How Did Atticus Die For Justice Or In Vain

Today’s society is damaged with the results of people doing terrible things to each other. Peoples actions can make or break lives.The novel To Kill A Mockingbird, is about a little girl, her Brother, their Dad, and the negro they all fight to defend. The main character scout and her older brother Jem, get into all sorts of dilemmas in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. As they learn new valuable lessons about life, they also pick up that the small town they grow up in is not as clean and safe as it seems. The father, Atticus Finch is a kind hearted soul who was given the case of Tom Robinson, a negro accused of Raping a white woman. As soon as Atticus was given the case he aimed to defend Tom but a faulty jury made sure it did not happen.To

When Scout arrives home from school to explain to Atticus what her classmates have been calling him he stated that “I’m simply defending a negro...but there’s been some high talk around town to the effect that I shouldn’t be defending this man.” (Lee. 75). Entirely based on the fact that Tom is black he is seen as less than therefore does not deserve the justice services offered to the white community. During Aunt Alexandra’s get together, Atticus pulls her and Calpurnia aside and tells them the bad news. “Tom’s dead...they shot him. He was running. It was during their exercise period. They said he just broke into a blind raving charge at the fence and started climbing over. Right in front of them.”

However, Atticus knows since Tom is a black man he will not get a fair trail since the jury is all white and since people back then didn’t favor or teach color people this is why Atticus had to defend Tom which was a man who was wrongly accused for raping a white woman which her name was Mayella Ewell ; she was a very poor white woman the oldest of many children which was in her family .

Atticus shows true courage by defending Tom Robinson, a black man charged with the rape of a white woman. Atticus continues to fight for justice despite knowing he can’t win the case because he is

In the novel, Harper Lee uses Atticus and Tom Robinson to represent failure and disappointment. At the time Tom was pronounced guilty, both him and Atticus had not fulfilled their wishes of Tom being innocent. Chapter 21 states that watching Atticus lose was like watching him walk into the street, raise a rifle to his shoulder, and pull the trigger all the while knowing it was empty. This means that Atticus had felt so sorrowful about his incompletion of success towards Tom that he would have shot himself, but knew deep down that there

Atticus is a man with morals. When he sees a person, white or black in need of justice he is always there to help, no matter the cost. In Maycomb County when a black man is on trial he is automatically seen as guilty. When Atticus was chosen to defend Tom Robinson many of the people in the community took it upon themselves to pay him a visit. It was understood by everyone that Tom had no chance and some of the men in the county went to Atticus to see if he would drop the case. Atticus knows though that Tom is innocent and deserves to have a fair trial. “Link, that boy might go to the chair, but he’s not going until the truth’s told” (Lee 146) . Atticus demands justice no matter who it is or what they’ve been accused of. He understands what needs to be done to give those who have been wrongly accused an honest hearing.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. That is what Martin Luther King said in his last speech before he was assassinated. The literary fiction novel To Kill A Mockingbird wrote by Harper Lee takes place in the fictional Alabama town of Maycomb. The story happened during the period of Great Depression, and people were sorted based on socioeconomic, gender and races. The narrator Scout Finch lives with her brother Jem Finch and father Atticus Finch. In the book, Atticus is a character that is respected by readers because he has a strong sense of sympathy. Atticus is a just and fair lawyer and served several years in the state legislature. As being an attorney with strong moral character and healthy humanitarian principles, Atticus works diligently in the court to defend an innocent person. “It is a sin to kill a Mockingbird.” The innocent person is the mockingbird and Atticus’s mission is to protect the mockingbird. As a stern and gentle father of two children, Atticus teaches Jem and Scout a lot of principles on the way of life and benefit them in the future. His sense of responsibility makes him a good father. Atticus consistently demonstrates empathy throughout the novel To Kill A Mockingbird.

The absence of courage on equality in the novel To Kill a mockingbird led to the death of Tom Robinson. In Maycomb African Americans were looked upon as second-class citizens, because of this none of them could vote or attain the same equal status. Moreover, in the novel To Kill a Mocking Bird an African American was put on trial for a crime he didn’t commit. Likewise, this was obvious to everyone present in the courtroom, however, the lack of courage to stand up for equality in this town caused Tom to be sentenced to life in prison and eventually die. According, To Kill a Mockingbird “I don’t know how they could convict Tom Robinson, but they did it. They’ve done it before and they do it tonight” (225). This quote shows how all citizens knew

Atticus shows true courage by trying every way to help others who were in the need of it. First of all, it is courageous of Atticus to take the Tom Robinson case. Even his own family disagreed of taking the case because of the bias. He takes many risks when taking the Tom Robinson case. He risks the chance of critization by the people that live in the Maycomb County. Mrs. Dubose criticizes him when she said, “Atticus is a Nigger lover!’’ (100). With many prejudice people living in Maycomb County Atticus also risks the chance of not being re-elected for legislature. Secondly, it is

He shows this by going out of his way to help Mayella. Tom testifies, “Mr. Ewell didn’t seem to help her none (256)…” This shows his generosity as he helped her for no reward, just out of the kindness of his heart. Tom is an honest man who is prejudiced because of his skin colour. Scout realises, “It occurred to me that in their own way, Tom Robinson’s manners were as good as Atticus’s (260).” Since the community has the utmost respect for Atticus it shows that racism is the only reason they will not believe him. Lastly, Tom was killed for a crime he didn’t commit. “He likened Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds (323)…” As an innocent man, Tom did not deserve to be killed for this crime. Even though Tom is not guilty, because of the Maycomb’s racism his innocent life was

To Kill A Mockingbird In many different works of literature, characters will stand up for what they believe in, even if what they believe in is something that is looked down upon. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, the character Atticus Finch, who is a lawyer, believes that Tom Robinson is not guilty, so he decides to stand up for him, despite the fact it makes the whole town dislike him because he is standing up for a black man. Throughout the book, Atticus continuously defends Tom Robinson, even though in the end, Tom Robinson is found guilty. Despite all of the opposition, Atticus does not stop defending what he believes in until the end of the book, when Tom Robinson is killed and he cannot do anything else.

Atticus has moral courage when he defends Tom Robinson. Even though people critisize his choice, like when Mrs. Debose says “‘Not only a Finch waiting on tables but one in the courthouse lawing for niggers”’ (Lee 101), Atticus perseveres and defends Tom as well as he would defend a white person. The lionhearted Atticus is willing to defend a black guy, who will likely lose the case, in order to uphold his morals. He also risks his physical health to go protect Tom Robinson at the jailhouse at night. He stands up to an armed mob whose intention is made clear when one guy says, “‘You know what we want… Get aside from the door, Mr. Finch”’ (Lee 151), to which Atticus synonym for courageously replies “‘You can turn around and go on home”” (Lee 151). Atticus puts himsels in mortal peril in order to save Tom Robinson which is remarkably audacious. Despite being an older father, Atticus Finch is by far the bravest character in the book To Kill a Mockingbird.

With the racial tension so high during this time period, Tom's innocence was lost before he could even defend himself. This was shown through Atticus's reply to Scout's question of, "Will we win?" Atticus answered no because the case was lost before it began. Tom Robinson's response to his loss of innocence was to simply run away from the problem that had befallen him. For his attempted escape Tom suffered the highest consequence, "They shot him,' said Atticus. 'He was running. It was during their exercise period. They said he just broke into a blind raving charge at the fence and started climbing over" (235). Due to Tom's decision on how to respond, he was killed even though he was placed in his position no thanks to himself. Tom Robinson chose poorly when it came to his response towards his loss of innocence and it cost him his life.

Atticus displays acts of personal courage in his willingness to keep others safe and his response to racism based threats. Many of the citizens of Maycomb County and its surrounding area were upset about Atticus, a lawyer, taking the defense case of Tom Robinson, a black man who was accused of raping a white woman. Mr. Link Deas and Mr. Heck Tate, along with some other men in Maycomb, come to tell Atticus about the Old Sarum lynch mob coming to kill Tom. The next night, Atticus goes down to the county jail and tells the mob to go home and leave Tom alone (Lee 194 and 202). The lynch mob comes to kill Tom, so they could potentially hurt Atticus, too. The amount of courage Atticus has to display to defend Tom outside of the courthouse and stand up to a dangerous mob of men is extremely high, considering the risks he takes. Atticus comes home from work one day, after the trial is over, and is approached by Mr. Bob Ewell, the victim's father: "According to Miss Stephanie Crawford, however, Atticus was leaving the post office when Mr. Ewell approached him, cursed him, spat on him, and threatened to kill him... Atticus's peaceful reaction probably prompted him to inquire,'Too proud to fight, you [Negro-lover]?' Miss Stephanie said Atticus said, 'No, too old', put his hands in his pockets, and strolled on"(291). Mr. Ewell is upset that Atticus had tried to prove that Tom was innocent and that Mr. Ewell had hurt his own daughter. He also believes that

The novel evolved into a screenplay, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee , represents the dark undertones of the South in the era of the Great Depression. The scene of “Your Father’s Passing,” represents the tone of reverence with, the use of sound, camera angle, and contrast supports the admiration that the African American population in Maycomb has for Atticus. Atticus Finch, a white lawyer, speaks on behalf of Tom Robinson, a black man wrongly accused of rape. Atticus, intelligent and a respected lawyer, lost Tom’s trial, yet the African American community remains proud and respectful, towards him. At the end of the trial, the African Americans sitting in the balcony rise to their feet as