Is Atticus Finch a Hero or Disgrace?
To Kill a Mockingbird Essay
“Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.” (Lee 101). Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird wrote an inspirational story that discusses racism at the time of the Great Depression. In To Kill a Mockingbird, there is a character named Atticus Finch, who is given a difficult task to be the lawyer of a black person, Tom Robinson, who was accused of raping a white women. Atticus Finch is known through Maycomb, Alabama as a man who is always respectful and true to others. He has two children, who he loves, and teaches them moral lessons that will get them through life. It is reasonably accurate that Atticus
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When Atticus is explaining to Scout the possibility of outcomes associating the case, he tells Scout that he wishes that she and Jem will learn a valuable lesson. “‘All I can say is, when you and Jem are grown, maybe you’ll look back on this with some compassion and some feeling that I didn’t let you down.’” (Lee 139). What this quote demonstrates, is how Atticus wants his children, and the people of Maycomb to learn the importance of this case and the moral lesson it teaches. In chapter three, Atticus teaches Scout, how to view things from another person’s perspective. “‘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). This shows that Atticus wants Scout to not judge anybody by how they seem on the outside. In chapter 20, Atticus describes to the Jury that not all black people are the same. “You know the truth, and the truth is this: 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.’” (Lee 273). This confirms that Atticus is trying to convince the jury that not all black men are the same. Atticus wants to send a positive message to his children and Maycomb, that color doesn’t define a person. Just as Atticus was doing the right thing, others would take to account that there were some downfalls that harmed Atticus and his