During chapter nine, when Atticus explains to Scout why he must take on this trial for Tom Robinson, he says “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win?”(Lee 87). What he means is that even though people have made it harder for him to defend this man in the past, that doesn’t mean that he should back down and not give Tom Robinson his fair trial, even if the odds are against him. The past hundreds of years have been against African Americans, which makes Atticus’s trial a lot harder for him. But even if Tom Robinson is guilty, he deserves a fair trial and a lawyer to defend him. Although this task is really difficult and most likely will result in failure, Atticus must step up to the challenge and be courageous enough to try his best. Although that Scout is still really young and won’t understand much of this, it is a really good lesson to learn, no matter what age she is, so that she can apply it in her life as well.
How do you think that Scout will use her father’s advice. Do you think it even makes sense to her? Do you agree or disagree with Atticus’s logic?
Injustice should not hinder Atticus’ attempts to prove Tom Robinson innocent. Atticus’ experiences with the Tom Robinson case can display a level of empathy as Atticus is able to “Climb into Tom Robinson’s skin and walk around in it”. He is able to feel empathy for Tom Robinson as he can figure out what it is like to be affected by racial injustice. Overall, Atticus has to make his best effort to prove Tom Robinson innocent, even though his peers are humiliating him.
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