Atticus Takes a Stand “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win” ( Lee 101). To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, takes place in a town called Maycomb, where coloreds are looked down upon. Atticus, one of the main characters, is a father of a boy and a girl, Scout and Jem. He is assigned a case where a colored man, Tom Robinson, is accused of raping a white girl. “Fair” cases are usually only for white people, so the town gets upset when Atticus is handed the case. Atticus is a man that believes in equality, so he does not only fight for Tom’s freedom but also equality and fairness. By doing so he sets a good example for his kids. Atticus’s view on the world and wanting him to set …show more content…
He aims to defend Tom Robinson the best he can and give him a fair case just like the whites would get. “Yeah, but Atticus aims to defend him. That’s what I don’t like about it” (Lee 218). People in Maycomb get upset and believe he should not defend him because of his race. Atticus tries his best because he wants to show his kids that everyone gets a fair chance no matter what color they are. Earlier on in the book, Atticus forces the kids to read to a grumpy, elder lady who never listened when they read because she wanted to leave the world beholden to nothing. They read so she could have a distraction. “I wanted you to see something about her--I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do” (Lee 148). The elder lady won, he believes that courage is doing what is right, even if you think you are going to fail, which is what he wanted his kids to understand. Simple sentence > He also constantly told his kids to not judge someone until you looked at things in their perspective. “Jem, see if you can stand in Mr.Ewell’s shoes for a minute. I destroyed his last shred for a minute of credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin with… So if spitting in my