Tkam

4/8/14

Atticus and the People of Maycomb

In the story, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus is selected to defend Thomas Robinson in court. . Tom Robinson was accused of raping a white girl named Mayella Violet Ewell on the day of November 21st. The people of the town of Maycomb disagreed with Atticus’ decision of aiming to defend Robinson due to the fact that he was a negro. Atticus had reasons as to why he wanted to defend Robinson in this case because he believed it was the right thing to do, set an example for his children, and knew that he must keep his head up. However, the townspeople gave him and his kids, Scout and Jem, a very hard time.

If Atticus knew that defending Tom Robinson would expose his children to harsh criticism, why did he agree to do it? According to the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus claims that, “The main one is, if I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this county in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you [Scout] or Jem not to do something again” (pg. 75). This illustrates how Atticus sought to remain strong in hopes of setting an example for Scout and Jem. He also mentioned how he wouldn’t be able to represent the legislature if he turned down this case because he didn’t want to seem like a coward since he is a firm believer in standing up for what is right. In TKaM, Atticus explains to Scout, “Because I could never ask you to mind me again. Scout, simply by the nature of work. Every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally. This one is mine…” (pg. 76). Here, Atticus kind of drops the hint that the reactions he will receive will not be so positive, but he’s doing it simply because he knows it the morally justified thing to do.

Not everyone in Maycomb is in agreement with Atticus’ choice of appearing in court on the colored side. In school, Scout experienced an unpleasant confrontation from a classmate. “He [Cecil Jacobs] had announced in the schoolyard...