Atticus Finch's Decision

The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a popular and meaningful book about a small town called Maycomb in Alabama during the Great Depression. Scout and her brother Jem live with their widowed father, Atticus Finch. He is a lawyer in the town and plays an important role in the book, as a role model and a man of integrity with true morals. Atticus ends up in a court case involving a black man being accused for raping a white women. The majority of the people in Maycomb are racially biased against blacks as during the time period they were still being discriminated against. Atticus ended up defending this man, although many people in Maycomb did not approve, and he was being bashed on because of it. In school, Scout was told that her dad was a "nigger lover", and was made fun of. Scout was still young and did not understand much of what was going on. She asked Atticus if he was a "nigger lover" and why he was defending him. Atticus answered back that it was the right thing to do, even if the whole town hated on it. He says that he believes in human rights, and equality. This shows how much integrity and morality Atticus has, as he does know that few people support him on the case, and that he will likely loose, but he still does as much as he can. He is doing what he knows is right even though it means being against the majority. This is a great example of what doing the right thing is, and why it can be a struggle.