Atticus Sacrifice

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Almost everyday one decides to sacrifice an aspect of their life but is limited to only so many chances on behalf of their morals. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee; Atticus Finch sacrifices himself, as well as his family's identity, well being, and precious time for his beliefs. The book takes place during the time span of the great depression where racism is a normal day-to-day behavior. Atticus being the highly skilled lawyer he is, is assigned to take matters into his own hands in a case defending an African American man by the name of Tom Robinson. While knowing that the “usual” act of the lawyer being appointed in Maycomb when defending an African American citizen during the great depression is to not give effort to the …show more content…

By defending Tom Robinson, Atticus sacrifices his identity along with his family's reputation to stand tall and spread his beliefs on racial equality under the law but suffers through the limitation put on by the town of Maycomb. One's identity is a valuable part of an individual's life. One’s identity reflects their reputation and respect received from others around them, which in turn replicates how safe you are...especially in a town like Maycomb. An identity, also referred to as a “label” is used to describe one's race in today's society. The African American man by the name of Tom Robinson finds himself in a case against Mayella Ewell, who is a Caucasian woman. From the perspective of a skilled lawyer appointed to the case, Atticus, finds the case biased from the start. During the great depression, any court session that contained a person of color against a Caucasian person would result in the “white” individual winning the case. The cause of the biased outcome comes from when the lawyer of the African American does not give the effort to defend their client or the jury goes against the person of color simply because they are …show more content…

Reassuring that Tom Robinson’s case is dealt seriously Atticus exchanges his identity as the noble man he is for the reputation of a villain that the town flames and calls names such as “nigger lover”. Sacrificing Atticus’s identity does not give him much room to speak during the case, in fact, without his title as an intelligent, helpful, and wealthy citizen, the city of Maycomb could potentially harm Atticus which forces him to be a little more cautious with his approach in dealing with the people of Maycomb. This leaves Scout concerned with the matter of how her father finds that his actions are right; when the majority of the town finds is wrong. Atticus then responds strongly to Scout by saying that he would not be able to live with himself if he did otherwise. Atticus’s identity sacrificed for the intention to save his kids from, “Maycomb's usual disease” which is racism. The town of Maycomb is filled with racist views which exposes the kids to the racist views towards close friends such as Dill Harris, and family members such as Aunt Alexandra, as well as neighbors such as Mrs. Dubose. Limited to so much time with the kids, Atticus

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