tom Robinson, an African American accused of raping and beating a white woman, killed. He started receiving threats from whites men but that doesn't stop Atticus from doing what he thinks is right. When he acts with integrity, he received more support and love from the African American

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762 Words | 4 Pages

When Atticus was at the courthouse, a few of the attentive critics of the courthouse business were talking about the case, and one of them said, “Atticus aims to defend Tom Robinson, [because] that’s what I don't like about” him, and when Scout overheard their conversation that Atticus didn’t have to defend Tom Robinson, she “could have used it many times in defending him” and herself because people fussed and bullied when they learned that Atticus was defending Tom Robinson, so if he fussing” (Lee 186). Atticus defends Tom Robinson even though he and his children are both bothered by how Atticus is defending him, because Atticus is omitting social norms which shows how passionate Atticus is about supporting Tom

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589 Words | 3 Pages

In the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch is one of the main characters. Atticus Finch is the fifty year old father of Jean Louise Finch and Jeremy Atticus Finch. He is Maycomb’s lawyer and is defending a black man named Tom Robinson who was accused of rape by Robert Ewell and Mayella Ewell. Atticus Finch’s first three priorities are honor, respect, and acceptance.

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508 Words | 3 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus Finch is a well loved character in American literature, known for his moral compass and passionate dedication to justice. As the main protagonist of Harper Lee’s award-winning novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Atticus is a symbol of hope in a world plagued by racial prejudice and injustice. Atticus is a well renowned lawyer and single father of two children, Their names are Jem Finch, and Scout Finch.

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1865 Words | 8 Pages

Atticus is beyond and wise in his belief systems. He is not so small-minded as some people in his town. He does not attempt to change the view on racism. He knows his morals, but does not force them on everyone else, another wise action. He does his best to get people to not let racism cloud their judgments in the courts.

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1036 Words | 5 Pages

In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, By Harper Lee, she tells a tragic story about a noble lawyer who takes the case of an innocent black man. In this story the individuals had to face difficult decisions, where they had to make the right or wrong choices and if they wanted to please themselves or the society. Atticus had to choose between the white community to please society or the black community to please himself; he made the right choice. Atticus made the decision to help Tom Robison, whom he was accused of raping and beating Mayella by taking Tom 's case to court and prove the he was innocent to everything he was accused for. This was shown when Atticus said, "The main one is, if I didn 't I couldn 't hold my head in town, I couldn

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1317 Words | 6 Pages

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

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1022 Words | 5 Pages

1945 August 2nd Hiroshima Japan. I was only 18 when the sun bursted into my eyes and found my little sister screaming Akio! Akio! “You have to drive me to school! I’m going to be late!”.

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