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Who Is Atticus Finch's Defense In To Kill A Mockingbird

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In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch defends a black man named Tom Robinson who was accused of raping a young white woman. Atticus was maybe not wise to defend Tom because of the consequences that tax his family, but it was the right thing to do. The consequences of defending a black man did cause good things in the children like early maturity, but it also did cause things like traumatization. As Atticus has explained to Scout many times about this, He is doing this because he values equality and justice. He believes that everyone is equal and therefore just because Tom Robinson is black, doesn't mean that he should not defend him. Some will counter this argument, saying it was dumb of him to accept the case, and I don’t think …show more content…

His family experienced hurt in more ways than one, they experienced both physical and mental pain. Though this could be said to be a good thing, Jem and Scout both matured majorly and lost their childhood innocence. Also through the court case and the hearings before the end of the book, the children's view of atticus changed in a negative way, they saw him as less of a father than others and saw his age affecting him. Though one of the largest drawbacks was Bob Ewell's threat which caused mental pain and his attacking of the children."...It was Miss Stephanie’s pleasure to tell us: this morning Mr. Bob Ewell stopped Atticus on the post office corner, spat in his face, and told him he’d get him if it took the rest of his life" (Lee 290). This evidence shows that because of the decision to defend Tom, it hurt his family a lot and might of been a reason to not defend …show more content…

Though he is criticized by some and his family is taxed by the situation, his decision to defend Tom was the wise thing to do. Yes, his family was mentally and physically changed by the incident, but he also changed Maycomb’s outlook on racism and destroyed the reputation of disgusting people. Sometimes casualties must be sustained to change something. Racism was a larger problem and drawbacks on his family were too little.“As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it—whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash” (Lee Cp. 23). In conclusion Atticus’s decision to defend Tom, although dangerous, was wise on his part as described in the last paragraph. His family was put in danger, but ultimately was the right thing to do. Not only did he keep his conscience intact but he also possibly saved other black men and women from hate deaths and hate crimes. The sacrifices that he made was the right thing to do, and nothing can change

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