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The Right Decision In To Kill A Mockingbird

Decent Essays

Sometimes the right choice is not always the easy choice. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, a lawyer, and father, Atticus, makes the difficult decision to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, in court. Atticus and his children, Scout and Jem, live in the very prejudiced town of Maycomb, Alabama. While trying to raise and teach his children, Atticus is asked to defend Tom in court. He decides to take the case, despite the fact that they will most likely lose. Atticus made the right decision when he took Tom Robinson’s case because he wanted to prove prejudice wrong, it was the kinder, more respectful decision, and he wanted to teach his kids an important lesson. Atticus, aware of the prejudice in his town, took the case with the intent of proving prejudice to be wrong. When Scout learns about the war going on in Germany because of Hitler, she asks Atticus if it is okay to hate Hitler. He responds by saying, “It’s not okay to hate anybody” (330). Scout learns about the horrible things Hitler is doing to the Jewish people and assumes it would be okay to hate him because of it. Although Atticus would never agree with the things Hitler had done, he still does not hate him, or anyone. Atticus disagrees with the way many people in Maycomb show hate towards black people and tells Scout she should never hate anyone. Additionally, he shows respect after Tom Robinson is killed when he drives to his home to tell Tom’s family the horrible news. Once he arrives, he sees

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