To Kill a Mocking Bird free essay sample

The Defender You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view until you climb into his skin and walk around in it (Lee 30). Atticus Finch says these words to his daughter, Scout, after he elucidates to her why it is important to not be quick to judge a book by its cover . In Harper Lees To Kill A Mocking Bird, the main conflicts are centered around prejudice. In the tiny town of Maycomb, everybody is set on tradition and there is no room for oddity. Atticus Finch breaks down the walls that everybody else builds up about first and lasting impressions, slowly but surely. Atticus Finch is a discreet example of practicing equality because he espouses the outcasts of Maycomb. When Atticus sees that Scout, Jem, and Dill are mocking Boo Radley, the mysterious neighbor who nobody knows about except for the urban legends they hear from Miss Stephanie Crawford, the town gossip, he puts his foot down and reprimands the children to quit their connived games. While ordering the kids to quit bullying Boo, Jem argues, We werent makin fun of him, we werent laughin at him, we were just No, said Atticus, putting lifes history on display for the edification of the neighborhood (39). When no one else is on Boo Radleys side, Atticus is, because he knows in his heart that it is wrong to make fun of someone, especially someone that they do not know. What Mr. Radley did might seem peculiar to us, but it did not seem peculiar to him. Furthermore, had it never occurred to us that the civil way to communicate with another being was by the front door instead of a side window? (39). Atticus orders the kids to stay away from the Radley house until they were invited there, and that they were not to play an asinine game he had seen them playing or to make fun of anybody on the street or in the town. Mrs. Dubose is the second individual whom Atticus defends when no one else does. Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose is a hot-tempered, recluse woman as well as the Finchs neighbor. Scout describes her as plain hell (3). When Jem decides to destroy Mrs. Duboses plants, Atticus makes him read to her, as a punishment to Jem and an apology to Mrs. Dubose. Although Jem tells his father that he destroyed the plants because of the antagonizing comments that came out of her mouth about Atticus, he chooses to discipline Jem and do an act of kindness to Mrs. Dubose. Atticus even defends her with sweet words by telling his son, 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. Its when you know youre licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her view, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew (93). Racism plays a major factor in the story. The entire town of Maycomb has tradition embedded in their hearts, and negroes are not a part of the tradition. Atticus agrees to defending Tom Robinson, a black man, in court. Although Atticus knows that Tom will not be acquitted, he does anyway, and he does and says anything he can to let Maycomb know that Tom in innocent. Bob and Mayella Ewell are the prosecutors against Tom and they are lying and deceiving Maycomb by making up a false testimony saying that Tom raped Mayella. Atticus finds this out and does anything he can to put a stop to it. When the town hears that Atticus is defending a negro, he gets a bunch of hate but does not back down. Some people reason that Jem and Scout are better examples of showing equality because since they are young, they are better suited for respecting the disrespected because the town will not get as angry with them than with an adult. However, the kids are not quick to accepting people most of the time. Without Atticus being there to guide them along the path of righteousness, Jem and Scout would be just like any other kid in Maycomb. When the kids are confused as to why Atticus was trying to do the ethical thing and defend Tom, Miss Maudie has to explain to them that he was making baby steps in the right direction (183). When Jem is still absent minded about the ordeal, Miss Maudie says, I simply want to tell you that there are some men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your fathers one of them. Oh, said Jem. Well. Dont you oh well me, sir, Miss Maudie replied, recognizing Jems fatalistic noises, you are not old enough to appreciate what I said' (183). The kids are impetuous to judge people, like Boo Radley, and Atticus has to stand up for him against the children. Even if Scout and Jem do a good deed of exemplifying equality, they are following by Atticus admirable example since he is their father and they live under his influence. Atticus Finch is a great example for everyone to practice equality and to not judge a book by its cover. Although a father is normally on his childs side, Atticus lets Jem and Scout know that no matter how the person acts or what they look like, they still need to treat them cordially. Atticus Finch is a discreet example of practicing equality because he espouses the outcasts of Maycomb. Martin Luther King Jr. goes down in American history as a leader in a revolutionary event of going against racism and discrimination. Atticus Finch is much like Martin Luther King Jr. , and if there were more Atticus in Maycomb, then the town would be just like how ours is today: equality for all.