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How Is Atticus Finch Justified In To Kill A Mockingbird

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No Grey Have you ever been accused of something you weren’t guilty of? In the critically acclaimed novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch, the protagonist’s father, is tasked with defending an African-American man named Tom Robinson against an allegation of rape; which, despite alarmingly assertive evidence to the contrary, he is indeed convicted of. Before this occurs, however, Finch attempts to avoid the conviction by structuring his defense to the jury in a manner that makes it appear that the respective correlation between right and wrong and finding Tom innocent and finding him guilty, is as starkly evident as black and white. In the endeavor to accomplish this, he uses the rhetorical methods of delayed sentence, realism, and Holy War in his closing statements to convey the implication that discriminatory and demeaning preconceived notions regarding African-Americans universally accepted within the Maycomb community are unjustified and irrational, and that an innocent …show more content…

Of course, she blames Robinson for the act, despite the inconsistent certitude that his left arm was eviscerated in a cotton mill during a calamitous accident suffered during his childhood. This startling attestation is furthermore enunciated when Atticus utilizes delayed sentence in the following declaration: “Tom Robinson now sits before you, having taken the oath with the only good hand he possesses—his right hand,”(Lee 273). By highlighting Tom’s crippled state in such a melodramatic fashion, Atticus not only establishes the now nearly irrefutable notion of Robinson’s innocence, but also garners sympathy from the jury for his client, both of which are essential factors in his

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In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Atticus Finch uses the three artistic proofs to persuade the jury of Tom Robinson’s innocence. The way Atticus uses the ethical, logical and emotional influences shows his standards, morals, character, and attitude towards racism. Atticus stepped up to represent Tom in court even though he knew he would most likely fail. Atticus knew he would most likely fail because Tom was black and back then any black person that was taken to court was automatically guilty. Atticus also tried to persuade the jury that it was their duty to grant Tom Robinson his innocence because he did not rape Mayella.

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Racism is one of the most influential concepts that drive people to make the worst of decisions. Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird” (TKM), uses rhetorical appeals in an attempt to save a black man from being falsely convicted. I believe that the movie version of Atticus’s closing statement was more convincing than the book version. This essay will discuss the rhetorical appeals used both in the book and movie; and why the movie’s version was more effective.

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In the year of 1935 a man was put on trial for a crime he never could have committed, but a lawyer named Atticus fighter to save his life by using his powers in the courtroom. This case was about the rape of Mayella Ewell by an African American man in a small southern town of Maycomb, Alabama. Atticus Finch, one of the town’s best lawyers has an insurmountable task ahead of him when he takes on the case of defending Tom from an extremely biased jury. In his arguments he uses persuasion techniques such as Ethos, Logos and Pathos to convince the jury of Tom’s apparent innocence.

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Harper Lee once wrote, “You never really understand a person until you consider their things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” The novel To Kill A Mockingbird was placed during the culturally segregated U.S. from the 1950s through the 1970s. Atticus Finch a white lawyer defends Tom a black man who has been wrongly accused of raping his girlfriend, Mayella Ewell. Atticus Finch a fictional character uses ethos, pathos, and logos in his closing arguments in defense of Tom. To begin Atticus uses ethos to show that his argument is far more credible than the Platiff’s due to the lack of evidence on the opposing side.

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In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee’s character, Atticus Finch utilizes the techniques of a hypophora, an analogy, and an allusion to help persuade the jury in the Robinson vs Ewell case to find the defendant, Tom Robinson, not guilty. Atticus constructs his argument in a way that is simple and easy to understand. Since the jury cannot answer questions, Atticus’ procedure of answering his own questions gives the jury the answers to questions they may have but cannot explicitly ask. A statement that stands out is “what did she [Mayella Ewell] do? She tempted a Negro” (pg. 272).

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A defendant lawyer's job is always to prove their client's innocence, no matter how hard the job is. However, when it comes down to having a black client in a courtroom full of white supremacy, how could the lawyer convince everyone of the black man's innocence and make them look past their racist ways? Atticus Finch's "Closing Remarks" are his last effort to persuade the jury of the defendant's, Tom Robinson's, innocence and to remind them of their duty to perceive all men as equal. Though Atticus knows he stands against racial inequality, he still takes pride in himself and his disclosure to the jury. With many vital factors to Atticus's disclosure, his most substantial factors include the use of logos when identifying a lack of medical evidence

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Atticus's closing argument in To Kill a Mockingbird is a good display of several talking and writing styles such as ethos, pathos, and logos. His closing argument uses a tone that contributes to the persuasive effectiveness of his argument. Atticus Finch’s speech is an attempt to appeal to the jury to look beyond racial prejudice and to do what is right. I am going to attempt to analyze and show how Atticus uses these rhetorical strategies to contribute to the poignancy and effectiveness of his closing argument.

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In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Tom Robinson and Arthur “Boo” Radley are two characters who represent the mockingbird. In the midst of finding who Boo truly is, Atticus Finch explains to his children, Jem and Scout, that it is a sin to kill the bird because they don’t do anything but make music. As the story progresses, and the two “mockingbirds” are being accused and attacked both verbally and physically, the identity of the mockingbirds surfaces. Tom Robinson was a crippled African American man whose left arm was a foot shorter than his right, where it was caught in a cotton gin.

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In Lee Harper’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus is teaching his kids that violence is not the answer and your battles should be fought mentally with your mind, not physically. Atticus is also trying to get his kids to value knowledge and wisdom, so they may use it to sort out any type of conflict. Atticus believes that violence is never justified, and any battle can be won if one is wise and respects everyone. A person’s mental capabilities are critical to fighting a battle without physical engagement.

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What does being voiceless mean? The definition of someone who is voiceless is mute; or speechless. Now, what does this mean in “To Kill A Mockingbird”? This will always be a never ending question as many people think differently. To me voicelessness in “To Kill A Mockingbird” means everyone who doesn’t have the ability to speak up; to voice their opinion.

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Tom Robinson is a young African-American who's been accused of raping and abusing Mayella Ewell, a young and closeted white woman. Racial discrimination is hinted throughout Tom’s trial as Atticus Finch explains to Jem that a white man’s word will always win over that of a black man’s - "... In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins. They're ugly, but those are the facts of life" (220). Atticus explains to Jem that in the courts of Maycomb, a black man’s state of innocence or guilt is truly determined by a white man’s testimony.

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In our society, innocent people, known as mockingbirds, experience prejudice in their lives. A/T: In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Background: Tom Robinson is a black person who’s was accused of raping a white girl named Mayella Ewell which he has never done. For this reason, Atticus Finch was appointed to be his lawyer. As a result, Atticus takes a stand for him by approving his case and standing up for him, but Tom was still found guilty.

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