How Is Atticus Finch A Hero

Is Atticus Finch the White Savior He is Made Out to Be? From a young age, everyone has had heroes in their lives. This hero can be of many different things. The traditional definition of a hero is someone admirable who exemplifies selfless behavior, or one able to risk their own lives to save another. These are qualities of a hero that people look up to. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch is a lawyer selected to defend Tom Robinson. In this case, Tom was accused of raping a young white woman. During the nineteen thirties, there was a lot of inequity represented through the unfair justice system, causing the case to be very sensitive to Atticus. He is a very respected man in Maycomb County, although many scholars

Atticus Finch demonstrates an important act of moral courage. He stood up for what was right and attempted for Tom a fair representation in court. Sophia Grillo, a writer from the University of Richmond, writes “Atticus was one of the few people of Maycomb who believed in racial equality. It took great courage to challenge the racist climate of that time.” (Grillo, Sophia). Atticus could have hidden behind that majority and not fought for the rights of people of color. Atticus stayed true to his beliefs, an important characteristic of moral courage. He can stay committed to his ideals despite the consequences and unacceptance. Nonetheless, he could put his family at risk. Despite this, he needs to treat others equally to set a good example for his children. He knows that after he finishes this case he will have gained the respect of many people. One, being his kids, and two, being the black community of Maycomb. People of color were grateful that he was defending Tom. They believed that Atticus was the only person that could do the hard task at hand. This is because he is a very well-respected lawyer as well as a person in Maycomb County. Atticus kept the jury from convicting Tom for 2 hours, whereas normally the jury takes two minutes to decide. People of color as well as Scout and Jem looked up to Atticus at that moment. Finally, when the jury made

The new readers of the novel see Atticus in a positive light until they take a deep dive into “why” he does what he does. The book is from the perspective of Scout who idolizes her father and sees him as a God-like figure. Therefore, her views on Atticus are biased and she sees past the intent behind his actions. Behind the heroic front of Atticus, he truly is a selfish man protected by white privilege. The true reason he represented Tom was to receive respect and praise from both black and white communities. This will lead to more advantages over others because he is so cherished. Going back to the beginning of the novel, Atticus never chose to represent Tom. It was pushed onto him by Judge Taylor. The only reason he had the desire to do this was to set a good example for his kids. Otherwise, he felt as if his children would not respect him anymore. Scout asks Atticus the reason why he is representing Tom. He says, “‘Scout, simply by the nature of the work, every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally. This one’s mine, I guess’” (Lee 78). Every lawyer can receive a case that could potentially ruin their reputation. Atticus makes the best of the situation, but solely for himself. By defending Tom he can please people of color, but he does not comment on the inequality of