Atticus Reputation

Killing a mockingbird is a sin in many cultures because of the animal’s innocent nature; in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird she immaculately illustrates this. To Kill a Mockingbird is about the Finch family, which consists of: Scout (Jean), Atticus, Calpurnia, and Aunt Alexandra. They reside in the modest town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. The father of the family, Atticus, is defending a colored person, Tom Robinson, in a court case regarding rape. In turn, this affects Atticus’ children, Scout and Jem, negatively. Because of Atticus’ choice to defend Tom Robinson the family and himself is put in harm 's way and harassed. Additionally, it damages the family’s and his reputation.

The first reason it’s sensible for Atticus to not

In this scene Atticus is conversing with Jem about why Bob Ewell spat in Atticus’ face. Then, Atticus says, “... ‘I destroyed his last shred of credibility in that trial, if he had any to begin to begin with’” (292). This quote demonstrates that Atticus’ reputation suffers because he’s stealing something from a impoverished person. To paraphrase, Atticus destroyed Bob’s credibility when he had little to start with. Therefore, members of the community will view down on this. In the next section Mrs. Dubose is verbally abusing Jem during their reading session. She claims, “... Your father is no better than the niggers and trash he works for!’” (135). This quote is evidence that Atticus’ reputation suffers because of the case. Mrs. Dubose views African-Americans as inferior and because Atticus is aiding Tom she equates Atticus to a colored person. In the final scene the jury reached a census on Tom’s conviction which is, “...’Guilty...guilty...guilty...guilty…’” (282). This quote shows that Atticus was going to lose no matter what. This damages the family’s reputation as a lawyer. In addition, he also helped a black person which makes future clients skeptical to choose Atticus as their