"To Kill a Mockingbird" Atticus Stands For Justice

Andy Biersack once said, “stand up for what you believe in even if that means standing alone” (Goodreads). Often times in novels, characters go to extreme measures for something in which they take pride. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch, a lawyer, and father, stands up for his beliefs. Atticus believes everyone should be given a fair chance, no matter the situation. Despite the challenges Atticus faces, he still treats everyone equally. Atticus helps others because he gives them all an equal opportunities atticus’s actions greatly influence those around him, especially his daughter Scout.

In To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus stands up for fairness Atticus parents Scout fairly, while also teaching her how to view others’ perspectives. Atticus does his best to make scout happy, so when Scout decides she does not want to go to school anymore, he provides a compromise scout disappoints her teacher, Miss Caroline.

Miss Caroline becomes angry with Scout because Scout tries to help Caroline understand how poor a classmate is, but Scout is unable to explain it well.

Miss Caroline tells Scout she has “had about enough of [her] this morning,” which upsets Scout (Lee 28). Scout tells Atticus that she does not want to go back to school because she feels Miss Caroline treated her wrongly. Atticus comes up with a compromise to make the situation fair. Atticus suggests Scout continue to go to school, and he and Scout will “go on reading every night just as [they] always have”.

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Atticus wants to be reasonable with Scout, so he suggests reading with her every night, knowing that Scout will enjoy that. Atticus also helps Scout see the situation from Miss Caroline’s perspective Atticus treats Caroline equally to show Scout that “[y]ou never really understand a person until you consider things from [their] point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”.

Atticus advises Scout to look at the situation from Caroline’s point of view. Atticus helps Scout see both sides of the situation, allowing her to see that Miss Caroline made an honest mistake due to a lack of information. Atticus teaches Scout the importance of respecting others. Atticus is fair towards Scout and Miss Caroline by understanding their perspectives. Despite the bad publicity he gets. Atticus defends Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson is a black man who is falsely accused of rape. Since treating everyone equally is something for which Atticus stands, he must fight for Tom’s innocence. Atticus knows that if he did not defend Tom, he “couldn’t hold up [his] head in town” because Atticus believes in being fair. Atticus always does what is moral, which is why he must defend Tom in order to be able to hold his head up in town. Atticus knows that fighting for Tom is the right thing to do, and he must defend him.

Atticus is aware that the whites of Maycomb County do not like that he is defending Tom, and he gets called a “nigger-lover” many times. Scout asks if Atticus if he really is a “nigger-lover”, and he tells her he “certainly [is]. [He] does his best to love everybody” (144). Atticus takes “niggar-lover” as a compliment because he truly believes in respecting people, regardless of their race. By loving everyone, Atticus is able to treat everyone with fairness. Atticus also respects others opinions, and “before [he] can live with other folks [he has] got to live with [himself]” which means standing up for equality (140). Atticus values fairness and others do not. He would rather stand alone by fighting for Tom than stand with the white citizens of Maycomb by assuming that Tom is guilty. Atticus stands up for Tom’s innocence because he knows fighting for him is the right thing to do, even though many think Atticus should not be defending a black man.

Atticus believes that “the one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience”. Atticus is saying that although the community has a different opinion on the Tom Robinson trial, he knows the truth, and he must step up and do what is right. Atticus realizes that it would be easier just to assume Tom is guilty along with everyone else, but he stands for fairness even though he stands alone Atticus believes everyone deserves a fair chance, which he provides Tom with. Atticus treats others with equally because he views all races the same. Not only does Atticus treat Tom Robinson with equality, he is even fair towards Mrs. Dubose, an extremely hateful person. Atticus’s son, Jem, is always angry at Mrs. Dubose because she shouts insults at the children. Atticus knows that Jem wants to do something to get back at her for all the criticism. However, Atticus advises Jem to “hold [his] head high and be a gentleman”.

By teaching Jem to be a gentleman, Atticus hopes that Jem will understand Mrs. Dubose. Atticus wants Jem to treat Mrs. Dubose with respect because he believes in treating everyone fairly. However, Jem does not listen to Atticus, and he destroys her camellia bushes. Atticus finds out, and he “strongly advise[s Jem] to go down and have a talk with Mrs. Dubose” to apologize. By forcing Jem to go talk to Mrs. Dubose, Atticus tries to teach Jem to learn to treat her with kindness. Atticus’s goal is to get Jem to recognize that Mrs. Dubose is “old and ill,” and Jem “can’t hold her responsible for what she says” . Mrs. Dubose is not responsible for her words because she is in pain and dying. Atticus uses Mrs. Dubose’s illness as a justification for her hateful words as an attempt to teach Jem.

As part of Jem’s punishment, he has to read to Mrs. Dubose for a month, even though he does not want to. Since Atticus believes in being fair, he tells Jem that he must “do it for a month” While Mrs. Dubose is dying, she attempts to end her addiction, which is why she wants Jem to read to her. Atticus explains to Jem that “Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict,” and reading to her “may have been some distraction”. By reading to Mrs. Dubose, Jem gives her something new to focus on. Atticus also believes that Mrs. Dubose “was the bravest person [he] ever knew” because she teaches Jem “real courage”. Atticus uses “brave” to illustrate that despite her pain, Mrs. Dubose faces her death determined to stop her addiction. Mrs. Dubose makes sure Jem receives a box with a white camellia after she dies Jem finally grasps Atticus’s points because Scout catches him “fingering the white petals” of the camellia.

The camellia teaches Jem that destroying Mrs. Dubose’s bushes is wrong and that although she is in constant pain, she still tries to fight her addiction with bravery. Although Mrs. Dubose is rude to the Finches, Atticus tries to teach Jem to understand her Atticus stands up for equality, which is why he helps Mrs. Dubose. Atticus does his best to be fair toward all. Throughout To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus views everyone as an equal, even though many people in Maycomb are racist, and do not share the same opinions as Atticus. Despite standing alone, and against the opinions of many others, atticus stays true to his morals, by treating everyone equally. Atticus stands up for fairness among all types of people, teaching his children a valuable lesson: respect everyone, no matter the situation. Ultimately, if one’s beliefs are strong enough, they will stand up for what they believe in, even if they stand alone.