How Does Atticus Finch Show Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

There are two different characters with opposing views of Maycomb. Bob and Mayella Ewell. They represent the racism of Maycomb and fight against Atticus and Tom Robinson in court. The Ewell’s are in the lowest social class in Maycomb, and represent the poor. “Mayella and Bob represent moral inequity…Mayella and Bob present a social threat—the perpetuation of racism” (Champion). They are a social threat, and their lack of wealth does not stop them from causing havoc. Bob Ewell accuses Tom Robinson (a black man) of raping his daughter Mayella Ewell. This represents their racism because Tom does not rape Mayella, but Bob disregards black people and attempts to ruin his life. In court Tom is pleading not guilty and giving his side of the story

He chooses to defend Tom Robinson in his rape allegation against Bob and Mayella Ewell. Atticus knows long before the trial began that Tom had little to no chance of being proven not guilty because of the town's racism. However this does not stop Atticus from defending Tom, and doing his best to prove him not guilty. Atticus says, “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 know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what” (Lee, 112). Atticus accepts a hard trial and realizes that, but he stays persistent and sees it through doing his best to prove Tom Robinson not guilty. Atticus is a direct representation of courage because he is one of the only white citizens in Maycomb who opposes racism and stands up for what is right. “They eventually realize that Atticus possesses not only skill with a rifle, but also moral courage, intelligence, and humor, and they come to regard him as a hero in his own right” (Champion). Atticus’ children Jem and Scout ultimately recognize their dad as a hero after his efforts to prove Tom Robinson not guilty. His actions took a lot of bravery which changed his childrens image of him from a boring feeble father to a courageous hero. Atticus influences his children to get more involved in the community and stick up for the black people that have to deal with the prejudiced