Change of power is a meaningful theme in the story because as the characters are coming of age, they change their way of the meaning of having power, instead of showing you have power with violence it was with words. Scout was always a fighter and fought with her fists but it was time she didn’t fight with her fists but with her mind. “Try fighting with your head for a change...it’s a good one, even if it resists learning” (Lee, 101). In order for Scout to feel like she is strong and has power over another person her only solution to that was with her fists but what she learned was to fight with her head and ignore them by using words not her fists. The night before the trial Atticus stood in front of the jail door protecting Tom Robinson with nothing other than a light bulb and a book in his hand. …show more content…
Atticus knows that the night before the trial some gang is going to show up at the jail and kill Tom Robinson before he even gets a chance to say the truth. He won’t let that happen so he stayed overnight at the jail protecting Tom Robinson with nothing other than a light bulb and a book because he knew that if he were to carry a gun to show he had power over the people that want Tom dead they would have been on the same level and using words is just as equivalent as the power of a gun. Mr. Ewell was just as disrespectful as he was before the trial the only difference was that he hated Atticus. “It was… and told him he’d get him if it took the rest of his life” (Lee, 290). After the trial the Finch family had danger coming for them and they were getting hate. One morning, when Atticus was walking to the post office, Mr. Bob Ewell stopped him, cursed at him and spat in his
So far in the novel we have seen Atticus prove multiple cases to show that Tom Robinson is not guilty. One of his biggest leads came when he proved Mayella Ewell was beaten on the right side of her face, Mr. Ewell was left-handed, and that Tom Robinson barely had a left hand. Most people were confused why Atticus asked these crazy questions, but all along he had an intricate plan in order to prove his side. I predict that in the end, Atticus will be able to prove Mr. Ewell guilty. The Ewells were very hard to work with in court because they are seemingly very uncivilized people. They are not used to Atticus’ way of speaking and addressing others, so they feel offended and misund...
Atticus views that it is his duty to do his best in the Tom Robinson trial and feels no
The actions Bob Ewell displays throughout the novel help emphasize the actions Atticus displays. For example, Atticus wants justice for Tom Robinson so he takes his case because he knows no one else will even try to defend him. “ Do all lawyers defend n-Negroes, Atticus? Of course they do, Scout…. If you shouldn’t be defendin’ him, then why are you doin’ it? For a number of reasons, the main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town”
Another consequence of defending Tom Robinson in court, aside from being known as a "nigger lover" and opening himself to several other forms of racial hatred from the good people of Maycomb, Atticus was also arguing against a man who was known to be a violent drunk. Bob Ewell was a frightening man and it was noble of Atticus to put himself in a position of opposing such an unstable individual. Atticus remained a gentleman when Ewell confronted him at the post office. Most men in his position would have violently lashed out at Robert E. after being spat upon. Atticus did the right thing and remained a gentleman throughout the confrontation.
Atticus first shows his bravery when he decides to defend Tom Robinson. Atticus Finch is a prominent and impartial lawyer in the racist town of Maycomb. “I’m simply defending a Negro—his name is Tom Robinson” (Lee 100). He is risking his career and his family reputation in accepting the case of Tom Robinson raping a white girl. Moreover, Atticus already knows that he is going to lose the case because of the prejudice and racism in town prior to the trial. Nevertheless, Atticus chooses to defend Tom Robinson in spite of any personal harm that could come about because he strongly believes in justice and Tom’s innocence. Therefore it is extremely courageous of Atticus to take the case in such a daunting circumstance.
When Atticus chooses to defend Tom Robinson, he knows he will most likely lose the first trial. His friends and colleagues will talk behind his back for defending a black man under a capitol defense. He knows though that this is a trial in his life that he must defend in order for him to live the rest of his life with his head held up high.”For a number of reasons, Atticus said, The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this country in legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again,’ Atticus says to Scout one night while explain to her why he is defending a black man. This shows Atticus’ high ideals and morals he has must be upheld by him if he is to live with himsel...
Atticus had shown justice and the decision between right and wrong when he was defending Tom in the court house. For example Atticus had said " I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence you have heard, come to a decision, and restore this defendant to his family. In the name of god, do your duty" (Lee 274-275). Clearly this example has shown that Atticus is a man that wanted justice and for the truth to prevail. This shows that he only sees Tom as as a defandant and not as...
Atticus shows great compassion and tolerance when he stands up for the Negroes. He stands up and represents Tom Robinson because he believes that everyone should be treated equally in the court of law. He knows that because Tom was a Negro there would be a slim chance of winning. That fact never discouraged him though because he says that the main reason he is representing Tom is because, ' if I didn't I couldn't hold up my head in town, I couldn't represent this county in the legislature'; (75). He recited a speech, which clearly states that Tom Robinson is not guilty. In that speech he says, 'our courts have their faults, as does any human institution, but in this courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal'; (205). He believed that prejudice and stereotyping is wrong and he tries to teach these morals to Scout and Jem.
Tom Robinson’s trial, and in fact his entire life, was badly affected by racism. It is truly a testament to the corruption of society when a person who has earned a bad reputation is held in higher esteem than a person who was born with it, as is the case with Bob Ewell and Tom Robinson. Even though Tom was obviously honest in his testament, the jury sided with Bob Ewell because he was white. They made this decision despite the fact that the Ewell family was widely known to be a worthless part of society. Jem, not being racially prejudiced, could not understand this mentality. As Atticus pointed out, “If you (Jem) had been on the jury, son, and eleven other boys like you, Tom would be a free man.”
Atticus Finch, a moral perfection, accepts the case of Tom Robinson despite strong opposition from his neighbors; thus, Jem and Scout are put in danger. Tom Robinson’s case deals with controversial material to begin with, which is only made more contentious because of Tom’s skin color. To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the 1930’s, during the Great Depression. Although slavery was abolished more than 50 years before the era in which this novel takes place, in the southern county that the Finch family lives, Jim Crow oppression is still exercised on the black citizens of the area. Bob Ewell, the town’s trashy free loader, has accused Robinson of assault and rape of his daughter, Mayella. Atticus reasons with Scout, regarding why he chose to accept Tom’s case; “‘…every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally. This one’s mine, I guess,”’ (Lee 101). Atticus views this situation as a matter of pride. Somebody in the town must stand up to do the right thing, which is to represent Mr. Robinson, a “clean-living” man. He clarifies that he could not face his community any longer, nor c...
In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus has the quality of integrity that he always tries his best to do everything he thinks it’s just. In the book, Atticus defends Tom Robinson that is against the whole society. Since he says, “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.” Even though Atticus is against the whole society and may not win the case, he still try his best to support the things he thinks they are just and right. People may disagree with Atticus’s actions, but it surely makes sense that Atticus is devoted to fight for inequality between blacks and whites. There is no doubt that it makes sense for Atticus to take a stand to defend Tom Robinson.
furthermore through Atticus’s determination it is clear that he is not willing to give up on this case even though he knows that the jury will give the verdict of guilty. This is a truly heroic act because it shows that atticus is willing to spend his time and effort on this case even though the overall outcome will be pointless, this shows that atticus is willing to sacrifice his a piece of his own life to help Tom robinson, not only because this is the right thing to do but because he is a hero who understands that another is currently in distress with what is most likely to be a very grim future. “You will never understand a person until you look from their point of view” this quote also shows that Atticus is a very understanding person because he knows that other people have their own stories and
In the novel, one of the main characters is the father of the narrator, Atticus Finch. He is portrayed as a just character with common social grace. As the novel develops, Atticus begins to portray courage and sacrifice that goes against all common propriety. The beginning of his bravery is defined by the offering of his services to a local African American man, Tom Robinson, something unheard of in 1930’s southern Alabama. Robinson gained much prominence during the trial, due to the accusations against him paired with his ethnicity. The entire town was aware of the accusations made by the plaintiff, Bob Ewell. Ewell stated that Robinson deliberately took advantage of Ewell’s nineteen-year-old daughter. Mayella Ewell states in court, "I got somethin' to say an' then I ain't gonna say no more. That nigger yonder took advantage of me an' if you fine fancy gentlemen don't wanta do nothin' about it then you're all yellow stinkin' cowards, stinkin' cowards, the lot of you”. Though Ewell’s daughter knows she is lying, she allows everyone to go on with the outrage toward Robinson, to leave...
There are no two characters in To Kill a Mockingbird that differ in identity as much as Atticus Finch and Bob Ewell. Atticus is a man of the law. He defends Tom, an innocent man wrongly convicted, despite the flack his family get from it. “‘ My folks said your daddy was a disgrace an’ that nigger oughta hang from the water tank!’” (Lee 76) He sets a good example for his children. He calls everyone he know ‘Sir’ or ‘Ma'am’.
“You never really understood a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb into his skin and walk around it.” Atticus Finch is a man of extreme integrity. He, as both a lawyer and a human being, stands up for his democratic beliefs and encourages his children to stand up for their own, though they may stand alone. Harper Lee showed how far respect went in To Kill a Mockingbird when Atticus defended Tom Robinson in his rape trial. He did not think twice about being ridiculed by th...