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How Is Atticus Finch Portrayed In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Imagine everyone hating you for doing something bad when you think it’s good. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, she tells the story about how Atticus Finch a lawyer defends Tom Robinson a black man in court,in the town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. This trial is about how Tom Robinson is being accused of raping a white woman. Everyone is blinded by the color of his skin, so no matter what they uncover they only believe that he is guilty. Atticus is defending him because he believes people shouldn’t be judged on the color of there skin. In To Kill A Mockingbird , Harper Lee develops the character of Atticus Finch ,through what he does, what he says, what other people say to him or say about him.
In this novel Atticus shows …show more content…

In the article The Strange Career of Atticus Finch by Joseph Crespino it says “In countless cultural productions and scholarly works from the civil rights era and more recent decades, African Americans are the subjects in the exploration of racial inequality in American history and life. And yet looming among the most popular and enduring works on racial matters since the 1960s is Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, the Depression-era account of Atticus Finch's legal defense of a black man wrongly accused of raping a white woman" (Crespino). In this quote it tells us that African Americans are subjects in the exploration of racial inequality. This doesn’t matter to Atticus he doesn’t care at all about racism he just want’s to make sure that an innocent man isn’t made out as …show more content…

The towns people want to hurt Tom because he is accused of raping a white women, instead of using there words and talking to Tom about what happened they resort right to violence. In this quote "You know what we want" another man said. "Get aside from the door Mr. Finch.", "You can turn around and go home again Walter," Atticus said pleasantly. "Heck Tate's around somewhere" (Lee 202). Atticus is trying to tell everyone to go home before they do something that they will regret. He doesn’t want them to hurt Tom, and he doesn’t want them to do something that will haunt them the rest of there life. The angry crowed is trying to attack Tom the night before his trial so that there isn’t a chance that Tom wouldn’t be pleaded not guilty. They’re scared that if he’s released he would probably go rape another women and there would be nothing they could do about it. Atticus could have gotten hurt by defending Tom Robinson but his little daughter Scout showed up and convinced the crowed to go away and to leave Atticus and Tom

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Leading up to the Civil Rights Movement, the black community was in a constant battle against law enforcement treating them unfair compared to the white community. The Scottsboro Boys and Emmett Till’s cases were one of the many times that the legal system showed to be unfair to blacks. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, the law enforcement and community were very racist against blacks and believed all blacks were criminals. In the story, Atticus Finch, who is a lawyer gets put into a very difficult situation and decides to defend a black man, who went by the name of Tom Robinson.

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He puts his leadership efforts on display to make a change in his community by defending a black man in court, which was often frowned upon in the 1900s: “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to win” (Lee 87). With this in mind, defending an African-American man in court shows that he does not care much for the ‘normal’ in society. As a result, an angry mob attempts to lynch Tom at the jailhouse, but Atticus stays put, sticking to his beliefs about a fair trial. Atticus’s defense of Tom Robinson represents his leadership and perseverance; most people disagreed with him and even knew the verdict before it was announced, but Atticus kept fighting diligently. An angry mob attempts to lynch Tom, but Atticus stays put, sticking to his beliefs about a fair trial.

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In society today there are those that are pushed out of the crowd because of what they look like, how they act, and what others say to be true about them. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows that unselfish, kind hearted people can experience prejudice from others. Always wanting to be the better person, Atticus Finch is like the mockingbird when taking the responsibility of defending Tom Robinson, who is a black man. Once Atticus gets the news that he will be defending Tom Robinson, who is accused of rape, he is very stressed until the end of the trial. Harper Lee shows this when she says, “It’s this Tom Robinson case that’s worrying him to death...”

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458 Words | 2 Pages

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee conveys that prejudice divides communities and that persecution of innocent people is evil; furthermore; these two minor themes reinforce the major thematic idea that a simple assumption can divide people. When Tom Robinson is put on trial for supposedly raped Mayella Ewell, the racism in Maycomb surfaces and creates conflict. In the novel, a stranger says, “You know what we want,” ‘another man said.’ “Get aside from the door, Mr. Finch.”(172). Some drunken men want to harm Tom Robinson for the wrong that he did.

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236 Words | 1 Pages

Within the first ten chapters of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the characterization of Atticus Finch is made clear. One example of his characterization is how his children refer to him. The first example of this is on the first page of chapter one “..so we consulted Atticus. (3)” Scout and Jem, call Atticus by his name.

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525 Words | 3 Pages

“The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold my head up in town” (Lee 100). This quote is Atticus’s explanation for defending a black man. Atticus knows that Tom is innocent and deserves the best chance he can get. Also Atticus is trying to teach his kids that sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do. Atticus feels if he doesn’t take the case that he will be looked down upon.

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“I do my best to love everyone” are the wise words from Atticus Finch, one of literature’s most beloved upstanders. In Harper Lee’s famous novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, set in the 1930s in a small town in Alabama, there was a lot of racism. Atticus Finch was a white lawyer who stepped up and defended a black in a time when a black man would not get a fair trial based on the color of his skin. In the segregated South, it was commonplace for blacks not to receive justice in the legal system, and this fact was not only accepted but encouraged in society. It was clear that a fair trial was only for those with fair skin.

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Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a book filled with complex characters that can be examined in order to better understand human nature and who we should strive to be. The character held with the highest regard by readers is Atticus Finch. When reading the book, Atticus comes off as a man way beyond his time who stood by his strict moral beliefs. He was generous and understanding man who strives to better the world through his actions and the morals he instills in his children.

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866 Words | 4 Pages

In Modern day society racism isn’t as common as it was in the 1900’s. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the Mockingbird is a symbol for an a character who brings nothing but peace to the world. Atticus Finch is an harmless and innocent mockingbird, whose image is ruined by trying to step aside the racial barrier in and defend Tom Robinson. Atticus is a mockingbird in this book because of his exceptional behavior he provides to the community around him.

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634 Words | 3 Pages

“They’re certainly entitled to think that, and they’re entitled to full respect for their opinions,” declares Atticus, “But before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience” (Lee 140). Since Atticus has taken the Tom Robinson court case several people in town are calling Atticus names and do not approve of what he is doing. Atticus is taking it upon himself to defend Tom no matter what other people think of him, for this reason Atticus is showing his empathy for Tom through defending him and hearing Tom’s side of the story out. Sometimes it is hard to go against what other people are saying, for the one person they have to stay true to their word and stand by it and let no one change their minds; Atticus is that one person who has sympathy to help Tom out and he doesn't care what other people

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504 Words | 3 Pages

Atticus Takes a Stand “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win” ( Lee 101). To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, takes place in a town called Maycomb, where coloreds are looked down upon. Atticus, one of the main characters, is a father of a boy and a girl, Scout and Jem. He is assigned a case where a colored man, Tom Robinson, is accused of raping a white girl.

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1193 Words | 5 Pages

Just like any other institution, families played a role in changing racial relations. During the 50s and 60s, families became more willing to put themselves at risk in order to challenge separate but equal laws that allowed unfair treatment of blacks. Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, covers the day to day life of Atticus Finch and his two children, Scout and Jem, in 1930s Alabama. Atticus, a lawyer, was handpicked to represent a black man accused of raping a white woman one summer. He felt called to this innocent man’s case knowing well and good that his two young children would face innumerable challenges at his side.

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634 Words | 3 Pages

Atticus defending Tom is bringing problems to not only him but his family too. Just like in our lives one choice can create problems unforeseeable in the

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1163 Words | 5 Pages

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”(Lee 30). These are the words of Atticus Finch, the wisest character in the famous novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. He is a fictional man that embodies human traits that all people should strive to emulate. In the novel; narrated by Atticus’ daughter Jean Louise Finch, more often referred to as Scout; Atticus defends a black man, Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping a white female, Mayella Ewell. The main message of the text is the prominence of racial injustice, specifically in the 1930’s, the era the novel takes place in.

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815 Words | 4 Pages

Father, lawyer, and friend, the gentlemanly Atticus Finch hopes to shape the character of his children. The novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is the story of the childhood of the young girl named Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. Throughout the book, the character Atticus, who is her father, tries his best to raise her and her brother, Jem, the right way as a single parent. To Kill a Mockingbird exemplifies the way the character of Atticus Finch either uses ritual or abandons it in order to develop certain character qualities within his children. He is especially concerned with the development of honesty, courage, and humility.

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