Examples Of Atticus Closing Remarks To Kill A Mockingbird

The coming-of-age novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is set in the fictional town of Maycomb County, Alabama around the 1930s. Vile racial discrimination in Maycomb is what lead to the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman. Atticus, the father of Scout, was assigned to defend Robinson in court. Atticus organized his argument to be successful by using rhetorical devices- ethos, pathos, and logos.

Through the flawless use of the rhetoric, Atticus Finch speaks persuasively and wins over the jury during his concluding argument of the trial of Tom Robinson. As a lawyer, Mr. Finch understands how to speak effectively and persuasively, allowing him to make use of compositional techniques like rhetoric. He uses all three parts of rhetoric, logos, ethos, and pathos, to help him coax the jury to side with him. Although the emerges unsuccessful, he perfectly illustrates examples of rhetoric and the different ways to use it. Atticus cunningly convinces the jury of Tom Robinson’s innocence by appealing to them through the rhetoric.

To do so, both lawyers needed to approach the courtroom with the correct tone of voice. Initially, both lawyers started out with a casual tone as if they were talking to a friend. As it gradually went on the attitude of both lawyers started to change. Atticus stayed relaxed, and preserving in order to appeal to the courtroom’s emotions. His voice was intriguing and really captured the audience, however towards the end his tone shifted pleading the jury to make the right decision. In “A Lesson before Dying” the lawyer’s tone of voice changes rather fast. He sounds as if he gave up convincing the jury of Jefferson’s innocents and is insulting him instead. An example of the lawyer’s mockery towards Jefferson is when he says, “Justice, gentleman? Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this.” However, right before his insulting remark he does what Atticus had done, he pleaded to the jury to make the right decision. In essence, Atticus is the only one committed to changing the jury's mind, the other attorney is rather nasty, and even questions his own clients

One last use of symbolism is when Atticus says, “What was the evidence of her offense? Tom Robinson, a human being”. This might have a very important affect on the audience because Atticus is telling the audience that Tom is a normal, hardworking human being just like everybody in the room. However, the jury is using the fact that he is black against him. Atticus is explaining that the only reason he is being accused and put in front of a jury is because the Ewells know that they will have the upper hand in the trial because Tom is one black man going against two white people. Atticus clearly states his stance on the trial with the use of these four allusions throughout his closing argument.

The purpose of this statement is to show the jury that in court, everyone is equal. This could poteniálly sway the jury because they are forced to look beyond race. Without a doubt, Atticus shows the jury that the court is only as fair as the people sitting in it. "I 'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system—that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working reality. Gentlemen, a court is no better than each man of you sitting before me on this jury. A court is only as sound as its jury, and a jury is only as sound as the men who make it up.” Atticus tells the jury this to persuade them to be their best selves and really consider everything going on beside the race in play. A reader could infer that Atticus is using ethos to persuade the jury to really listen and trust him. In conclusion, Atticus’ use of ethos played a very important role in his closing argument. It was extremely useful to show the jury and the rest of the court that they need to trust his credibility in order to make the right decision.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus defends Tom Robinson in court, delivering one of the most famous fictional speeches in history.In his closing remarks he utilizes logos, hypophora and pathos.

In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus is the “mockingbird” of the story in that he is “killed” when other people are against his harmless “singing”. This is so because he innocently read with Scout at night against Miss Caroline’s will, he clearly had the upper side of evidence in the Tom Robinson trial yet still lost, and he persisted Aunt Alexandra’s blatant request of firing Calpurnia in order for her to be the housekeeper. All three of these reasons help to prove that he indeed took on such a role in the plot.

Atticus Finch was involved in a very controversial case that arrived in Maycomb county. During this case, Atticus, a white man, was chosen to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson was accused of raping and abusing a white female, Mayella Ewell. In the 1960s, southern life was divided between colored and non colored people. Atticus’ challenge was to convince the white jury and a white judge that Tom Robinson was shall not be pleaded guilty. This challenge was difficult to complete, hence why Atticus was unable to convince the jury even though he put up a good fight. Within that fight, he used different types of appeals that were able to persuade the jury in a variety of ways. Atticus used the appeals of ethos, logos, and pathos

In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, during chapters seventeen through twenty-one, one of the leading characters, Atticus, has to defend a black man in a court case against two white people. Before the jury is sent to make their decision, Atticus gives a closing argument speech. During his speech, Atticus uses three main types of persuasion called: ethos, pathos, and logos.

In a stuffy courtroom during the summer of 1935 located in a simple Southern town, a lawyer stands ready to defend his client. However, in this trial the lawyer, Atticus, has a rough road ahead of him since he must defend a black man; in front of a white jury. Plus, he must break down the jury’s mindset established in the pre-Civil War ideas. He does not hesitate for a second but delivers a profound and moving speech which sears itself into the audience’s brains. Regrettably, this speech does not exist in history books, but instead in the fictional story, To Kill A Mockingbird. Despite its fictional roots, this speech earned its place on the chart containing many other well-known speeches. Yet, what made this speech noteworthy and proved Atticus’ skill in debating? To answer one could say his attempt to prove the innocence of a man stemmed from his adept use of pathos, ethos, and logos.

Atticus’ closing argument uses a variety of persuasive, argumentative techniques. One form of writing he used is anaphora, which is repetition of a

Ethos, pathos, and logos are the three rhetorical strategies used in arguments to strengthen it. Atticus uses all three of the rhetorical strategies studies this year during his closing remarks to the jury, but his use of pathos really makes his remarks have a very powerful message. A quote from Atticus’s closing remarks that show his use of pathos is “Tom Robinson now sits before you, having taken the oath with the only good hand he possesses”(Lee). In his closing argument Atticus brings up the fact that Tom’s arm was injured when he was younger. He points out this fact about Tom again at the end of the trial to try to get the jury to feel bad for Tom. Pathos is all about getting people to feel pity for someone else and Atticus cleary makes the jury feel bad for Tom by

Atticus uses the rhetorical device ethos to demonstrate his credibility, character, and his opinion about the case to prove Tom’s innocence. Atticus announces to the gathering of people in the courtroom his

Davis persuade the jury by ethos to show the defendant is innocent. Throughout Atticus’s closing argument, he tried to persuade the jury in different ways. He tried convincing the jury about his credibility of a citizen in Maycomb and lawyer. Towards the end of his argument, Atticus mentions how everyone is equal in court, that no one is higher than another. “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. In the name of God, believe him” (Lee 274-275). Atticus used his credibility to persuade the members of the jury to believe Tom. Atticus also used his personal experience in court to convince the jury that Tom Robinson was not guilty, but innocent and should not be treated differently because of his race. Mr. Davis also used ethos to persuade the members of the jury while they were in the jury room. Most of the jurors were claiming that the boy was guilty because of the evidence that was provided. One piece of evidence was that one of the neighbors heard the boy say “I’m going to kill you” to his father moments before a body hit the floor. Mr. Davis was disagreeing with all of them, saying that he was not actually going to do it. Then a fight broke out between a juror and Mr. Davis. The juror said that he was going to kill him. Mr. Davis replied back saying that he does not mean that (12 Angry Men). Mr. Davis used his personal experience with hate to show that everyone says things that they will never do, just like the juror threating to kill Mr. Davis. Both men, Atticus and Mr. Davis, used ethos to persuade the

Atticus uses a combination of convincing and logical evidence, but is also very passionate as he is not doing this as a “lip” service. He was doing this, as he could not live with himself if he did not do his best to defend Tom Robinson despite the chances of winning the court case. The use of emotive language and well-reasoned arguments makes the case more persuasive and plausible. Atticus is rather astute in showing compassion for Mayella, this shows honesty and integrity in his character therefore the jury is more inclined to believe him over the witnesses. Atticus makes a direct plea to the jury but he does this on a personal level. Atticus pauses to create more impact as it is dramatically effective as it focuses our attention to the truth. Atticus throws the burden of blame on Mayella making her culpable of the crime that happened and not his client. He uses repetition to emphasise his case and evidence. Atticus’s tone becomes increasing aggressive and uncompromising however, he remains courteous and dignified throughout. Atticus highlights to the jury the sheer arrogance of the witnesses of the state who believed their word would not be questioned over a black man. Atticus shouted “TEMERITY” as he had become so frustrated. This is the only point in the speech where