Atticus Ethos In To Kill A Mockingbird

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“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). In To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, the narrator tells the story of living in Maycomb County, where racism affects the way how individuals treat each other and victimizes the African Americans in which leads to poverty and false allegations. Although Maycomb County’s residents are bigoted and have negative assumptions toward African Americans, Atticus breaks the stereotypes regarding racism by appealing to his audiences through morals, logics, and emotions.
The audience of the trial proceeds as a factor that is involved in this convoluted case. The audiences are all grown up from …show more content…
During the trial, Atticus says, “I have nothing but pity in my heart for the chief witness for the state, but my pity does not extend so as far putting a man’s life at stake...” (Lee, 208). This quote demonstrates how Atticus has pity in Mayella Ewell because she is unfortunate of being prohibited from interacting with other people outside and is only required to take care of her siblings and do labor. However, Atticus pinpoints to the audience that just because he has pity on her, it does not mean for him to believe her in her false accusations towards Tom Robinson. This shows the moral to this story because assumptions should not be made just by someone’s appearance. Atticus also informs, “ Our courts have their faults, as does any human institution, but in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal.” (Lee, 209). To clarify, he informs to the jury that in court, every man should be judged fairly and equally. His speech proves to the audience in his integrity; Atticus believes being a lawyer is a personal commitment to justice, not as a …show more content…
The case of Tom Robinson could have been a simple case of black and white, but it was hard to address the audience because of the different point of views whites had against African Americans. Atticus taught decency to the jury to prove the human rights. He also used reasonable justifications with evidence to defend his client. Atticus dragged emotional appeals by adding in tones to enlighten the mood of the trial. Racism is something that can not be completely removed because it is expressed through beliefs, attitudes, and behavior. It ties into how Maycomb’s usual disease was
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