During
Atticus' explanation to Scout of the Tom Robinson case, he states he must fight
for the case, and even though he knows he will lose, but he does it for his
pride and for his self-respect. Atticus is the best lawyer in Maycomb County,
and one of the most respected men in town, and to just give up on a case would
ruin his reputation as a lawyer for the rest of his life, and he would lose the
respect of his son and daughter forever. This particular case though, is more
intense than his other ones, as it means of defending Tom Robinson, an
African-American who has been accused of raping a white woman, and although Atticus
knows he's innocent, he knows the jury would not allow him to win. Scout gets
bothered at school by students that claim Atticus is a disgrace, and that their
parents say Tom Robinson should be hanged for what he did. While explaining the
case to Scout, Atticus says: "If I didn't [represent Tom Robinson in
court] I couldn't hold up my head in town, I couldn't even tell you or Jem not
to do something again" (Lee 100). He explains to her that even though he
should not be defending this man, if he does not he will have to carry the
burden of giving up and losing the respect of the town, which is that's
something he cannot do, for himself and his family. When Atticus tells Scout
“Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason
for us not to try to win” (Lee 101), he is using a metaphor in which he is
stating that even though his ancestors was defeated a hundred years before
Atticus' family was born, does not mean they have to give up, they can still
fight and try and win. This is closely relevant to Atticus' case, as he knows he
is going to lose for a fact, but he still is going to try to win, for his pride
and respect of his family and town.
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ReplyDeleteI disagree reason he took the case was not to please the neighbors or keep his status. He took it because it was morally right. "I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something again,"(Lee 100). He says this because if he did not take the case he wouldn't be doing the right thing and he feels that, that is the most important thing. If he didn't take the case he would feel like he had no right to tell them what to do because he felt that if he had no morales it would not be fair to try and force the kids to be better.
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ReplyDeleteI agree and disagree, I do believe that the reason Atticus took the case was to keep his respect from the town but I believe that there is more to it. "... Every lawyer gets at least one case in their lifetime that affects him personally." (Lee 101) I believe that this is saying that he has to live with it for himself. He must abide by his own personal laws, in every aspect of his life. He knows that he basically has no chance in this case but he must do it for himself and for his reputation. The quote means that there is so much prejudice against African Americans, and that started way before the case, but Atticus still has to try.
ReplyDeleteAnother point which is important is what Atticus tells Scout, that no matter the circumstance you should stay strong and be willing to take on tough tasks. It is clear that Atticus is defending a case that he knows will most likely fail, and along with keeping his reputation he also wants to show to his kids that in life people will want to bash you down for doing certain things, but you must keep moving. "No matter what anybody says to you, don't you let 'em get your goat" (pg.102) is the perfect example that shows Atticus's attitude about people that will try and break you. Even knowing the racism against African Americans, he is willing to go against the grain to show the importance of the fight to his kids and county.
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