The Strengths of Atticus's Defense in To Kill a Mockingbird

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To Kill a Mockingbird is a strong novel filled with innocence and human dignity. The most interesting and emotional part of the novel is the trial between an “untouchable” in the society and an innocent black man. Despite the overwhelming blatant evidence that the black man was innocent, the jury declared him guilty due to the extreme racism that happened throughout the course of the story. The most outstanding person in the trial is Atticus Finch, the defender assigned to defend the black man, Tom Robinson. Atticus’s actions in the trial proved to be intelligent and powerful, and a valuable clue to the outcome of the trial and story.
In the story, Tom Robinson was accused for raping Mayella Ewell, the daughter of the low-class citizen Bob Ewell, and Atticus was assigned to defend Tom Robinson. During the trial, he cross-examines the witnesses thoroughly, trying to seek valuable answers from the witnesses. Sometimes Atticus questions excessively, such as that point when Judge Taylor stops Atticus from questioning after he questioned Heck Tate numerous times about calling a doctor, “He’s answered the question three times, Atticus. He didn’t call a doctor” (167). This shows Atticus’s resilient but effective method of questioning. He also asked for Mayella’s injuries, as the location of the injuries can determine who is the real culprit. He also wants answers to be concise without nonsense, like when Atticus asks Heck Tate to answer a simple question about Mayella’s injuries around the throat, “Just answer the question yes or no, please, Sheriff” (169). Again, he does not asks for details; he wants a simple, concise answer to the trial.
Later, after Bob Ewell finished his testimony, Atticus began his cross-examination with similar qu...

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.... Ewell did not yell at him, as he says, “Mr. Finch, I was runnin’ so fast that I didn’t know what happened” (194). That’s shows Robinson’s fear of being caught, because when Mr. Ewell intervened at the scene, he escaped. His tone of voice about his testimony was far different from Mayella and Bob Ewell, as he was not scared of anybody, and he did not rush to get out of the trial as quickly as possible.
Atticus’s actions for defending Tom Robinson proved to be assertive and intelligent, and provided a clear outcome for the remainder of the story and trial, which resulted in Tom Robinson being found guilty by the jury’s verdict and Bob Ewell declaring revenge on the Finches, as the trial further decayed his reputation. However, if the outcome was the opposite of the story, Atticus will be advantageous and unstoppable.

Works Cited

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

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