In Chapter 9 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus says that every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally and that this one is his. How does Tom Robinson's case affect Atticus personally?
The first mention of Atticus's acceptance comes during a conversation with his brother, Jack. He informs his brother that an acquittal is an impossibility, but "Before I'm through, I intend to jar the jury a bit--I think we'll have a reasonable chance on appeal, though...
This oneâs mine, I guess. You might hear some ugly talk about it at school, but do one thing for me if you will: you just hold your head high and keep those fists down.ââ ââSimply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win,â Atticus said.â
At the end of Chapter 20 as Atticus Finch makes his closing remarks at the trial of Tom Robinson, he reminds the jury of the significance of the judicial system in America: "In this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts, all men are created equal."
Scout, simply by the nature of the work, every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally. This one's mine, I guess. You 83 Page 3 might hear some ugly talk about it at school, but do one thing for me if you will: you just hold your head high and keep those fists down.
As the chapter ends, Scout overhears Jack and Atticus talking about the upcoming trial. Atticus says that Tom Robinson is innocent but will never be acquitted by an all-white jury.
Atticus defends Tom Robinson (Chapter 9, page 99) Atticus feels that he has to do what's right to be able to hold his head up or even have any authority over his children. He also is willing to stand up against the oddsâhe knows he's âlickedâ before he even begins. Mrs.
This also shows that he is humbleâhis children didn't know that he was such a good shot. âThe one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.â Page 140 Atticus will do what he thinks is right, even if other people disagree with him.
Summary: Chapter 9 Atticus has been asked to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman. It is a case he cannot hope to win, but Atticus tells Scout that he must argue it to uphold his sense of justice and self-respect.
When the rumble ends, Dally and Ponyboy go to the hospital to see Johnny. A policeman stops them, but Ponyboy feigns an injury, and the officer gives them an escort to the hospital. Ponyboy and Dally find Johnny dying. Johnny moans that fighting is useless, tells Ponyboy to â[s]tay gold,â and then dies.
When Scout asks him why he takes Tom Robinson's case, Atticus responds by saying, âThe main one is, if I didn't I couldn't hold up my head in town, I couldn't represent this county in the legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something again,â(100).
Chapter 17With the trial of Tom Robinson underway in Chapter 17 of To Kill a Mockingbird, two key witnesses are called to the stand, Sheriff Tate and Bob Ewell.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch is nearly fifty when he is first appointed to defend Tom Robinson.
Context. Atticus Finch: full of pithy nuggets of wisdom. What he's saying is that while democracy may determine how a group will act, it can't control what a person thinks. Sure, everyone in Maycomb thinks Tom Robinson is guilty, but Atticus doesn't.
In Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird, tension is present between Scout and Aunt Alexandra due to their very different outlooks on the world such as racial prejudice, and whether Scout should act like a lady or do as she pleases.
Atticus, he was real nice. . . ." His hands were under my chin, pulling up the cover, tucking it around me. "Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them." (pp. 295-296) The lesson of The Gray Ghost is the same lesson the children have learned from the plights of Tom Robinson, Mrs. Dubose, and Boo Radley.
Active Themes. With a sigh, Atticus says heâs defending a black man named Tom Robinson, and some believe that he shouldnât defend Tom. Scout asks why he took the case then, and Atticus insists that he had to in order to hold his head up and maintain the moral high ground.
Later, when Scout gets up for water, she stops in the hallway and listens to Uncle Jack tell Atticus that heâll never have children after Scoutâs dressing down earlier . He doesnât betray his promise to Scout but tells Atticus about dodging Scoutâs question of what a âwhore-ladyâ was.
Scoutâs reflection that Atticus wanted her to hear what he said shows that Atticus understands how difficult things are for Scout right now . He wants her to understand, however, that he must defend Tom Robinson in order abide by his own conscience and code of ethics.
Later, he tells Scout that he doesnât like language like that and asks Scout if she wants to be a lady. Scout isnât interested in being a lady, but Uncle Jack insists that she actually is. The next morning Scout and Jem receive air rifles from Atticus, but he wonât let them take them to Finchâs Landing.
Scout denies it and later, asks Atticus if he âdefends niggers.â. Atticus admits that he does but cautions Scout to not talk that way, as itâs common. Scout points out that everyone at school talks that way, yet another bid to convince Atticus to not send her to school.
Scout admits that she and Dill are engaged, which makes Francis laughâaccording to him, Dillâs family passes him from relative to relative and declares that Scoutâs lack of knowledge speaks to her general ignorance. He calls Atticus a ânigger-loverâ whoâs ruining the family.
By being truthful with Scout about whatâs going on and whatâs going to happenâin other words, by not sheltering herâAtticus gives her the opportunity to grapple with adult ideas, and in doing so, helps her both grow and come to a better understanding of how her world works.
It is in Chapter 9, therefore, that Atticus reveals that he has taken this unpopular case because he was appointed to it by the presiding judge. Atticus could have, conceivably, turned down the judge's request that he defend Tom Robinson, crippled, desperately poor African American.
Atticus mentions that, "John Taylor pointed at me and said, 'You're it.'". It is between chapter 8 and chapter 9 when this apparently takes place and in chapter 9 the reader becomes aware of Atticus's determination to do whatever he can.
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee reveals how justice, for the people of Maycomb County, is not about fairness but about serving what this community sees as its specific needs, regardless of the rights of Tom Robinson.
Atticus, it is made clear in Chapter 9, is representing Tom, who has been unjustly accused of raping a white woman by the town's most virulently racist example of "white trash," Bob Ewell.
Atticus knows from the beginning that he has no likelihood of successfully defending Tom. Tom's innocence is almost immaterial but as Judge Taylor appoints Atticus to defend Tom, there can be no discussion. Atticus mentions that, "John Taylor pointed at me and said, 'You're it.'".
Atticus recognizes that the time it took for the jury to reach a decision is a small victory, perhaps too small to even be considered a victory, but that it is still a kind of progress, and that it should be valued. Previous section Scout Next section Jem.
Here, Atticus articulates the central lesson he wants to convey to Scout, which is that empathy is the key to understanding others. Atticus presents lessons in empathy several times in relation to Scoutâs schoolmates, her teacher, the mob outside the courthouse, and the jury. By the end of the novel, Scout has begun using empathy ...
Atticus directs this lesson to Jem because Jem is the one who is most embittered and defeated by Tomâs guilty verdict.
He is trying to get Jem to consider the situation from Bobâs point of view, and understand the humiliation and rage Bob must feel as a result of the trial. While Atticus is empathetic to Bobâs experience, he underestimates the depth of Bobâs rage, which will affect his children more than it affects Atticus directly.
Here, Atticus is talking to Jem about how long the jury deliberated before returning with a verdict. Atticus sees a glimmer of hope in the fact that the jury did not immediately find Tom guilty, as they usually would in such a case.
Scoutâs struggle to behave the way she knows her father wants her to versus her urge to protect her family form one of the conflicts of the novel. I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand.