How Is Atticus Finch A Moral Hero

Moral heroes serve a very important role in society as we know it today, influencing others and shifting the common viewpoints we have. Moral heroes help people stay motivated as some people hold up others as their idols and aspire to be like them. These people, moral heroes, are heavily needed in our world today.

In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch is created as a moral hero that inspires everyone around him. Atticus is a very smart lawyer and a courageous father, he is wise, yet strengthens the mind of his children. In chapter nine, he has to take a case defending a black man. It is a case he cannot hope to win although he feels he has to uphold his respect and honor. “Atticus sighed. ‘I’m simply defending a Negro—his name’s

guilty... guilty... guilty…’ I peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail and his shoulders jerked as if each “guilty” was a separate stab between them” (Lee 193 PDF). Atticus isn’t too discouraged, he was smart enough to understand the case was impossible to win due to racial prejudice. Jem and Scout, Atticus’ children, then start talking about this and Atticus explains the bias in the jury to them, saying if one of them were on the jury, Tom Robinson would be a free man. “‘Those are twelve reasonable men in everyday life, Tom’s jury, but you saw something come between them and reason. You saw the same thing that night in front of the jail. When that crew went away, they didn’t go as reasonable men, they went because we were there. There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads—they couldn’t be fair if they tried.’” (Lee 201 PDF). Atticus argues that well-intentioned people can lose their humanity in an instant. Atticus also says reasonable people can be a cure to unreasonable people, heavily implying the word “can.” Atticus is committed to doing the right thing even if there is no hope. Atticus Finch relates to Nelson Mandela as they both fight for what's right and try to serve justice whenever it is due. They both pursue the idea of equality even though they both pursued it in a time where equality among races was

Nelson Mandela had a lot of courage when he started his first law practice in 1952 and joined the African National Congress to help black South Africans improve their lives. The South African government didn't like this and he broke the Apartheid laws, which got him into prison from 1962 to 1990. Nelson Mandela's early years taught him, among other things, to never give up. In 1918, Mandela's father led a large tribe known as Thembu in a revolt against British rule. The British prevailed, but Mandela's father lost his chieftainship and wealth. After that, Nelson Mandela and his family moved to Qunu. There, they lived in mud huts and worked the farm all day, making do with the crops and cattle they had. Some days, villagers would gather around fires to tell stories at night, which Nelson Mandela claimed was one of the happiest times of his life. These stories not only helped Nelson Mandela stay happy but also educated him about life before the first white man arrived. To earn his place in history, Mandela overcame poverty, oppression, and negative circumstances. He resumed his fight against a weakening apartheid government on the verge of surrender