How Is Atticus Growing Up Against African-American

They say everyone has a voice and should be heard but when an innocent African-American male is up against a young American female nobody listens to him anymore. In the novel To Kill A Mocking by Harper Lee, an African-American male is called to court for assaulting a young white woman, Mayella Ewell. Atticus Finch is his lawyer and will need to do what he can for Tom as this case will not settle well with the Town of Maycomb. Mayella Ewell did not grow up rich as she was in a lower class than others. She has 7 siblings and a father who drinks all the time. She is in charge of getting her siblings to school and feeding them, all while taking care of herself. This is not the same for Tom, he is in the lowest class because he is African-American.

This was a joint judgment in the 1930s as most colored people were slaves in that period. Atticus never thought of Tom as an evil person who would cause harm. Most people thought he was wrong for doing such a thing because everyone knew Tom Robinson was “guilty”. Atticus stated in the text, “But there’s been some high talk around town to the effect that I shouldn’t do much about defending this man” (Lee 86). The reason Atticus said this was because Scout was picked on at school for it. He is trying to say everyone thinks it is a waste of time because Tom is colored so he must be at fault. When the court date came for Tom Robinson, Atticus was worried people would not vote on the truth but on the rumors and assumptions, the others had

As Atticus gives his closing statements he stated, “And so a quiet, respectable, humble black who had the unmitigated temerity to ‘feel sorry’ for a white woman who put his words against two white people’s” (Lee 232). He said this to the Jury for the sake of Tom Robinson. Atticus knows the thoughts and discrimination the community has against Tom, which is why he was aware he had a slight chance of winning his case. Why did Tom have to feel this way? He could not say he was helping a young woman because he knew she did not have much. Instead, he is accused of a serious crime. The community taunted and judged Tom, and even tried to kill him before the case because of their beliefs. Atticus continued with his closing statement, saying the communities point of view. Atticus stated, “...the evil assumption that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings…” (Lee 232). These are examples of the assumptions Maycomb has of Tom Robinson and