How Is Atticus Finch Wrong In To Kill A Mockingbird

In court, Tom Robinson was declared guilty and sentenced to death. Atticus discusses the outcomes with Jem, stating that whites will always win over blacks. However, Jem argues by saying it “‘doesn’t make it right’”

Also, by creating a social class where African Americans are always on the bottom even when they are dealing with less respectable people, and contrasting characters, such as the Finches and Ewells, to demonstrate the amount of racial discrimination within the entire South throughout these difficult years for America. Fictional events, like the Tom Robinson case, have similar connections and features to events in history, such as the Scottsboro Trials and Emmett Till case. Harper Lee has used historical events as inspiration to give readers a vision of the lives of African Americans during this difficult time period. On page 282, Tom Robinson was found guilty at his trial, even though all facts and evidence that Atticus gave would have easily swayed the jury to be in favor of Robinson.

Specifically, Atticus says this during his closing statements to the jury: “ ‘But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men. There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie who has never done an immortal thing…’ ” (273). Atticus humanizes Tom and instead of recognizing everyone’s differences, he explains how every man is equal in the sense that everyone makes mistakes. He emphasizes the idea that everyone should be judged fairly.

Ewell spat in his face, threatened him, and insulted him. Atticus reacted with great dignity; he simply wiped his face and walked away impassively and peacefully. Although Atticus knew that Bob Ewell had falsely accused Tom Robinson, Atticus did not take revenge against Mr. Ewell when the man offended him. Instead, Atticus assumed the best about Mr. Ewell; he reasoned that Bob Ewell was venting his anger because he had discredited the man at the trial. Atticus knew that he would be scorned for defending a black man; nevertheless, he maintained his integrity in the face of resentment.

Atticus has faith in this case because of his morals he believes that in the judicial system everyone should be equal, that's the one place on earth any man, no matter what colour of the rainbow they are, they should be treated fairly and equally, but more than all that he believes in the human ability to be good, to do the right thing even when it's the harder thing to do. Even through this he manages to teach his children, he teaches them to be empathetic and to walk around in someone's skin before making any conclusions. Atticus believes that if he can raise his children to realize that the town, the County, the State, and the entire South is sick, sick with racism. If he can teach them that then they may be able to grow and gradually move society from its ways and bring more

Birds singing the lovely tune of a mockingbird will wake in the morn as children play. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird plays out events in a small county residing in Alabama called Maycomb. It is described as a “Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square.” (Lee, 6).

A court is only as a sound as it jury, and a jury is only as a sound as the men who make it up….” (Lee 274). This quote explains a reason, Atticus did help a black man in front of many. If he did not want things to be equal, then why he would help him in the first place. Another example Atticus said, “A nigger-lover is just one of those terms that don 't mean anything—like

Atticus’ courage is shown in multiple ways through his court actions and his stand against racial discrimination. For instance, as a lawyer, Atticus defends the innocent, despite controversial thoughts of others, this is proven true in the Tom Robinson court case. During this discriminative period, most African Americans brought to court for an accused crime were deemed guilty, despite the clear evidence that proved their innocence. When Jem thought Atticus’ defense of Tom will bring Tom to justice, Reverend Sykes said: “I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man”(Lee 279). This proves Atticus’ courage because he chose to fight for a colored man to prove that he is not guilty of an alleged crime, despite knowing the usual outcome of the case and the disapproval he will receive from others.

In this key passage, Atticus is giving his final speech of the Tom Robinson case. This is a key passage because it ties together the main conflict of the story, as well as the central assertion. From this speech, it is evident that Atticus Finch believes all human beings should be given an equal chance, and this passage is his attempt to convince the jury of his viewpoint. While this central assertion is easy to conceptualise and perceive today, it was unheard of and near impossible for black to be treated equally as whites, and this is seen through their final decision to convict Tom Robinson. In addition, the passage reveals much about Atticus’s character, his viewpoints and ideals, and the strength of his moral codes.

To illustrate, “Tom Robinson is a colored man, Jem. No jury in the world is going to say, ’We think you are guilty, but not very,’ on a charge like that.” (Lee, 251). This quote shows how little faith Atticus had in Tom’s freedom. He knew that he would not win Tom’s trial, no matter how hard he tried, because no jury in 1930s Alabama would take the word of a black man over that of a white man, no matter how much evidence there was to prove the black man’s innocence.

This was one of Atticus’s last lines from his statement and I think the deeper meaning is that people need to get over this “code” they have. The community needs to realize that even white people do discouraging things. Tom Robinson was just peacefully living his life until he was convicted of rape with no solid evidence, just people’s biases. Tom Robinson would have been a free man if people would have just opened their ears, listened to the evidence and forgotten he was a colored

Atticus explains to Jem why the jury decided to convict Tom Robinson. He says that racism is taught and not something that you are born with. “In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life.'" Atticus said this because he thinks that it is prejudice.

In his closing speech to the jury Atticus expressed his perspective on Tom Robinson’s case and the prejudice against all black people. He explains to the jury “... some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men…” (Lee, page 204). He believes all people make mistakes, everyone is human, and that no race is superior than another because of skin colour.

After Atticus loses his trial, Jem notices that the Maycomb County justice system is broken and it needs help, “Then it all goes back to the jury, then. We oughta do away with juries. ”(294) This shows that Jem now understands that people are racist in everything and racism needs to be fought. On top of realizing that the justice system is in shambles, Jem realized that Tom Robinson’s case was very good at showing that.

Atticus says during Tom’s trial,”And so a quiet, respectable, humble, Negro who had that unmitigated temerity to ‘feel sorry’ for a white woman has had to put his word against two white people’s. I need not remind you of their appearance and conduct on the stand-you saw them for yourselves. The witnesses for the state, with the exception of the sheriff of Maycomb County, have presented themselves to you gentlemen, to the court, in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that you can tell me where to go