Atticus’s admonition to “stand in another person’s shoes” is the antidote to racism, prejudice and injustice. A fine example of this is the character Tom Robinson who is thought to be a lying negro who raped a child. Tom is accused of this by the character Bob Ewell even though he clearly didn’t because he is disabled, but everyone still believes this because Bob is white and Tom is black. Atticus Finch decides to be his lawyer because he wants to set a good example in his children to be fair to everyone, regardless of their color. By doing so Atticus starts to understand Tom and how they're both very similar in that they both have families that they love and care for, even though their different colors. Atticus knows what burden his family will deal with for him to defend Tom like mobs, murder, and mean names but he still does it anyway. Atticus ruly cares for Tom’s well-being unlike everyone else in Maycomb who seem to be infected with “Maycomb’s natural disease” or racism. …show more content…
Mayella, along with her father and siblings, live in a dump with negro neighbors and they would be considered negro also except for, “That if scrubbed with lye soap in very hot water, his (this applies to all of the Ewells) skin was white,”. Over time Tom Robinson, a negro, develops a friendship with Mayella and even does some of her chores for her. Tom develops sympathy for her because he understands what she deals with siblings, an abusive father, and being indigent. Now in the context of the story a negro being sympathetic for a white is a social disgrace, but Tom still does anyways. He really feels bad for Mayella and unlike all of the other residents of Maycomb he tries to do something to help her instead of ostracizing her for being