Moral Codes In Mark Twain's 'Dolphus'

The whole town of Maycomb is racist, which makes Atticus’s job harder trying to defend Tom Robinson against the word of a white man.Tom Robinson’s case is unjust since he is black and the majority of Maycomb revert to the stereotype that all blacks are immoral and criminals. “Quote” shows that it is a situation where little is possible to do when defending a black man because the town of Maycomb is deeply affected by racism they tend to only make decisions based on the race and so immediately think Tom Robinson is guilty, that he did indeed raped Mayella when there was so much evidence to prove otherwise. This is challenging for Atticus, since he has to persuade everyone to pretend there is no stereotype about blacks and that they are human

When Atticus took the case, he went up against Maycomb, a generally prejudiced town, in order to defend Tom. He understood that taking the case would make him an object of ridicule and that no one would forgive him for believing a black man's word over a white man's. Even his own sister expresses disapproval at his decision, practically telling him he was bringing disgrace to the family. Nevertheless, no matter how much his reputation suffered, he did not change his mind. Standing up for his morals and ethics was more important than what people thought about him. From the very start Atticus knows he will not win the case however he does his job and finishes what he set out to do.

Atticus is appointed to defend a black man named Tom Robinson who has been accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman. She is a member of the Ewell family, who is looked down upon by Maycomb society and referred to as "white trash." Atticus knows that Tom has almost no chance because he is black and will be tried by an all white jury. Nevertheless, he wants to help him reveal the truth.

Mayella Ewell is living in a racist southern community in the 1930’s. During this time no one was treated the same because of their skin color or if they were intelligent. Mayella has one thing that makes her powerful, her race. Laws back then was harsh. Between white and Negroes, both were wrong and mean to each other. Whites had more power than the Negroes because of the history it has behind them. They were not considered to be equal citizens. Atticus even knows the trial should not be happening, he knew the jury was going to side on with Mayella because she’s white. As Atticus is closing his argument he says, “[The Ewells]....have presented themselves to you, gentlemen, to this court….confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption-the evil assumption- that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women…”as said in chapter twenty. Mayella only goes through all of this because of her father.

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view”(pg 39). Atticus says this because many people judge just because of what they heard how they look or their race, in reality, most of these people are innocent.even Mayella is innocent, even though she got a man accused of being guilty, but in the situation she was in she had no control over due to her being a product of her environment,making her in a way innocent.

It took an unimaginable amount of courage for Atticus to take the Tom Robinson case knowing he and his children would be harassed by all the other townspeople. For instance, when “My folks said your daddy was a disgrace an' that nigger oughta hang from the water tank” (105). Also, Atticus knew he had a very low chance of succeeding in winning the case, but he took it anyways. He knows the town will think differently about him solely because he is defending a black man. He also knows that his children will be shown a lot of hatred. Even knowing this, Atticus takes the case and tries his best. Not only did he know he would take hatred, he also knew he would lose. But, he knew this case would define who he was “every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally”(96). While talking to the Judge he knows that he will most likely not win, but that does not change his mind. He knows just because Tom Robinson is black that he will not win. The Jury will see the white man who claims his white daughter was raped and believe him with no doubt. No matter what Atticus says to try to change the jury’s mind, he knows he can only try his best. To summarize, Atticus shows courage knowing not only that the town would hate him, but also that he would lose the

In the town of Maycomb most of its citizens were racist towards people of colored skin. The citizens of Maycomb weren’t evil or bad, but they were raised in a way where they thought that being racist was publicly acceptable. Atticus probably didn’t think like the citizens and was shunned because he had agreed to help Tom Robinson. Since everyone was hostile towards the black community they automatically assumed that they

Atticus, however, was a brave Christian man with moral values. He was polite and humble, and saw everyone as equals. Scout said of her father, “It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived.”Atticus shows that he is above the people of Maycomb when he took Tom Robinson’s case, rather than sharing their racist feelings. However, he still respected their choice; “They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions... but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.” Even when he and his family were deemed as outcasts, he didn’t drop his case. He discouraged his

As it was mentioned earlier, Atticus has a very demanding career. Tom Robinson, the young man Atticus defends, pays for the ignorant and hurtful stereotypes that are made in Maycomb every day. There is the fear of black male sexuality, brought about by stories of white women being raped and beaten by black men. "As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don't you forget it- whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash" (220). When the Ewell's charge Tom with rape, his decisions come not from facts of life, but the general classification and stereotypes of Maycomb. "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" (220). Others don't take the time to understand Tom, instead fearing and distrusting him. Tom isn't the only race in Maycomb that is victimized, however.

The goal that Atticus is striving for is to get the white, male jurors to do the right thing. This is a hard task he has set for himself because as a good Jim Crow liberal he dare not challenge the foundations of their privilege. So instead Atticus does what lawyers for black men did in those days. He encourages the jurors to swap one of prejudice that of race for another prejudice, social. (Harvard Law Review, web)

Throughout the novel Atticus and his family are judged and condemned for defending a black man, for example the constant comments directed to the children by Mrs Dubose ‘…Not only a Finch waiting on tables but one in the court-house lawing for niggers!’ This shows that the public disapprove of their actions but they are not alone. Because they grew up in Maycomb and didn’t grow as a person like Atticus we see his own family attack and condemn Atticus, ‘I can’t say I approve of everything he does.’ This quotes shows that even living with Atticus and seeing why he does what he does without being raised by him Alexandra still shows he intolerant views but she is less stern than she was at the beginning of the book ‘’ so we assume she is starting to come and see his ways we know she was fully against him as her own son

Atticus’s Use of Persuasive Appeals The United States has a history of discriminating, primarily against african americans or people of color. The discrimination they faced has been a societal norm that has been around since the beginning of the United States. Society has established views and opinions, especially on discrimination, and they are often bigoted.

Atticus mentions that Mayella, “‘Was white, and she tempted a negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man…’”(Lee 272). The quote links to the theme because the author uses rhetorical devices. Atticus uses parallelism to help organize his idea and to make it memorable. The lawyer also points out that, “‘But there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal… It can be the Supreme Court of the United States’” (Lee 274). The character uses credible sources to prove everyone that he did thorough research and that he actually cares about the life of his client. The author’s justification shows that the United States was created as a result of equality, but clearly, the idea never got around as a result of the racial

His ability to access and understand the truth of Maycomb brings him up to a bigger step. Providing the truth to multiple prejudiced believers is known to be a difficult, but the effort of having courage and putting the words out there is “just a baby-step, but it’s a step (Lee 216). Lee explains how Atticus had the nerve to put out his word against prejudice, and how even though people chose to be ignorant, at least they heard his words, and there was still some hope that what he said would make an impact on Maycomb in the future, because it only takes a person with so much bravery to make a significant difference. Generally speaking, prejudice has its way of interfering between general communication, or more specifically for this context, between the underprivileged and those who are biassed towards them. By having a good understanding of the town, Atticus was able to take advantage of his knowledge and talk to the colored people and finally have a good understanding of the truth about them, which is something the rest of the town hasn’t had the chance to do yet.

Atticus does not care about Mr. Ewell's insult. If it saves Mayella, he is willing to sacrifice himself. It remains unknown whether his mercy eventually touches Mr. Ewell and stops his revenge. If Atticus does not manage that, Aunt Alexandra will save him in the desperate situation. Mr. Ewell have won the case. Why does he continue to revenge? Although he lives arbitrarily, he cannot stand the others disturbing his life. His rage is against not simply the Negros, but anyone who disturbs him. His prejudice is more serious than a racial one. Mayella, Tom and Atticus are all his targets.