“Every lawyer is faced with at least one case during their life that concerns them personally. This one is mine, I guess. To Kill A Mockingbird, an award-winning book by Harper Lee, is about Atticus Finch, a lawyer from Maycomb, Alabama, who tries to defend Tom Robinson. Tom, accused of rape by a white woman named Mayella Ewell in the 20th century, has great difficulty winning his case. Atticus Finch shows great courage and confidence when he decides to help Tom Robinson with his case. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original Essay Atticus defends Tom because he values ​​equality and justice. He believes that everyone is equal and that just because Tom Robinson is black doesn't mean he shouldn't defend him. Before the trial, Atticus states, "Just because we were licked a hundred years before we started doesn't mean we shouldn't try to win." » Atticus points out that just because entrenched racism will likely cause them to lose the case doesn't mean they can't do what it takes to fight for justice anyway. Another reason why Atticus defended Tom was because he wanted Jem, his son, to look up to him and keep his respect for his father. Atticus says, “Before Jem looks at anyone else, he looks at me. I tried to live to be able to look at him directly... If I colluded with something like that, frankly, I wouldn't be able to meet his gaze, and the day I couldn't do that, I would have lost him . If Atticus didn't defend Tom, Jem would no longer have respect for his father and he would no longer be able to look at him the same way. Even though Atticus showed courage in helping Tom, people could not trust the word of a black man over that of a white man. It was extremely difficult for the court to accept Tom Robinson's story as the truth. Atticus's neighbor says, "...I don't see why you touched him in the first place...You have everything to lose with this Atticus." I mean everything. He states that Atticus has no chance of winning the case because Tom is black. Even though his neighbors didn't support him in helping Tom, he knew it was the right thing to do. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Atticus showed great courage to do the right thing by defending Tom because he believed that everyone should be treated equally and he wanted to maintain his son's respect. As Atticus values ​​equality and justice, he still had the courage to defend a black man in court, even though he knew it was not going to go as planned. While reading the book, the reader sees how people should always be treated equally regardless of the outcome and how difficult it is for a black man to win a case in the 20th century...