Sunday, September 24, 2017
Chapter 8 and 9: Discuss Atticus’ explanation of the case to Scout. What does Atticus mean by “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win?” William K.
Although Atticus believes that Tom Robinson is not guilty, he has to fight countless preconceived notions about race and furthermore has to contend with the Ewells. He knows that any court case involving an African American is bound to become a mess. From past experiences, he has found that "reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up"(Page 117), but this does not stop Atticus from defending who he thinks is not guilty. Although knowing wholeheartedly that there is no chance for him to win he still knows that there "is no reason... [that he shouldn't] try to win”(Page 101). When explaining the court case he tries to make sure that Scout doesn't turn on him and join the rest of the general public in their hysteria. Because of the misinformation that he circulate once the case starts up, he tells Scout deliberately "to come to [him for]... answers instead of listening to the town."(Page 117). He does this because he knows that there will be a lot of negative press about him defending Tom, and in a small environment such as Maycomb, it is bound to impact Scout. This case will also greatly impact the Finch family, and especially Atticus since it may cause him to get a negative connotation, and therefore may destroy his career.
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ReplyDeleteI think that a lot of Maycomb County's prejudice against 'Negroes' dates back to the Civil War. In 1865, Maycomb was part of the Confederacy by being part of Alabama. There is a lot of legacy from the Confederate ideals. For example, Cousin Ike Finch, a former Confederate soldier says "if I had to go through it again, I'd walk every step... and furthermore we'd whip 'em this time," (Lee 101). Despite being beaten in terms of the country, at least some of the citizens of Maycomb still hold dear Confederate ideals - such as racism.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Will that even though Atticus knows that this is a lost case, he still needs to continue to fight for Tom Robinson. He can't just give up because of prejudice dating back to the Civil War. His job is to make sure that he stands up for Tom Robinson, no matter what. Atticus explains to Scout, "This time we aren't fighting the Yankees, we're fighting our friends." (Lee 101-102). Even though the Civil War was a long time in the past, Atticus is trying to show Scout that they are still facing a similar battle in their own community.
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