Should Atticus Defend Tom Robinson

Would you rather do the right thing and be criticized by society, or do the wrong thing and be accepted. In the book “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, Atticus has to make this very decision. It is the Early 1900’s in Maycomb county, Alabama's courthouse, Atticus has to defend Tom Robinson in a case. While everyone he knows is against his decision and dislikes him now. All of his problems coming from him being a black man’s lawyer and wanting to help him. Everyone agrees that racism is bad, however some believe that Atticus should defend Tom Robinson while others believe that Atticus should not defend Tom Robinson. Atticus should defend Tom Robinson for three reasons: no one else would do it, he is a good person, and it would also help

Since no one else would do it, it could ruin Tom’s reputation. And people already hate Tom because of it, and even tried to kill him when he was being held in jail before he went to court. “ He in there, Mr. Finch?” A man said. “He is”, we heard Atticus answer, “ and he’s asleep… don’t wake him up,”... “ You know what we want,” another man said. “Get aside from the door, Mr. Finch.” (Lee 202) In this scene it shows some men going to the jail wanting to see Tom and possibly kill him. By helping Tom it would help him by a lot. If he helped Tom, his reputation would be better and he would not have to worry about getting attacked by random people for something he did not do. Atticus should also help Tom because he is the only one who thinks Tom is innocent. No one believes Tom is innocent because he is black and there is no way a white girl would lie about someone raping

If Atticus is successful in Tom's case it could boost his own reputation. It could show that Atticus can convince the jury successfully and efficiently in a case, and would result in more people wanting Attticus as their own lawyer. If Atticus takes up Tom's case it would make him well-known. It would show that Atticus is not afraid of anything that a case could bring, and is willing to do everything he can to help his client. By taking Tom’s case it would also show to others that he is a good lawyer and he is willing to help his client as much as he can. And if people see that Atticus is willing to help in any way he can, then they will want him as their own lawyer if they ever get into a rough