Atticus Speech

According to the novel 'mocking bird' written by Harper Lee, he uses ethos, logos and pathos to describe his speech in persuading jurors that 'Tom Robinson is innocent from raping Mayella by using his identity as a believer of a god'. In his context, Atticus uses ethos in his speech in trying to relate with jurors when he proclaims of believing in deity. "Our greatest evils flow from ourselves". 'This statement, by Rousseau, epitomizes many points of evil that are discussed in Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. In our world, we constantly come face to face with evil. Evil presents itself in many forms, including prejudice, alcoholism, drug abuse, irresponsibility, and violence against others. The most prevalent faces of evil in To Kill a Mockingbird are prejudice, alcoholism, and gossip' (Tripp, 192). Nonetheless, he swears by the name of God of not doing the act in identifying himself to the audience in believing him as being innocent in his version of the story simply because he knows well that juror believe in a deity. In this case ethos is presented in the story since ethos is always presented as being credible in respect to convince the audience who are listening at the story.

However, in Atticus issue, Robinson identifies himself to the people as being part of them through influencing jurors as being innocent of committing such an act of rape "They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions... but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself.  The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience." (114)  In this version, people in the society we are living in always try to defend themselves as being quite good but their immoral aspects are far larger than you ever thought. Atticus argues that Tom was indeed a good person and did not deserve to be treated in a bad attitude for the exact truth was not yet identified as him being an outcast to the society and that he committed the act of raping. He insists that unless justice is practiced there is no legal evidence as to why Tom should be accused of raping the white woman.

On the other hand Atticus tries to use pathos in his context whereby in his speech he emphasizes the importance of the jurors and that they have an important responsibility in the society. He shows tells of pauper as equal to Rockefeller and ironically an ignorant man as equal to the president. This statement is used to remind his fellow juror of their important duties and the felling of honor the juror should do to Tom in return. In this case therefore, Atticus uses pathos in a more convincing manner because the use of pathos requires that emotions are required in the attempt to convince the spectators. Atticus thus comes up with logos as his last option to convince his audience where his speech include facts that he presents in defend of Tom in his case. In the case, he for example, quotes' the state of Albama has not produced one of medical evidence that shows that the crime Tom Robinson was charged with ever   took place'. In this context he tries to prevent Tom of not raping whereby he continues and quotes that "evidence has not only been called into serious question, but has been flatly contradicted by Mayella Ewell." The usages of these simple facts are meant to convince his fellow jurors of Tom innocence. Nonetheless, the use of these facts helps him to proclaim some information to his audience because in logos for example, involves the use of a speaker in the attempt to convince his fellow audience  by use of facts to state lack of enough evidence about Tom (Johnson, 48).

Ethos simply means an appeal made to any authority. It is potentially aimed at how well a person tries to convince the audience of how he/she is by kind qualified to speak to the crowd over a particular subject (Williams, 43). In this context, Atticus in his speech convinces his audience over the matter that Tom committed crime in. This aspect sets a sign of immorality that none of the characters in book is seen to have committed whatsoever. In the book we are introduced that Atticus is a very mature person and stable character and able to cope with all unreasonable and the most emotional elements within Ma comb. It is very worse because Atticus in his side knows well that it is very difficult to win the case but on the other hand he does everything to see that he wins the case although he knows all about justice. In his text he quotes that "I put everything I had into it - all my feelings and everything I'd learned in 46 years of living, about family life and fathers and children, and my feelings about racial justice and inequality and opportunity". This perfectly shows how he defensibly protects Tom as being innocent from being imprisoned.

The context shows how they have and they have not are being treated in the society meaning that the earth we are living in today is full of greedy people and the use of power to protect the less fortunate in the society. It is evident that although many people sympathize for Tom when he is accused unfairly until when he was shot trying to escape the sad fate. Atticus in the court room tries to convince the jury that "as if they are folks on the post office corner". He appeals to these people to be just, without prejudices. There is no more aridity or detachment in his voice''. This shows that Atticus is in support of Tom who has been accused of the rape case. It shows that people are not in respect of what Atticus is trying to prove to the audience. There are facts that jurors grew knowing that black people were very evil and not respectable in the society. Nevertheless, we learn that people usually view others as very best but not realizing them until when you meet them. This implies that, it is not what you hear from somebody until you personally see it by yourself for many things that somebody tells you about somebody are not all real.

In the context Atticus delivers his speech claiming that the case should have taken place for the state have never delivered evidence that really Tom ever committed the case in this version justice is not well practiced since despite Atticus knowledge that Tom is guilty he tries to protect him for even after being accused of raping and being poisoned he ends up being killed. This shows that there are people who were involved in bringing Tom down from saying the truth. This cases either are seen in the modern society where, social stigma whereby people believe in hereditary factors more than what they see in an individual. The story proclaims lessons are the social stigma where people live in frozen culture where family name is taken as the symbol of ownership and defense for their people and property. Hereditary is taken as the aspect of ancestral believes where the stand of certain families in the society is the order of the day. These text talks of the wealthy as to being the most important people for they have every resource that can make them live to their expectation.

More so, racism has been portrayed to be killing the society where Atticus tries to defend the black race from being discriminated and taken as a bad omen to the society. He says that unless there is a way to why the black are supposed to be treated in such a humiliating aspect then they should seek for the best option that will bring Tom into justice for he is not guilty as suggested by the Mayella family."The witnesses for the state...have presented themselves to you gentlemen, to this court, in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption-the evil assumption-that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber.  Which, gentlemen, we know is in itself a lie as black as Tom Robinson's skin, a lie I do not have to point out to you.  You know the truth, the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral; some Negro men cannot be trusted around women, black or white.  But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men...." (217). this implies that racism is the order of the day and there is no respect amongst the people who are living in this town. The word Negros is used to describe Tom who is a black person; this is a way of discriminating Tom from the whites who think that they are far better and more intelligent and that they do not lie unlike the blacks who are referred to as Negros. Also in the story Atticus quotes that 'Harper Lee expresses the merciless global racism through her book. Not only are the colored people criticized from the whites but also the Radleys are part of the white society that was discriminated. The Radleys lived differently from the rest of the Maycomb people. However, just by living in a different style, the people believed that they were different human beings. Even Jeremy described Boo Radley as "[he] [is] about six-and-a- half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that is why his hands were bloodstained."(P13) This is rather a description suitable for monsters than a human being'. This means that even the white people also despises one another and that they do not respect each other in any way.

Certain people from certain areas are seen to be bad people for example's in the book we learn that the southerners were regarded as shame to the members of the society. The book also covers areas of immorality where Mayella is seen to seduce Tom and in the process the father caught her in the act. This evidence shows that Tom might have been innocent after all and that is why Atticus was chosen to represent him in the trial. Nonetheless, revenge is seen when Bob vows to take revenge where he spits to face of Atticus on the road because of defending Tom. This is evident that there is no respect between the two families especially after Atticus represented Tom in the court. On the other side, Bob also tries to break into the presiding judge homestead trying to threaten the judge over the matter. On the other, we see Bob when he tries to attack Scout and Jem on the children of Atticus their on their way home from school. This shows that he was not acquainted over the matter and he wanted to see that Tom is brought into justice and that Atticus should have not defended him in any way. The attacks among the whites show hatred because Atticus helped save the case of Tom as being guilty. The whites revenge over each other to show that they wanted to take center stage and convict Tom because he was a black person not thinking that he was not as guilty as it was known.

In conclusion, by being an influence in the society affects daily life in many instances. For example, the Cumming hams, which was a nice family although very poor refuse to take money thinking that this would lower their dignity in the society and thus they will be taken as beggars. These aspect shows how wealth is taken as the aspect of possession and that they should not take what belongs to the poor and what will make them lower their place in the society. However, on the other side the Ewell family backs the process and terms themselves as not in the same level to the Cumming hams family. In this aspect the Ewell family is seen to have benefited in past 3 generations and thus looked down by the other society members. The process shows social stigma where the society members lack to take opportunities in the fear of being looked down by the rest of the society. In the view it shows that social stigma have a greater effect on life, pursuit of happiness and level of economy. However, it is viewed from the book some challenges regarding the book have been encountered for example; the use of the rape case was used as immoral. "Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don't pretend to understand." (100), this have been challenged by the facts that mayella's attraction attitude towards Tom was a surely depiction of the rape case thereby by accusing Tom who is innocent has a great meaning to the white people. For example by calling Tom a negro it has a formal effect that they do not trust the black people at all..

In the other case we learn from Mr. Cummingham after his refusal to accept the welfare formally because this could have affected him and his children for he believed that what happened to one of the members was nothing compared to what had happened long time and it could be a repeat of the same. However, these facts happened in some parts of the country such as Scout and the town was said to look like a lady (Fine, 39). This words tell how the society believe in superstition that if something happened to other people in the past will also happen to the coming generation if appropriate measures are not looked at. On the other side Atticus is seen as not to protect the white race by defending a black man over an allegation that he raped a white woman. The stigma revolves down to the family members where they an Asian and truly ignorant way of life.Atticus says that "I don't know [how they could convict Tom Robinson], but they did it.  They've done it before and they did it tonight and they'll do it again and when they do it-seem that only children weep...." (225), in his opinion he opposes how Tom is being treated unfairly there is no enough evidence over his case, therefore he suggests that Tom should be treated in a fair manner because it's not him that they are torturing but for his small children at home. Atticus want to say that by sentencing Tom the children will die because the farther is the bread winner of the family. The white generations believe that it was supposed that the whites should protect the other white unlike protecting the black race that was believed to be illiterate and ignorant of virtues.

However the characters who are presented in the book, cannot escape from their family stereotype this means that some of the characters will never change their behaviors (Courbin, 32) Moreover, some characters are able to view their mistakes and try to change the stigma and the stereotype as revealed in the society. On the perspective, prejudice is witnessed in several forms for example, some characters in the context suffer discrimination race where, social status, age and sex is exploited. Racism is seen to be the natural nature of the people living in Maycomb.We sees Jem and Dill who is their neighbor who decide to peek at the window of Boo Radley. Over this reaction, Boo's brothers see that and take a riffle in the aim of scaring them from looking over the window. When the neighbors were trying to find the source of the commotion they automatically assume that the prowler was a black man, not knowing that he was a white man this state signifies how the black people are taken as thieves and whenever they try anything the white uses power to scare them off from peeping over the window. Racism is seen in this context as to take the centre stage for example, when Miss Stephen is asked over the prowler whether he is shot she says that 'shot in the air- If anybody sees a white nigger definitely that the one'. She speaks so calmly as if she was speaking about the weather, this how racial is presented in the society. In this aspect we see the white woman despising the black people terming them as niggers this is a sign that the black people are not liked at all. Racism is the order of the context where the white do not want anything to do with the blacks.

In addition, injustice over racism is apparent when Tom is convicted that he has raped Maywella and despite any lack of evidence the people in the town are reluctant to take the words from a black man. This state shows how the 'Blackman' (Tom) is taken to be a liar and not truthful in anything that he says (McDonagh, 43). Atticus keenly implores the jury to look past race and serve justice to the accused although Atticus seems not to be a racist; he practiced it while his son was making a snow man whereby he placed mad beneath the snow man and pretended that he had never seen a white nigger. Atticus quotes that "They were confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption- the evil assumption- that all Negro's lie, and that all Negros are basically immoral beings. [...] I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence you have heard, come to a decision, and restore this defendant to his family. In the name of God, does your duty' (Lee, 12). This statement was aimed to show how defendant he was towards Tom over his case. On the other hand when scout arrives at the school at day one she then encounters teacher by name Caroline but when she tries to engage in reading and writing but Miss Caroline scolds her by neither telling her that she should not engage in such activities because the child of her age should not be reading nor writing. The teacher says "So it took an eight-year-old child to bring 'em to their senses.... That proves something - that a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they're still human." (163) .This shows how discrimination is portrayed even in public institution and that age has a way of being discriminated. It is important to understand that the white entity never wanted the blacks to benefit from anything and they just wanted for themselves for they knew that the black people were illiterate and they did not deserve anything of the kind.