Why Did Black People Stand Up In To Kill A Mockingbird

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

It was important that Atticus took a stand for Tom because Tom didn’t have many supporters so Atticus gave him one. Atticus helped Tom stand up for himself, and Tom proved to Atticus that he was taking it seriously so Atticus put everything on the line just for him. Many people in Maycomb are racist. Even though Atticus was told to be Tom’s defender, there was

In order to prove a point to the jury, Atticus Finch from Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, uses many rhetorical devices in order to show Tom Robinson’s innocence. Even though his speech was heavy on the ethos, Atticus also uses pathos and logos many times. Sadly, everybody knows that Tom Robinson is innocent and did not commit the crime, but because his skin color is black, Tom is simply used as a scapegoat to hide somebody else’s crime. Mayella Ewell, being both physically and emotionally abused, was forced to lie in her testimony by her drunken father, Bob Ewell. Mayella needed to lie in order to hide her sin: kissing a negro.

Atticus knows Tom is innocent and wants to defend him, since no one else wants to. Like he said to his son Jem Q2“Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird. ”(pg.119)What he means by that is that if you know someone hasn't done anything wrong and you do something wrong to them, it's a sin. He shows courage by helping an african american in a court case accused of raping a white woman with the only evidence to help is Tom Robinson's word for it.

Atticus also does a good job in defending Tom Robinson because he gives a whole speech near the end of the trial. In the speech Atticus points out, “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 woman…... there is no particular race of man,” (273-274). In this speech Atticus defends Tom Robinson by saying that it is unfair because many people around him have the assumption that negroes like Tom Robinson are evil people, and even if they are innocent, people will still think that they are guilty. Atticus also continues to argue in his speech, talking about the court system, and how even though there are flaws in the court, it should be a fair place.

Since Tom is black, Atticus knows he has slim to none chance that Tom would be proven innocent in the courts “Atticus, are we going to win it?” “No, honey.” “Then why” “Simply because we were licked a hundred year before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.” (pg. 76 Lee) Atticus says this because he wants to teach Jem and Scout that prejudice and stereotyping are the wrong morals in life.

In this paragraph, I am going to question why people stand in the balcony when Atticus passes. The people in the balcony stand when he passes because they admire him. One reason why they admire him is; he is standing up for what he believes in. He knows he probably will not win the case, but he tries anyway. The people in the balcony were mostly black, so they know the consequences Atticus is going to face after the trial. They understand that it is not easy to defend a black person in the period of history they are in. It takes a large amount of courage to defend him, and that is why they admire him. They look at Atticus and think about how much backlash he is getting from the people of Maycomb, and they admire him because he is not letting

Atticus shows willpower and courage by agreeing to defend Tom Robinson in court. Back in those days, it was very unusual for a white lawyer to do their best in defending an African American. Atticus was unlike the many racist lawyers in Maycomb which showed how he was courageous. Atticus says, “Our courts have their faults, as does any human institution, but in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal.” (Lee, 274) This shows that Atticus wanted to stand up for the rights of African Americans, even if people disagreed with it. This showed true

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.

Racism is a big part in “To kill a mockingbird”,and is a very important part of the story.the town's people of maycomb are very opposite to African American, one of example in the book the Tom Robinson's trial case where to had give a trueful,the jury still sided with Bob Ewell because he was a white man “I close my eyes as Judy Taylor was polling the jury vote ;guilty guilty guilty “Pg 209 this quote few the book shows that the body jury did vote Tom Robinson 100% guilty without looking at the evidence, they think because he african american he lying, and don't see his side of the story they just see the white man story and assume is true.Even with the evidence they think he is guilty even. . In today's times there is not that much racism but it does exist for instance jet in the story is not being racially at all but during the case he didn't understand like Atticus pointed out “ if you (jem) had been on the jury son, and the eleven other boy like you Tom would be a freeman.the

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 is Tom’s defense attorney because the judge knew if anyone can hold out a trial long enough to make the jury think for once a black man was innocent, it was Atticus Finch. The jury was white men and pleaded Tom Robinson guilty of rape, even though he was an innocent man. On the other hand, Mr.Ewell had been the one who had beaten and raped his daughter, Mayella. Atticus Finch states obvious facts that proves Tom couldn't have been the one who was guilty. The jury had made their final decision to accuse him anyhow.“‘There's something in our world that makes men lose their heads-they couldn't be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man’s, the white man always wins”’ (220). This displays people do not treat everyone with equality. Facts proved Tom was not to blame and the jury’s decision made clear that no matter what a black man is always guilty. “‘If you had been on that jury, son, and eleven other boys like you, Tom would be a free man,' said Atticus” (220). Atticus’s son, Jem, starts to realize people are not treating Tom fairly. He explains, if more people realize how they are treating him they might change their ways. Atticus wants more and more people to see that no matter what you look like, you should always be treated the same as anyone

Maycomb is a town where half of the people believe blacks and white should be separate, while the other half would support a law that made everyone equal. When Atticus came home to tell Calpurnia that Tom was dead, Miss Maudie comforted Alexandria, “Have you ever thought of it this way, Alexandra? Whether Maycomb knows it or not, we’re paying the highest tribute we can pay a man. We trust him to do right. It’s that simple,” (Lee 316). In other words, Atticus was appointed the case because everyone knew he was going to defend a black person for the right reasons. Everyone seemed to call him “nigger-love”, but directed it more toward his kids than him. Scout did not even know what the word nigger meant. She asked her father, “Do all lawyers defend n-Negroes, Atticus?” (Lee 100) and he responded of course, and that he tried his best to love everyone. I admire Atticus for trying to teach his daughter to love everyone. Scout was teased at school by children, by adults in her neighborhood, even family. Obviously everyone was bigoted toward the idea of equality still, but we will talk about that next

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.

The Tom Robinson case in the book was a very tough trial. They accused Tom for raping a white woman. Atticus was the one defending Tom. He knew the trial would be unfair with the Jim Crow laws in place. The laws were a racial system in the southern states and border states. The judge and the jury convicted