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Atticus a well known lawyer in the little town of Maycomb in the book To Kill a Mockingbird. He comes up against a tough, rock solid case including an African American man and a young woman who grew up in poverty. Atticus has trust in the power in using the three models of rhetoric. Ethos,Pathos and Logos to prove to the jury that his client is innocent and can walk out of court that day a free man. (Lee).
Atticus decides to take the case in defending a black person, something nobody in the town would have done. Most of the residents of Maycomb do not believe in equality and have hatred towards black people. If an African-American is charged for committing a crime, he is automatically believed to be guilty because of their skin color. Atticus says, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view” (39). To clarify, Atticus took the case because he believes there is a chance of Tom being innocent.
The novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee, takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s. Atticus Finch a lawyer takes on a case to defend a hard working african american man named Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson is accused of raping and beating a white women named Mayella Ewell. Atticus’s closing argument was effective towards the jury, throughout atticus’s speech he uses rhetoric appeals such as ethos, pathos, and logos.
“In the name of God, do your duty” (Atticus). In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Atticus stands in court representing Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson is a black man who has been accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. Mayella’s father, Bob Ewell, is known to be repulsive and an alcoholic. During the case Atticus makes Bob look guilty and like a fool.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Atticus believes Maycomb is unjust because the town is inconsiderate of other people’s view, which is shown when Atticus gets targeted for defending a black man, worries that his kids will become bitter and catch Maycomb’s disease, and Aunt Alexandra advising Atticus that he is raising his kids wrong. To begin with, Mrs Dubose addresses to Scout and her family about how Atticus is disgracing his race and his color by defending Tom Robinson on the alleged rape case. Mrs Dubose says, “Your father’s no better than the ni**ers and trash he works for” (135). Atticus views Maycomb as an injustice town because during this time period black people were seen as a lower class. Atticus is mark as an overall victim because in the trial the county is shocked that Atticus is
He shows Jem and Scout not to judge people until they've walked in their shoes. Chapter 3 on page 85-87 Atticus says "First of all, if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.” Out of all the people in this book Atticus is the one who is most likely to not judge someone. He stands up for a black man knowing he will get judged and made fun of.
Any which way we go, we are surround by people that have distant mindsets and diverse assumptions and we can't really understand why. People in Maycomb County denigrate each other's point of view since none of them would stand in each others shoes. Therefore, when Atticus was defending Tom Robinson a black man, people started looking at Atticus differently even his family. For instance, one of Atticus nephew said to him “Ni**er lover”Pg.138 that seemed to me that the kid is judging Atticus for thinking differently and for having a different mindset. Yet, Atticus was thinking has a black man and how he would feel if he had not tried to save him.
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the people of Maycomb County have certain views as to who laid responsible for Tom Robinson’s death. Differing values among different characters heavily affect their opinions. Lee’s incorporation of traditional southern values and character dialogue provide the reader with details that help to detect Harper Lee’s view on who was responsible for Tom’s death, views supporting hers, and views contradicting hers. Lee’s judgment on who was responsible for Tom’s death was depicted through the character Atticus.
Atticus was a great man. He was kind, caring, respectful, well thought of, level headed, and anything and everything that a good lawyer and father should be. He is one too just wants what 's right, which is why he did his best to defend Tom, when the case shouldn 't have been given to him but a low man who just finished the bar Judge taylor gave him the case because he knew he would give it his all to bring out the truth. He also sees everyone as equals and does not believe that the whites are any better than the blacks. Attics makes points toward the jury that in any other place or time would have been ruled in Toms being not guilty but because of the segregation in the deep south of maycomb the jury had their mind made up before tom even
Lastly, Atticus’ compassion for Tom Robinson allows him to act the right way, even if it is against society's beliefs. Atticus tells his two innocent children, “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” (Lee 39). Not one other lawyer wants to take the case, but due Atticus’ compassion for Tom, he sympathetically pities him, which allows him to view the world differently. Atticus’ compassion results in him being viewed as a symbol of good. In the community of Maycomb, people are against him, but
By utilizing personification to describe fate as an omnipotent deity in chapter 2 of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein vindicates himself, redirecting blame upon fate instead. Victor expunges his culpability in Chapter 2 of Shelley’s Frankenstein by characterizing the battle for his soul as a struggle between “destiny” and his “guardian angel” and by concluding that “Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed [his] utter and terrible destruction” (Shelley 27). By disassociating himself even from the struggle between his fate and his destiny, Victor denounces the perilous potential possibility that he could have changed his own nature. Moreover, he invokes beings such as angels and Destiny such that he seems small
Martin Luther King Jr. gave one of the most significant speeches in American history. Atticus Finch, one of the main characters in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, gave a closing argument in a court trial that caused an uproar in the south during the 1930’s. Their speeches were given several decades apart, but talked about the same social issues that come from deep-rooted racism. Both of them used rhetoric that challenged the majority opinion around them.
Atticus fears that "There's something in our world that makes men lose their heads—they couldn't be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins” (Page 224) Atticus confirmed that Maycomb won’t have a just system due to white men’s words to black men. This would only make Maycomb welcoming to white people and unwelcoming for black people. Maycomb is unwelcoming and unjust for the prejudice view for black
He knows they can not just go through life not knowing what 's going on throughout the town. Atticus is not just a normal white male in Maycomb Alabama. He see people for what 's in the inside and not just the outside. The color of your skin does not matter to Atticus. Atticus is a kind hearted man and has strong morals.
Though most of the town Maycomb feels negatively and discriminates the African-Americans, characters like Atticus show us how one person can impact his surroundings if he has high morals. Although he couldn’t change the mindset of the other town residents , he made sure that his own children didn’t discriminate people, purely on the basis of their skin colour. Racism can be seen even in the first few chapters of the book. These racist comments by nonracist children typify the culture in which they were growing up.