What Is The Difference Between Atticus Finch And Social Justice

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Stated by Bryan Stevenson , “The opposite of poverty is not wealth. In too many places, the opposite of poverty is justice.” Social Justice is promoting a just society by challenging unjust and valuing diversity. Social Justice is hard to find, especially in the 1930’s when people do not want change. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the author uses words and actions to draw a vivid image of Atticus Finch as he responds to a racist, social injustice in a small town in Alabama.
Throughout the novel, Atticus is determined to seek justice for Tom Robinson, a black man being charged for rape. In chapter 9 Atticus states, "Reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up” (Lee 21). Atticus is generally a well liked man in the town of Maycomb. The town's racist and pre-justice ideas lead to the conviction of a innocent man. In court, Atticus is able to explain how Tom Robinson is innocent but the townspeople are unwilling to accept it. We see his determination to find social justice when he not only defends Tom but also his caring and generosity towards Tom’s family. Attics cannot comprehend how rational, normal people can become so irrational and show so much injustice to a …show more content…

More generally, Atticus believes in fairness as the backbone of justice. He expresses this is chapter 23, “The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box” (Lee 232). Despite the difficulty and danger of defending Tom Robinson, Atticus feels that he must do his utmost in order to maintain the respect of his children. He explains himself repeatedly and says that he must be an example to his children in his actions and this animates his passion for justice as much as his ideals

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