Examples Of Atticus Ethos In To Kill A Mockingbird

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An experienced and prestigious lawyer, Atticus Finch, in his closing defending argument for an African American, Tom Robinson in front of an all-white jury, in the small Southern town, Maycomb during the great Depression, hopes to shed light on the social inequity of racism. Atticus’s purpose is to not only clear his conscience, by trying to give everyone their best chance at equality, but he also wants to try and wake people up and have them come to their senses concerning racism. He has to live with himself and instead of following the majority, he does what he can for an innocent man. Atticus establishes a tone of guidance in order to communicate to the courthouse, and by proxy the town and other areas, hat their racist ways need to come to an end and that everyone deserves an equal chance at life. …show more content…
Atticus demonstrates Ethos, by reminding the jury, “in our courts all men are created equal” (Lee 205) and he asks them to “do your duty” (Lee 205) and believe Tom Robinson’s testimony. This was all Atticus could do for Tom and this was the best way to urge the jury to rethink their ways. This placed the jury in a position where they had to evaluate their morals and decide to do the right thing. The moral dilemma that Atticus placed before the jury was choosing whether to follow their racist ideas or do their duty and save an innocent man. Atticus’s words are full of a guiding tone, while he was trying to have the jury rethink their
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