Why Is Atticus Finch Important In To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird is a very controversial novel about racism. It takes place in the 1930s in Maycomb, Alabama. The book is about an African American male, Tom, who gets accused of raping a 19-year-old woman, Mayella. To set the scene, Mayella is a part of Maycomb's most trashy family. She has many siblings, her mother died when she was little, leaving it up to her dad to care for her. Tom is an African American and Mayella is white, which already puts her at an advantage during the time period. Tom gets a lawyer to fight for him, Atticus Finch, he has two kids that play a big role in this novel, Scout and Jem. Atticus Finch takes on the role of defending Tom Robinson, he gets hate from the community and is treated poorly because of it but

Mayella did something that was extremely wrong in that time era, she kissed a black man. During the trial, Tom Robinson is asked to state what happened from his point of view, in chapter 19 of the novel he states “She says she never kissed a grown man before an’ she might as well kiss a ******. She says what her papa do to her don't count” (Lee 221). This is extremely important and alarming, no father should ever do something such as that. This means Bob Ewell has performed some kind of nasty act on Mayella before. Mayella practically admitted to Tom what her father has done to her, this is disgusting and shows that Mayella’s father has and would in fact abuse or assault

First Mayella told Tom what her father did to her sexually doesn’t count as her first kiss, this is assault and abuse, who knows what kind of other things happen to her and her siblings. Then Mayella shows signs of abuse, she's hesitant with her words, takes things back, and changes her story. This makes it seem like she's being hoaxed or she was told what to say and what not to say before the trial, she wasn’t relying on her story and thoughts. Adding on, Bob said he was going to kill Mayella after seeing her force herself onto Tom. This by itself has extreme power, if this is what Bob is going to say when one of his kids does something he doesn't like Bob is clearly not fit to be a father. Then coincidentally the next time she leaves her house she is full of bruises and cuts. With every source of evidence, it is concluded that Mayella’s family is at fault for what happened to Tom in the novel To Kill A